> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.berachain.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Frequently Asked Questions

> Common questions about Berachain.

## General & Network

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What do Berachain's performance metrics look like?">
    Berachain has the following properties:

    * Block time: \~2 seconds.
    * Transactions per Second (TPS): This can vary but the following should help with the number of possible transactions (Block gas limit (30m) / Average gas limit per txn) / Block time (2s) = TPS.
    * Finality: single slot finality
    * 100% EVM compatibility
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is governance?">
    Governance is the process by which the community decides what changes to make to the Berachain protocol. This includes how to upgrade the node and what parameters to set for various components on the chain.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Tokens

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What is the actual staking token of the network?">
    \$BERA is the single staking and emission token:

    * **Validator staking**: Node operators stake \$BERA to run validators, produce blocks, and secure the chain. Additional stakers can deposit \$BERA to increase a validator's block-production probability.
    * **PoL emissions**: Block rewards are emitted as \$WBERA (wrapped BERA). Validators receive a base rate; the remainder is routed through BeraChef reward allocation to Reward Vaults.
    * **\$sWBERA**: Users deposit \$BERA or \$WBERA into the Staking Vault to receive \$sWBERA, which earns yield from the Incentive Auction.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is $HONEY?">
    `$HONEY` is the native stablecoin of the Berachain ecosystem. It is a multicollateral backed
    stablecoin, and is used throughout the Berachain ecosystem.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What was $BGT?">
    It was previously used in early versions of Proof of Liquidity for governance and reward routing.
    Users who still hold \$BGT should unstake it, redeem it 1:1 for native \$BERA, and stake their
    \$BERA for \$sWBERA to participate in the current Proof of Liquidity system. See the [Berachain
    Hub](https://hub.berachain.com/) which will walk you through the process.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does it cost anything to mint or burn $HONEY?">
    To ensure stability, there is a small fee on every mint and burn of `$HONEY`. Additionally, because minting & burning requires a transaction, there will be a small gas fee in \$BERA.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Proof of Liquidity & Validators

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What is a validator?">
    A validator can refer to three things:

    1. A blockchain node that validates transactions, produces blocks, and comes to consensus with other validators in the network
    2. The entity that owns and operates the validator node
    3. The blend of points #1 and #2 that manages a portion of Proof of Liquidity & Governance votes
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why should I stake for $sWBERA?">
    \$sWBERA earns yield from the Incentive Auction. Protocols fund incentive tokens to attract
    validator reward allocation; after validator commission, the remaining incentive tokens are
    redirected to `BGTIncentiveFeeCollector`. Auction buyers pay WBERA to claim those tokens, and that
    WBERA is split pro-rata between the \$sWBERA Staking Vault and registered LST staker vaults.
    Holding \$sWBERA gives you a share of that yield without needing to manage vault positions or
    validator selection.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can validators with $BERA alone build blocks and what are the rewards?">
    Yes, validators only need to stake \$BERA within the designated min and max range of **250,000** and **10,000,000**, and once in the active set they will propose blocks. Base rate reward is distributed in \$WBERA.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## BEX & Liquidity

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What is a DEX?">
    DEX stands for Decentralized Exchange. It is a place where you can buy and sell tokens directly on the chain instead of through any one centralized service. This means that all liquidity can be seen directly on-chain, and the smart contracts themselves verifiably own it. A DEX enables you to swap tokens directly from your wallet, as well as allowing anyone to launch their own tokens and provide liquidity.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is a swap?">
    A swap is the process of exchanging one token for another. This can be thought of as a buy or a
    sell, depending on which token you're looking at. For example, if you're looking to buy \$BERA
    with `$ETH`, you would be swapping `$ETH` for \$BERA. This is essentially "selling" `$ETH` and
    "buying" \$BERA.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How much does it cost to swap?">
    Each swap has a fee that varies depending on the fee set when the pool was created. Common fees
    are 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.3% or 1% but you should always check when performing a swap to ensure you are
    okay with the fee on that pool.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is liquidity?">
    Liquidity is the term for the amount of a token available to swap. The more liquidity a token has,
    the easier it is to swap that token.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is a liquidity pool?">
    Liquidity pools are pairings of 2 or more tokens that liquidity providers deposit tokens into.
    This enables DEX users to swap between any of the tokens in the pool.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is a liquidity provider?">
    Liquidity providers deposit tokens into a liquidity pool. They earn a portion of the fees
    generated from swaps in the pool.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is APY?">
    APY stands for annual percentage yield. In the context of BEX pools, this refers to the current
    APY for a given pool. APY yield comes from fees collected on every swap made using that pool.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Once I provide liquidity on BEX, how do I earn rewards?">
    When you deposit liquidity into a BEX pool, you receive an LP token representing your share of the pool. To earn Proof of Liquidity emissions, you must take that LP token and stake it into its corresponding Reward Vault. As validators direct emissions to that vault, you will accumulate claimable rewards denominated in \$WBERA. You can claim \$WBERA directly from the vault or through the Reward Vault Helper as \$sWBERA or native BERA.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>