As TGE approaches, let's talk about the BERA "Gold Mining Guide" for StakeStone Berachain Vault

Author: Web3 Farmer Frank

With the mainnet launch approaching, how can we easily and efficiently capture the most BGT/BERA on Berachain?

As Movement, Fuel, and others continue to issue tokens, Berachain, with its on-chain liquidity "flywheel" designed based on the PoL (Proof of Liquidity) mechanism, has become one of the few emerging public chains still attracting attention. However, for ordinary users, this has also built a "high wall" for participation:

From how to participate in Boyco pre-deposits to choosing DAPPs, calculating yield strategies, and dynamically participating in governance voting, each step requires a high level of on-chain experience and operational ability, hindering the vast majority of users from maximizing their opportunities to capture BERA, and currently, there are almost no available simplified tools.

Notably, StakeStone has just launched the market's first one-stop liquidity provision product for Berachain, the "Berachain Vault," specifically designed to simplify the process from Berachain pre-deposit activities to liquidity mining under the POL mechanism, aiming to help ordinary users easily participate in the Berachain ecosystem and seize early benefits through a one-stop babysitting service.

Can this Vault product become a "fast track" for retail investors to participate in Berachain? This article will start from the emerging ecological needs represented by Berachain, combined with the core design of StakeStone Berachain Vault, to explore the potential and value of this product in lowering barriers and optimizing yield management.

Berachain: The "Flywheel" and "High Wall" of the POL Mechanism

When talking about Berachain, one cannot ignore its core innovation, the Proof-of-Liquidity (POL) mechanism, which states that users must provide liquidity to specific liquidity pools to earn corresponding BGT (a governance token that can be converted into BERA) rewards. The liquidity pools that can receive more BGT emissions are determined by votes from validator nodes delegated by BGT holders.

Does this sound familiar? If we replace Berachain with Curve, the POL mechanism with the ve model, and BGT with CRV, the operational logic of the two is remarkably similar------on Curve, CRV holders obtain veCRV with voting weight through different locking periods. The veCRV with voting weight can then be used to vote on which trading pairs can receive subsequent CRV token emissions. In other words, Berachain can be simply understood as a "public chain version of Curve," or a public chain operating based on the ve model:

Under the POL mechanism, the voting of validator nodes directly affects the emission and distribution of BGT, which will undoubtedly greatly stimulate ecological projects to actively create various liquidity incentive programs to compete for more BGT emissions, forming an ecosystem similar to "bribery" on Curve.

However, Berachain has deeply integrated this logic into the underlying architecture of the chain, creating a highly collaborative "community of interests" among users, validator nodes, and DApps:

Ideally, the success or failure of validator nodes and DApps aligns their interests; the former is motivated to allocate more BGT emissions to DApps with high trading volumes and strong activity, while DApps will attract more users to participate in liquidity pools by increasing incentives for LP users, resulting in more substantial returns from these high-volume pools.

As more users flock to liquidity pools due to high returns, the governance support and liquidity scale of DApps further increase, thereby competing for more BGT emission rights. This continuously expanding liquidity and governance weight not only enlarges the protocol's scale but also attracts more users and funds into the ecosystem, gradually forming a robust positive flywheel.

But new problems arise: Once the Berachain mainnet goes live, how should ordinary users determine and choose where to provide liquidity to maximize their returns?

Whether it's choosing validator nodes, ecological projects, or liquidity pools, each layer of choice requires in-depth research on dozens of options. This undoubtedly constitutes a "high wall" for participants.

In comparison to Curve, the Berachain ecosystem undoubtedly also needs a whole ecosystem of projects to support users, among which the voting delegation platform Convex and the one-stop yield platform Yearn.finance will be indispensable components to address the core pain points of ordinary users on Berachain.

