What's New - Berachain

May 2026 - PoL Next

The May 2026 Proof of Liquidity Next upgrade deeply simplifies Berachain token model. BGT added friction. Two tokens, boost mechanics, and a governance layer that confused traditional allocators more than it helped. PoL Next consolidates everything into $sWBERA. All emissions become BERA. Boost and BGT are phased out. All incentives accrue into $sWBERA. One token, one yield path, one value sink. Businesses integrate once. Users don’t need to learn PoL-specific concepts. Value flows through a single, predictable rail. LST Staker Vault owners gain new powers from this upgrade. They now have a direct, pro-rata, on-chain claim on the entire incentive-auction WBERA flow via the collector split. With an approved LSTStakerVault registered with the fee collector, WBERA paid during incentive auctions is automatically split pro-rata to their vault. High-growth teams receive guaranteed, multi-month dedicated emission streams sized to their stage and plan. For a validator operator who is also a business owner or partner in an ERA cohort, this changes the model from “bid every epoch for yield” to “underwrite and finance a company with protocol capital.” It is closer to a growth-equity financing round than pure validator operations. This upgrade deployed to the network approximately 24 hours before the Fusaka upgrade.

BGT is deprecated

BGT no longer has a user-facing role in Proof of Liquidity. It no longer influences validator reward allocation weight, block rewards, or governance. The Hub UI helps users to redeem their BGT. Reward emissions are paid in WBERA. WBERA is the per-block emission token. Stakers see accrued rewards on the vault read in WBERA terms. Stakers in reward vaults can claim rewards as $sWBERA or native BERA. The default reward token is $WBERA, but a permissionless helper converts it atomically on claim so stakers receive $sWBERA or native $BERA without extra steps. Incentives, net of validator commission, are auctioned for BERA and accrue into $sWBERA. The boost curve is gone. Per-block emission splits into fixed baseRate (0.4 WBERA) to the validator’s operator and rewardRate (1.305 WBERA) to the distributor for Reward Vaults. Per-block emission no longer scales with boosted BGT. Residual BGT on existing vaults is settled automatically. Any BGT allowance left on a vault from before the upgrade is converted to WBERA on the next claim from that vault, transparently to the staker. No vault-owner action is required, no claim is missed, no balance disappears. Staking pools: adjusted to correspond to the BGT deprecation; see Staking pools — Post-BGT Deprecation. References: BGT, Reward vaults, BERA and WBERA, Partial reward claims, RewardVaultHelper claim flow, $sWBERA, Block rewards.

Deployment timeline

Timeline: These Proof of Liquidity changes deployed 24 hours before the Fusaka hardfork.

User / Actor	Expected Action
BGT holders	Redeem BGT directly or migrate through the Hub UI, following Fusaka activation (timeline)
Reward vault stakers	No action needed. Continue using eligible reward vaults. Rewards will shift to BERA and be claimable as either $BERA or $sWBERA
Vault owners	No action needed. Existing vaults do not require owner-side migration
Validators	Per-block emissions will become fixed, and boost mechanics will be removed.
Integrators	Update integrations to remove dependencies on BGT LSTs, boost dynamics, and BGT-based reward assumptions

Source code & audits

PoL Contract changes

Contracts & Interfaces Renamed

Renamed From	Renamed To
`BGTIncentiveFeeCollector`	`IncentivesCollector`
`IBGTIncentiveFeeCollector`	`IIncentivesCollector`
`BGTIncentiveFeeDeployer`	`IncentivesCollectorDeployer`

Functions

Interface added	What
`IWBERA`	New interface for WBERA (`deposit()`, `withdraw()`)

