What Infrared Finance does

Infrared Finance is a DeFi infrastructure protocol built on Berachain's EVM-compatible Layer 1 that packages Berachain's Proof of Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism into accessible liquid products. Founded in January 2024 as one of five inaugural projects in the Berachain Foundation's Build-A-Bera incubator program, Infrared was the first PoL staking protocol on Berachain and became the largest BGT delegate on the Berachain testnet. It serves three primary customer segments: DeFi users and liquidity providers seeking to earn BGT emissions on Berachain's native DEX, BERA holders looking for liquid staking exposure, and DeFi protocols on Berachain that need staking infrastructure, BGT-emissions access, or protocol-owned liquidity (POL) building blocks.

The product suite centers on iBGT (a 1:1 liquid wrapper for the non-transferable, soulbound BGT governance token), iBERA (an auto-compounding liquid-staking token for BERA backed 1:1 by staked BERA), PoL Vaults that aggregate BGT-earning liquidity, a distributed validator infrastructure offering with MEV-extraction tooling, the IR governance/utility token, Staked IR (sIR) for distributing protocol revenue to holders, and a BGT Dutch Auction mechanism that creates a market-driven process for protocols to acquire BGT emissions. Underlying technology combines purpose-built smart contracts (audited and battle-tested through extensive testnet deployment), five oracle price-feed integrations (Chainsight, Chronicle, eOracle, Pyth, RedStone), and public developer documentation for smart-contract APIs, with validator operations requiring a 69,420 BERA bond per node in V2.

The business model is a multi-stream protocol-fee model with zero deposit or withdrawal fees, generating revenue from minimal performance fees on vault yields, bribe revenue from protocols that pay to influence BGT emission direction, and Dutch auction proceeds. Distribution is entirely permissionless and product-led through the infrared.finance web app and direct smart-contract interaction, supplemented by community-led growth on Discord, X, and YouTube and a bottom-of-funnel partner-integration channel spanning 30+ DeFi protocols. Institutional validation is anchored by the Greenlane Holdings validator partnership (deploying 30–50M BERA) and ~$18.5M of venture funding across a $2.5M Synergis-led seed (January 2024) and a $14M Framework Ventures-led Series A (March 2025). The protocol operates under English and Welsh governing law (legal entity: Infrared Development Inc.), with restricted jurisdictions including the US, UK, Canada, China, and OFAC-sanctioned countries.

Name

Infrared Finance

Legal name

Infrared Development Inc.

Website

https://infrared.finance

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Infrared Finance is a DeFi infrastructure protocol on Berachain that provides liquid staking products (iBGT, iBERA), Proof of Liquidity vaults, validator infrastructure, and an IR/sIR governance token, serving DeFi users, liquidity providers, and protocols seeking to capture yields within Berachain's Proof of Liquidity ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

DeFi Liquid Staking Infrastructure

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (5232)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Yield Aggregators & Strategy Vaults (FSADAMAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Staking, Restaking & Liquid Staking Finance (LST/LRT, validator markets) (FSAPAEAH), Yield, Vaults & Asset Management (vault strategies, robo-vaults, structured yield) (FSAPAEAG), Lending Protocol Infrastructure (Oracles, Rate Models, Vaults) (FSADAFAN)

Keywords

• Liquid staking protocol
• Proof of liquidity
• DeFi infrastructure
• Validator infrastructure
• Liquid staking tokens

Headquarters

HQ city

North York

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Performance Fees: Infrared charges minimal performance fees on yields earned through its PoL vaults and liquid staking products. These fees are distributed among IR token holders. The protocol imposes no deposit or withdrawal fees, making it accessible for users.
2. Bribe Revenue from BGT Vote Incentives: Protocols pay bribes to Infrared validators to influence BGT emission direction. These bribe revenues can be shared with IR token holders and staked iBGT holders.
3. Dutch Auction Fees: Revenue generated from the Dutch auction mechanism for BGT emissions, where protocols bid using IR tokens to secure BGT emissions allocations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Infrared Finance operates a Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) staking protocol on Berachain that issues liquid wrappers for BGT (iBGT) and BERA (iBERA), runs PoL vaults that route deposits to BGT-earning pools, operates a Berachain validator set, and runs a Dutch auction for BGT emissions. Users deposit assets to receive liquid tokens that can be used across DeFi while still earning PoL/staking rewards, and protocols can stake BGT, bid in the Dutch auction, or deploy validator infrastructure.

Product overview

Infrared Finance is a modular DeFi infrastructure protocol built on Berachain that provides liquid staking and yield optimization products for the Proof of Liquidity (PoL) ecosystem. The core product suite consists of iBGT (liquid wrapper for BGT governance tokens), iBERA (liquid staking for BERA tokens), PoL Vaults (for earning BGT through liquidity provision), Staked IR (sIR) for earning yield on IR tokens, and IR governance token for protocol governance. The protocol also operates validator infrastructure that secures Berachain and enables MEV extraction. These products work together to simplify PoL participation, maximize yield capture, and enable composability across the Berachain DeFi ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• iBGT: Liquid version of Berachain Governance Token (BGT) that helps users maximize Proof of Liquidity (PoL) rewards. It is backed 1:1 by BGT and can be used across DeFi applications.
• iBERA
• IR (sIR)