Typical user dilemmas include:

• Information Asymmetry: The yield situation and governance weight distribution of different DApps/liquidity pools are dynamically changing, requiring retail investors to invest time and effort to track and study each project's dynamics to make optimal choices;
• Scale Effect Disadvantage: Individual retail investors contribute relatively small liquidity, making it difficult to compete with large capital projects or professional players in the process of competing for emission rights, thus making it hard to achieve scale effects through individual participation;
• Operational Complexity: Managing liquidity, participating in governance voting, and optimizing yields simultaneously presents a high barrier for ordinary users; a slight misstep could lead to missed opportunities, such as failing to adjust voting direction or reallocate liquidity in time, which could directly impact overall returns;

In light of this demand, the full-chain liquidity asset protocol StakeStone has launched the innovative product Berachain Vault, specifically designed for the Berachain ecosystem, becoming the earliest one-stop Berachain mining service platform officially recommended by Berachain.

StakeStone Berachain Vault: One Deposit, Two Networks, Multiple Returns

In the context of DeFi, a "Vault" is an automated investment strategy aimed at simplifying the user experience; users only need to deposit assets, and the protocol will automatically execute a series of financial transactions to maximize returns through various strategy combinations. However, traditional Vault products, while providing convenient asset management, have significant limitations in yield appreciation and liquidity release.

On one hand, the assets users deposit are typically non-yielding native assets like ETH, which, despite having high market recognition, do not generate direct returns; on the other hand, liquidity deposited into the Vault is often locked, making it difficult to utilize further, thus limiting users' investment flexibility.

As stETH, pufETH, rzETH, and other yield-generating assets gradually become mainstream, Vault products have evolved to support these assets with embedded yield logic, allowing them to capture not only basic returns from PoS staking but also further enhance returns through liquidity mining, lending, and other combined strategies to maximize user investment returns.

Now, extending this thought, if the liquidity locked in the Vault could also be released in the form of Vault LP Tokens and allowed to participate in various DeFi yield scenarios, wouldn't that maximize the layering of returns?

Taking the newly launched Berachain StakeStone Vault as an example, it is such an innovative product that not only continues the asset management function of Vaults but also opens up all dimensions of multiple returns for users through the innovation of Vault + Vault LP Token:

• Encapsulating Berachain Vault's LP assets as yield-generating assets: Allowing users who want to participate in the Berachain ecosystem to deposit ETH, STONE, and other LP assets (yield-generating or non-yield-generating). After receiving the assets, the Vault will maximize returns for LP assets targeted at specific liquidity scenarios through liquidity mining and governance yield strategies under the POL mechanism, and based on this, encapsulate them into yield-generating Vault LP Tokens (like beraSTONE).
• Further combining the encapsulated yield-generating assets for DeFi yield combinations: Subsequently, the Vault LP Tokens can be used in various mature DeFi infrastructures on Ethereum to create a unique parallel universe structure, where the sources of yield are on Berachain and other chains, while the yield-generating activities occur on the Ethereum mainnet. This structure takes advantage of both the high yields of the new chain and the abundant funds and mature DeFi infrastructure of the Ethereum mainnet, thus having the potential to become a new paradigm in the DeFi market.

In StakeStone's design mechanism, the encapsulated Vault LP Tokens possess top-tier composability, just like ETH------they can participate in Uniswap liquidity mining, Aave/Morpho collateral lending, and even be split into PT and YT in Pendle, further amplifying returns.

So, if we delve deeper, the true innovation of the StakeStone Berachain Vault lies in linking an asset through secondary utilization and deep release, connecting the emerging ecosystem of Berachain with the mature network of Ethereum (or other EVM chains), forming a "multi-layered return" flywheel effect:

• First Layer of Returns, PoS Returns from Underlying Yield-Generating Assets: Users can deposit ETH to obtain STONE and other full-chain liquidity assets, covering the underlying PoS returns of ETH;
• Second Layer of Returns, POL Returns from the Berachain Ecosystem: STONE deposited into the StakeStone Berachain Vault earns liquidity mining returns under the POL mechanism in the Berachain ecosystem, and this layer of returns is further encapsulated into Vault LP Tokens (like beraSTONE);
• Third Layer of Returns, Diversified DeFi Strategy Returns on Ethereum: The Vault LP Tokens in the form of beraSTONE can again generate returns on Ethereum through leverage, liquidity mining, and other strategies;

Thus, by combining the ecological characteristics of Berachain with the diverse on-chain yield scenarios of Ethereum, the StakeStone Berachain Vault achieves multiple reuses of an asset from emerging markets to mature ecosystems, maximizing returns while thoroughly releasing liquidity potential, significantly enhancing the utilization efficiency of a single asset and bringing higher capital liquidity and market recognition to the Berachain ecosystem.