Functions Added	Location
`getMaxEmissionPerBlock()`	`IBlockRewardController`, `BlockRewardController`
`burnExceedingBalance()`	`IBlockRewardController`, `BlockRewardController`
`baseRate()`	`BlockRewardController` (was a setter; now a pure getter)
`rewardRate()`	`BlockRewardController` (was a setter; now a pure getter)
`setEmissionToken()`	`IDistributor`, `Distributor`
`emissionToken()`	`IDistributor`
`setIncentiveTokensCollector(address)`	`IRewardVaultFactory`, `RewardVaultFactory`
`incentiveTokensCollector()`	`IRewardVaultFactory`
`setSWBERA(address)`	`Distributor`
`claimAllRewards(address[], address, address)`	`IBGTIncentiveDistributor`, `Distributor`
`deposit()`	`Distributor`
`withdraw(uint256)`	`Distributor`
`initialize()` (reinitializer)	`Distributor`
`rewardToken()`	`StakingRewards`, `RewardVault`
`claim(address, address[])`	`IIncentivesCollector`, `IncentivesCollector`

claimFees(address, address[]) remains exposed on IIncentivesCollector and IncentivesCollector; it delegates to the same settlement flow as claim(address, address[]).

Functions Removed	Location
`setBaseRate(uint256)`	`IBlockRewardController`, `BlockRewardController`
`setRewardRate(uint256)`	`IBlockRewardController`, `BlockRewardController`
`setMinBoostedRewardRate(uint256)`	`IBlockRewardController`, `BlockRewardController`
`setBoostMultiplier(uint256)`	`IBlockRewardController`, `BlockRewardController`
`setRewardConvexity(int256)`	`IBlockRewardController`, `BlockRewardController`
`computeReward(uint256, uint256, uint256, int256)`	`IBlockRewardController`, `BlockRewardController`
`minBoostedRewardRate()`	`IBlockRewardController`
`boostMultiplier()`	`IBlockRewardController`
`rewardConvexity()`	`IBlockRewardController`
`setBGTIncentiveDistributor(address)`	`IRewardVaultFactory`, `RewardVaultFactory`
`setBGTIncentiveFeeRate(uint256)`	`IRewardVaultFactory`, `RewardVaultFactory`
`setBGTIncentiveFeeCollector(address)`	`IRewardVaultFactory`, `RewardVaultFactory`
`bgtIncentiveDistributor()`	`IRewardVaultFactory`
`bgtIncentiveFeeRate()`	`IRewardVaultFactory`
`bgtIncentiveFeeCollector()`	`IRewardVaultFactory`
`getIncentiveFeeAmount(uint256)`	`IRewardVaultFactory`, `RewardVaultFactory`

Function renamed from	Renamed to	Location
`getBGTIncentiveDistributor()`	`getIncentiveTokensCollector()`	`FactoryOwnable`
`getMaxBGTPerBlock()`	`getMaxEmissionPerBlock()`	`BlockRewardController` (both exist; old name deprecated)

Events

Events Added	Location
`ExceedingBalanceBurnt(uint256 amount)`	`IBlockRewardController`
`EmissionTokenSet(address indexed emissionToken)`	`IDistributor`
`IncentivesCollected(bytes pubkey, address token, uint256 rewardsEmitted, uint256 amount)`	`IRewardVault`
`IncentivesCollectionFailed(...)`	`IRewardVault`
`RewardTokenMigrated(address oldToken, address newToken)`	`IRewardVault`
`IncentiveTokensCollectorUpdated(address newAddress, address oldAddress)`	`IRewardVaultFactory`
`SWBERASet(address sWBERA)`	`Distributor`
`RewardsClaimed(uint256 amount, address receiver, address outputToken)`	`IBGTIncentiveDistributor`

Events Removed	Location
`MinBoostedRewardRateChanged(uint256, uint256)`	`IBlockRewardController`
`BoostMultiplierChanged(uint256, uint256)`	`IBlockRewardController`
`RewardConvexityChanged(uint256, uint256)`	`IBlockRewardController`
`BGTBoosterIncentivesProcessed(...)`	`IRewardVault`
`BGTBoosterIncentivesProcessFailed(...)`	`IRewardVault`
`BGTIncentiveDistributorSet(...)`	`IRewardVaultFactory`
`IncentiveFeeRateUpdated(uint256, uint256)`	`IRewardVaultFactory`
`IncentiveFeeCollectorUpdated(address, address)`	`IRewardVaultFactory`

