Infrared Finance, a new player in the liquid staking arena, has secured investment from Binance Labs, the venture capital arm of Binance. While the exact amount remains undisclosed, this marks Binance Labs' first investment in the Berachain ecosystem.

This round was structured as a simple agreement for future tokens (SAFT), ensuring a clear and straightforward investment process. Infrared previously raised $2.5 million in a seed round earlier this year from various investors, including NGC Ventures and Tribe Capital.

The latest investment will reportedly help Infrared strengthen Berachain’s infrastructure. This includes improving security, efficiency, and reliability within the network. The goal is to provide a robust platform for users to interact with Berachain’s governance and gas tokens, BGT and BERA, respectively.

But exactly is Infrared Finance? Lets find out.

What is Infrared Finance

Infrared Finance is focused on enhancing user access to Berachain’s Proof of Liquidity (PoL) mechanism. The protocol aims to optimize the value captured within the Berachain network through user-friendly liquid staking solutions. 

Infrared’s primary mission is to offer seamless integration of liquid staking solutions. These solutions enable users to stake their assets while retaining liquidity. 

It is worth noting that Berachain's BGT token is non-transferable and non-liquid, similar to a soulbound token. The Infrared protocol is creating two liquid staking tokens - iBGT and iBERA - for Berachain's two key tokens: the governance token BGT and the gas token BERA.

Infrared is developing iBGT for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on Berachain. For Berachain validators, staked tokens earn BGT rewards and allow them to produce blocks. The Infrared platform allows validators to stake BERA to receive validator rewards while maintaining liquidity and avoiding the need to manage their own validator infrastructure.

This infrastructure sets the stage for the first native Liquidity Staking Token (LST) on Berachain, to be developed under the advisory of the Berachain Foundation through the Build-a-Bera incubator program.

Simplifying the Staking Process

Navigating Berachain and its PoL mechanism can be complex, especially for those new to decentralized finance. Infrared aims to simplify this process, making it more accessible and user-friendly. 

The platform reportedly features no deposit or withdrawal fees and offers a minimal performance fee. This would distributed among $IRED holders, Infrared’s intrinsic fee-earning token.