Through these two assets, users can not only obtain substantial BERA returns under the Berachain Proof of Liquidity (PoL) mechanism but also achieve yield stacking in mature ecosystems like the Ethereum mainnet. More importantly, users can also lock in future governance tokens STO by participating in the StakeStone Vault:

During the event, users holding or using beraSTONE and beraSBTC can participate in a reward pool of a total of 15 million STOs, which includes 8.25 million Bera-Wave points rewards (distributed in points, settled at TGE) and an additional 4 million STO rewards during the Boyco event; additionally, the first 10,000 early bird users (depositing ≥0.042 ETH or ≥0.0015 BTC) will receive an extra incentive of 150 STO each.

So how can one earn Bera-Wave points? It mainly consists of basic point rules + DeFi acceleration rewards (the referral reward mechanism can be seen in the specific process below):

1. Basic Point Rules:

• Holding 1 beraSTONE earns 1 point per hour;
• Holding 1 beraSBTC earns 25 points per hour (points accumulate hourly, no additional actions required);

2. DeFi Acceleration Rewards------Depositing beraSTONE or beraSBTC into the following DeFi protocols can significantly increase the speed of point accumulation:

• Providing liquidity on Uniswap: 5 times the basic points reward.
• Precise liquidity range (±0.1%): When the liquidity range remains within the current price ±0.1%, a 6 times basic points reward can be earned (requires continuous activity).
• More protocol support: Future protocols like Pendle and Morpho will be launched, providing more reward opportunities to further enhance point earnings.

Overall, these rewards cover Berachain PoL, Boyco protocol, and future ecological returns, as well as StakeStone's future token airdrop, making it a "one fish, multiple eats," providing users with comprehensive participation opportunities in Berachain & StakeStone, and the specific operational process is quite simple:

1. Enter the StakeStone Vault interface and click "Deposit" to access the StakeStone Berachain Vault interface.

1. Connect your wallet in the upper right corner.

1. Enter the invitation code to receive a 10% points boost reward (you can fill in 91852), share your personal invitation code on Twitter to earn more referral rewards (20%).

1. Deposit ETH/STONE/WETH to receive beraSTONE; deposit SBTC/WBTC/cbBTC/BTCB to receive beraSBTC (not yet opened), holding beraSTONE or beraSBTC can earn points.

• Only Ethereum mainnet assets are acceptable; if not, please click "Switch Network" to switch to the Ethereum mainnet;
• Select the asset to deposit on the left, enter the amount, and then click the "Deposit" button to confirm in your wallet;

1. Participate in DeFi protocols to earn more rewards.

It is worth noting that the Berachain mainnet has not yet launched, so the initial operation of the StakeStone Berachain Vault will mainly focus on the Berachain pre-deposit protocol Boyco. The pre-deposit funds deployed in Boyco can not only earn direct BERA token rewards during the pre-deposit period but will also be 1:1 mapped to the mainnet, laying the foundation for comprehensive access to the future Berachain mainnet.

Once the Berachain mainnet goes live, the core function of the Vault will switch to the POL system of the Berachain mainnet, providing users with one-stop Berachain liquidity mining services.

This gradual deployment path not only reduces technical and operational risks but also provides early users with the opportunity to participate in the liquidity construction of the Berachain ecosystem, allowing users to seize liquidity opportunities before the Berachain mainnet goes live and capture early liquidity mining returns in the Boyco protocol.

Will StakeStone Vault be a new solution for emerging on-chain ecosystems?

From the perspective of Berachain alone, the StakeStone Berachain Vault provides the earliest pre-deposit channel in the market, making it the preferred tool for seizing benefits and maximizing returns.

Especially during this critical window period when the Berachain mainnet is about to launch and the mining mechanism is about to start, it can help ordinary users lock in early benefits of the new ecosystem without facing complex technical operations, allowing retail investors to fairly participate in the ecological returns of Berachain.

