Infrared Finance Airdrop

Problem Solved

Infrared Finance tackles two major frictions in Berachain’s Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) model: complexity and illiquidity. PoL rewards users with BGT, a non-transferable governance token, requiring manual delegation to validators or redemption processes to access its value. Without tooling, navigating PoL is tedious, especially for users unfamiliar with validator staking. Infrared eliminates these hurdles with automated vaults and validator services.

Users can deposit assets, and Infrared automatically stakes, delegates, and captures BGT rewards, issuing liquid staking tokens (iBGT for BGT, iBERA for BERA) in return. These LSTs are composable across DeFi, unlocking otherwise stuck rewards and simplifying participation into a single-click process. Instead of holding non-tradable BGT, users get iBGT, usable across the ecosystem. Similarly, staking BERA yields iBERA, a flexible, yield-bearing asset. Infrared aggregates and auto-manages these processes at scale, making PoL accessible to DeFi users without sacrificing yield efficiency. In short, Infrared abstracts Berachain’s complexity and turns PoL participation into a streamlined, liquid, and user-friendly experience.

Tokenomics

Infrared’s native token is yet to be announced. Users can accumulate allocation through the Points Program, where points earned by using Infrared’s products will likely be converted into tokens at the TGE. The total supply and exact conversion ratio have not yet been disclosed.

The token can be expected to serve primarily as a governance token, allowing holders to vote on protocol changes and possibly influence reward mechanisms. Infrared charges a 10% fee on PoL reward yields, it’s reasonable to speculate that token holders might eventually vote on fee allocations or receive a share through staking incentives. No confirmation of a fee-sharing model has been made yet.

Outside governance, the token could have additional utility such as boosting vault yields or unlocking exclusive products or tiers in the protocol. These uses follow typical DeFi models and would align with Infrared’s focus on yield optimization. While full tokenomics remain unpublished, the team’s focus on rewarding active users suggests that early Infrared adopters will be well-positioned to benefit once the token goes live.

Perspectives

Infrared’s success is tied to Berachain’s growth. As the chain positions itself around Berachain's Proof-of-Liquidity and asset yields, Infrared is poised to act as a core infrastructure piece by simplifying PoL participation. Early traction is strong, with over $1.5 billion in TVL.

Future prospects include deeper DeFi integrations like Pendle Finance listings for iBGT/iBERA and potential expansions such as multi-validator support and new vault strategies. These could reinforce Infrared’s role as the default PoL aggregator. However, challenges remain: yield rates will likely normalize over time, competition could emerge, and Infrared must maintain technical security while scaling.

If Berachain succeeds, Infrared stands to capture a significant portion of its DeFi flows, much like how Convex dominates Curve. The main risks revolve around dependency on Berachain adoption and sustaining user incentives post-airdrop. Overall, Infrared is well-positioned but must execute consistently to secure its long-term role.

Founders and Team

Infrared Finance was founded in 2023 by a pseudonymous team that embraces Berachain’s bear-themed culture. The CEO and co-founder goes by Raito (Bear), who is the public face of the project on social media and in interviews. Other key team members are known by handles such as Cocaine Bera (Marketing Lead) and Viperr (Business Development). While these playful pseudonyms keep the team’s real identities private, they have not hindered Infrared’s execution.

In fact, the team’s capability is evidenced by their rapid delivery: Infrared went live alongside Berachain’s testnet and was ready at the chain’s mainnet launch (Feb 2025) to immediately start accumulating users and TVL. Achieving over $1.5 billion TVL within weeks on a new blockchain suggests the team can build and scale a product under intense demand.

The background and competence of the team are further validated by the investors and partners around them. Infrared is one of the inaugural projects in the Berachain Foundation’s “Build-a-Bera” incubator program. This close relationship with Berachain’s core team implies the founders have deep understanding of the chain’s architecture (indeed, Raito mentioned Infrared was built with Berachain’s unique PoL and BGT design in mind from the start). It also provided them early access to resources and advice during development.