Products and services

• iBGT Liquid staking token that wraps Berachain Governance Token (BGT) 1:1, enabling users to earn Proof of Liquidity rewards while keeping the position composable across Berachain DeFi (DEXs, lending markets, stablecoins). Backed 1:1 by BGT held in Infrared smart contracts.
• iBERA Liquid staking solution for BERA tokens. Users stake BERA with Infrared's validator set and receive iBERA, backed 1:1, that auto-compounds staking rewards and can be used across Berachain DeFi for lending, borrowing, and trading.
• PoL Vaults Proof-of-Liquidity vaults that simplify participation in Berachain's PoL system. Users deposit supported assets and earn iBGT rewards while the vault aggregates BGT-earning opportunities and delegates BGT to validators on the user's behalf.
• Staked IR (sIR) Staked version of the IR governance token that allows holders to earn yield sourced from Infrared protocol revenue through IR buybacks distributed to sIR holders.
• IR Token Native governance and utility token of the Infrared protocol, enabling holders to participate in protocol governance, influence BGT vote direction, bid in the BGT Dutch auction, and receive bribes from external protocols.
• Validator Infrastructure Operated network of Berachain validators that secures the network, proposes blocks, generates staking rewards, and enables MEV extraction for users and protocols. Validators stake BERA (69,420 BERA bond in V2) and provide tools for searchers to build and submit bundles efficiently.
• BGT Dutch Auction Transparent, market-driven auction mechanism where protocols bid using IR tokens to secure BGT emissions allocations. Provides protocols with a way to acquire core liquidity drivers and creates a new revenue source for the Infrared protocol.

Quantifiable outcome

• iBGT and iBERA went live on Berachain mainnet on February 6, 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Greenlane HoldingsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Greenlane partnered with Infrared to deploy up to 30 million BERA tokens into validator infrastructure on the Berachain network. Infrared operates validators on Greenlane's behalf under the protocol's rules, decentralization requirements, and validator participation framework. This partnership represents a major enterprise customer for Infrared's validator services.
• KodiakcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Kodiak, the native liquidity hub on Berachain, integrates Infrared and iBGT for treasury and community flywheels. Kodiak's liquidity flows into Infrared vaults to generate iBGT and IR emissions. Users providing liquidity to Kodiak can earn iBGT and IRED through Infrared infrastructure.
• DolomitecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Dolomite, a decentralized margin trading and money market on Berachain, integrates Infrared's iBGT and iBERA tokens. Assets deposited through Boyco migrate to Dolomite then into Infrared vaults to earn rewards.
• EtherFicoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025EtherFi's vault manager Veda manages assets deposited through Boyco, which are then allocated across pools in Kodiak and Dolomite, with receipt tokens staked in Infrared vaults for rewards.
• BeraBorrowcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2024BeraBorrow integrates iBGT as collateral for borrowing NECT, a decentralized stablecoin. This enables the first stablecoin backed by iBGT, allowing users to access liquidity while maintaining iBGT positions.
• GummicoreTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2024Gummi, a dynamic money market on Berachain, enables borrowing against iBGT. Supports up to 100x leverage on staked iBGT for degen beras, extending yield opportunities through leveraged iBGT positions.
• Berachain FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Infrared Finance is an incubation project of the Berachain Foundation, developed under the advisory of the foundation through the Build-a-Bera incubator program. As one of five pioneering projects in the first cohort, Infrared has direct access to core development team expertise and early insights into PoL architecture.
• PendlecoreTechnology or IntegrationTokenize and trade future yield. Pendle launched Infrared Points with 2x multiplier for iBGT and iBERA markets, enabling speculation on yield of both assets.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Frax Finance: DeFi protocol combining liquid staking (frxETH), stablecoin issuance, and yield products. Comparable architecture to Infrared's combination of LSTs, vaults, and a governance token.
• Convex Finance: Yield-optimization layer on top of Curve that captures boosted CRV emissions. Comparable to Infrared's relationship with BGT emissions and bribe economics, but for Curve liquidity.

Direct peers

• Rocket Pool: Decentralized liquid staking protocol (rETH) with its own validator set. Directly comparable to Infrared's iBERA model of permissionless liquid staking backed 1:1 by bonded validators.
• Marinade Finance: Liquid staking and native staking derivatives protocol on Solana with auto-compounding variants (mSOL). Closest analog to Infrared's iBERA auto-compounding index approach on a different L1.
• Lido: Largest liquid staking protocol (stETH). Comparable to Infrared as a liquid staking token issuer and validator operator, although on Ethereum rather than Berachain; serves as the canonical LST benchmark.
• Yearn Finance: Pioneer yield aggregator that routes deposits into the highest-yielding strategies. Comparable to Infrared's PoL Vaults that aggregate BGT-earning opportunities and auto-delegate.
• EigenLayer: Restaking protocol that lets staked assets secure additional services. Comparable to Infrared's value capture logic of leveraging staked/validator positions to earn additional protocol revenue.
• Pendle Finance: Yield-tokenization protocol that lets users trade future yield. Already a partner on Infrared Points (2x multiplier for iBGT/iBERA), and directly comparable in mechanism around yield stripping.
• Beefy Finance: Multichain yield optimizer that automates compounding across DeFi. Already integrated into Infrared's ecosystem; competes on yield-aggregation primitives across chains.
• StakeWise: Liquid staking protocol with a permissionless validator set and dual-token model (osETH, stETH). Closely comparable to Infrared's liquid staking + validator infrastructure + governance token combination.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/infraredfinance
• GitHubgithub.com/infrared-dao
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@InfraredFinance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors19 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Infrared Finance