However, from a broader perspective of the emerging blockchain market, the significance of this product goes far beyond that; it not only provides Berachain with an innovative liquidity management solution but also offers an entirely new development approach for the entire emerging ecosystem------encapsulating the returns of emerging ecosystems as yield-generating assets and connecting them with more mature mainnet infrastructures, thus becoming an important channel for cross-ecosystem liquidity and yield management.

This mechanism is particularly suitable for emerging markets like Berachain and Movement, as they often face challenges such as insufficient liquidity and incomplete infrastructure during cold starts or early ecological development. The Vault products previously launched by StakeStone in collaboration with Plume have preliminarily validated the feasibility of this model, and the StakeStone Berachain Vault can be seen as a further deepening of this model.

Its core value lies in allowing a user's asset to be reused across multiple ecosystems, maximizing returns while releasing liquidity potential:

• Lowering the participation threshold for emerging ecosystems: Users can seize ecological benefits through the Vault without complex operations, enabling more people to efficiently participate in local yield capture in ecosystems like Berachain, thus achieving broader user coverage;
• Enhancing the attractiveness of emerging ecosystem assets: By transforming traditionally locked assets into yield-generating assets on the Ethereum mainnet through the Vault LP Token encapsulation mechanism, not only is the asset utilization efficiency improved, but the attractiveness of emerging ecosystem assets is also enhanced;
• Connecting mature networks to facilitate value flow: The yield-generating assets (beraSTONE) encapsulated by the Vault can seamlessly integrate into mature financial infrastructures like the Ethereum mainnet, further amplifying asset returns while allowing the Berachain ecosystem to establish deeper collaborative relationships with the global DeFi market;

This means that the StakeStone Vault product can not only capture local yields of emerging ecosystems but also, by encapsulating LP and other assets as yield-generating assets, endow them with higher-dimensional financial attributes, allowing them to access more abundant and mature liquidity markets like Ethereum in a structured product form, thereby enhancing capital efficiency.

The complexity of Berachain's POL mechanism and the asset management needs at the initial stage make it the best testing ground for the StakeStone Vault model. The Vault mechanism not only effectively addresses the liquidity bottleneck during Berachain's cold start phase but also injects more application scenarios and yield paths into its ecological assets:

On one hand, the automated strategies within the Vault help users efficiently capture local yields from liquidity mining, governance rewards, etc.; on the other hand, the encapsulated yield-generating assets can participate in multi-layered yield scenarios in more mature ecosystems, such as liquidity mining on Uniswap, collateral lending on Aave, and even yield splitting on Pendle.

This mechanism not only enhances the compounding ability of asset returns but also promotes the acceptance and recognition of emerging ecosystems like Berachain. As more emerging ecosystems arise, users' demands for asset returns and capital efficiency in these ecosystems will undoubtedly become increasingly complex, indicating that the innovative mechanism of StakeStone Vault actually provides a dynamically adaptive asset management approach, enabling it to develop different asset types for yield stacking and secondary utilization based on any emerging ecosystem, further enhancing investment returns.

In this framework, the StakeStone Vault is not only an efficient asset management tool but also an important bridge connecting emerging ecosystems with mainstream blockchain ecosystems.

Conclusion

Whether in traditional finance or the DeFi world, enhancing capital efficiency has always been the ultimate pursuit of all players.

For on-chain yield products, how to simply and safely maximize returns and make every dollar work at its best can also be seen as the eternal "muse" of the market. From this perspective, the StakeStone Berachain Vault and the product structure behind StakeStone Vault actually provide an interesting new paradigm for emerging public chains:

By using the Vault, which embeds multiple yield paths as a bridge, it simplifies user participation thresholds and enhances the attraction of external funds while packaging the yields within the ecosystem into a liquid yield-generating asset, thus achieving a seamless connection between local yield opportunities and the mainstream DeFi market on major chains, exploring a more ideal path for the startup and long-term growth of the entire emerging ecosystem.

In the future, whether this model can become a universal solution for emerging ecosystems or even grow into a multi-billion dollar narrative in on-chain finance remains to be seen, but the vision and practice of the StakeStone Berachain Vault may be one of the best paths for us to approach the answer.