Moreover, top-tier investors like Binance Labs, Framework Ventures, and others performed due diligence before backing Infrared – a strong vote of confidence in the team’s vision and technical skill. Those investors would not invest in a team without the ability to execute, even if the founders are not public figures.

Funding

Infrared Finance has secured a robust funding base, having raised a total of $18.75 million across several rounds to fuel its development. In January 2024, the project announced a $2.5M seed round led by Synergis Capital. This seed funding established early momentum and was used to build core infrastructure (validator network, PoL vault contracts, and the first product, iBGT). It’s notable that Infrared was incubated by the Berachain Foundation around this time, and Berachain itself had raised $42M – an indicator that there was significant capital and attention on the ecosystem as a whole.

By mid-2024, Infrared attracted Binance Labs (now renamed YZi Labs) in a strategic round. Binance Labs led a $2.25M strategic investment, which not only provided more capital but also linked Infrared with Binance’s ecosystem. The round saw additional investments from Hack VC and No Limit Holdings.

In March 2025, Infrared closed a $14M Series A led by Framework Ventures. This round brought in additional big-name investors (Framework is known for DeFi investments) and was structured as a SAFT, indicating these investors will receive Infrared tokens when they launch (rather than equity).

Resource-wise, this level of funding is substantial for a DeFi protocol on a brand-new chain. It also means they can afford a strong team and support development, security audits, and incentive programs. Investor backing also brings intangible benefits: advisors like Michael Anderson of Framework have publicly vouched for Infrared’s vision, and being the highest-funded project on Berachain lends credibility and attention.

Community

Infrared has rapidly cultivated an engaged community, thanks in part to the broader excitement around Berachain and the lure of high yields and potential airdrops. On X (Twitter), Infrared’s official account (launched October 2023) has already amassed over 46,000 followers – a remarkable number for a project on a still-emerging blockchain. This indicates that many in the crypto community are watching Infrared, likely both Berachain enthusiasts and airdrop hunters who want to stay informed.

The sentiment among followers tends to be enthusiastic: posts about new vaults or yield updates get a lot of attention, and the announcement of the Points Program in particular generated excitement as it effectively confirmed an upcoming token reward for users.

Apart from incentives, the Infrared team keeps the community engaged through education and updates. They maintain an education blog and Medium articles explaining how PoL works, how iBGT/iBERA function, etc., which helps users understand the value proposition. They are active on Discord, where questions about using the vaults or Berachain are answered by moderators (and often by other experienced users).

One aspect to note is that, because the team is anonymous and no official roadmap is published, there is an undercurrent of “hope” that everything will pay off as implied. Some community members express cautious optimism – they’re farming points and enjoying yields but also eager to see the team follow through on the token launch and decentralization promises. So far, the team’s consistent delivery (updates, communication, security measures) has maintained community trust. No major controversies or negative sentiment waves have hit Infrared’s community to date.

Competitors

Infrared Finance currently dominates Berachain’s liquid staking landscape with $1.6B TVL, but competition is emerging. Stride, originally a liquid staking platform for Cosmos, has expanded to support Berachain assets, amassing about $32M TVL. Smilee, a smaller native competitor focused on BERA staking, holds around $15M TVL. Although both Stride and Smilee are direct competitors, Infrared’s massive lead makes it the clear go-to platform for users seeking PoL rewards.

Future competition remains a threat, especially if Berachain’s ecosystem continues to grow and attracts bigger players who might decide to integrate BERA staking and challenge Infrared’s dominance. Still, Infrared’s early mover advantage, deep PoL integration, and massive liquidity aggregation create strong network effects that won’t be easily displaced. In the short to mid-term, Infrared’s position appears solid, but it must continue to innovate and strengthen its ecosystem lock-in to maintain leadership as new competitors inevitably try to capture market share.

Other Details

The team launched the Infrared Points Program as a way to recognize and reward users for using the platform. Every action – whether staking in a vault, providing liquidity on partner DEXes that qualifies for PoL, or staking the liquid tokens – can earn you points. By introducing a public leaderboard and regular updates, the project gamifies the experience, encouraging users to do more to climb the ranks. This has fostered a loyal subset of users who are actively competing to maximize their points (and thus future tokens).