Understanding Boyco

As Berachain approaches mainnet, protocols launching on the chain face a critical challenge: securing liquidity to operate effectively from day one. Boyco provides a straightforward solution, allowing protocols to attract liquidity transparently while giving users clear and predictable rewards.

What is Boyco?

Boyco allows protocols to negotiate liquidity deals directly with users before mainnet. This structure eliminates the uncertainty of traditional liquidity mining schemes.

In a traditional scheme, a protocol might allocate $50,000 in token rewards without capping deposits. As liquidity floods in, the rewards are spread thinner, leaving participants with smaller returns than anticipated.

Boyco fixes this by letting protocols offer fixed terms upfront. For example, a protocol can commit a certain amount of rewards for every $1,000 deposited. This clarity incentivizes participation, and makes the incentives program equally accessible for whale and non-whale beras.

Laying the foundation for mainnet

Boyco isn’t just about early liquidity—it prepares the ecosystem for the launch of Berachain’s Proof of Liquidity (PoL) mechanism, which rewards long-term collaboration between users, validators, and protocols.

Liquidity secured during Boyco provides protocols with a strong starting point, giving teams a sense of how much capital they’ll have on launch day. Once mainnet is live, these funds transition into PoL, replacing upfront incentives with sustainable, long-term rewards for productive liquidity.

Infrared’s role

Infrared is actively collaborating with Boyco participants to streamline this transition. For select partners, liquidity deposited with Boyco will flow into Infrared vaults on mainnet, ensuring users can continue earning yield without disruption while making the BGT whitelisting process easier for our partners.

Note: Not all partners will start receiving BGT (and therefore iBGT) emissions on day one of mainnet. However, they can still set up an Infrared vault. This vault deploys the necessary Berachain Rewards Vault, which must be whitelisted by Berachain governance to receive BGT emissions. While Boyco TVL will flow into Infrared vaults, this does not guarantee immediate iBGT emissions for every partner.

Why Boyco matters

Boyco addresses a real need for early liquidity while ensuring fairness and transparency. It allows protocols to secure the resources they need to succeed and gives users the opportunity to participate with confidence.

As Berachain prepares for mainnet, Boyco sets the stage for a sustainable ecosystem where liquidity fuels growth and users are rewarded for their contributions.