Events Renamed	Change
`IncentivesProcessed`	`bgtEmitted` → `rewardsEmitted`
`IncentivesProcessFailed`	`bgtEmitted` → `rewardsEmitted`
`IncentiveFeeCollected` → `IncentivesCollected`	Full rename + parameter rename
`IncentiveFeeCollectionFailed` → `IncentivesCollectionFailed`	Full rename + parameter rename
`IncentiveFeeCollectorUpdated` → `IncentiveTokensCollectorUpdated`	Full rename
`IncentiveFeesClaimed` → `IncentivesClaimed`	Full rename
`IncentiveFeeTokenClaimed` → `IncentiveTokenClaimed`	Full rename

Errors

Removed (all from IPOLErrors):

ZeroPercentageWeight
InvalidIncentiveFeeRate
InvalidBaseRate
InvalidRewardRate
InvalidMinBoostedRewardRate
InvalidBoostMultiplier
InvalidRewardConvexity
NotRewardDurationManager
RewardDurationCoolDownPeriodNotPassed

GraphQL API changes

Reward vault dynamic data

Deprecated: apy, projectedApy, lastDayReceivedBGTAmount, allTimeReceivedBGTAmount, bgtCapturePercentage, bgtCapturePerBlock.
Added: apr (Float), projectedApr (Float), lastDayRewards, allTimeRewards, rewardCapturePercentage (Float!), rewardCapturePerBlock (Float!). apr and projectedApr return the same values as the deprecated apy / projectedApy; the rename is cosmetic.

Reward vault ordering (GqlRewardVaultOrderBy)

Deprecated: last24hBGTReceived, bgtCapturePercentage.
Added: apr, projectedApr, rewardCapturePercentage, activeIncentivesValueUsd, activeIncentivesRateUsd.

Validator dynamic data

Deprecated: allTimeDistributedBGTAmount, bgtCapturePercentage, bgtCapturePerBlock, boostApr (prior POL boost APR model).
Added: allTimeDistributedRewards, allTimeEarnedRewards, lastDayDistributedRewards, lastDayEarnedRewards, rewardCapturePercentage (Float!), rewardCapturePerBlock (Float!), rewardRate (String!, per-validator reward rate), commissionOnIncentives (Int!). Existing allTimeEarnedBGTAmount, lastDayDistributedBGTAmount, and lastDayEarnedBGTAmount remain without deprecation in this schema revision; prefer the new …Rewards fields for updated integrations.

Validator (GqlValidator)

Deprecated: rewardAllocationStartBlock.
Added: incentives: [GqlValidatorIncentive!]! (aggregated, per-validator), valStats: GqlValidatorStats (active-boost and staked-BERA percentages of the total). valStats is computed against a network-wide total, so select it only when you need the share-of-total figures.

Validator allocation weights (GqlValidatorRewardAllocationWeight)

Deprecated: percentageNumerator (use percentage), receivingVault.
Added: percentage (Float!, equal to percentageNumerator / 1e4).

Validator ordering (GqlValidatorOrderBy)

Added: rewardRate, commissionOnIncentives.

Global info

Deprecated: totalDistributedBGTAmount, annualizedBGTEmission, annualizedBGTInflation.
Added: totalDistributedRewards, annualizedPoLEmissions (Float!), annualizedInflation (Float!).

Reward vault snapshots

Deprecated: bgtCapturePercentage on snapshot rows.
Added: rewardCapturePercentage (Float!).

Pool sorting (GqlPoolOrderBy)

Deprecated: bgtApr.
Added: polApr.

New queries and types

Queries: polGetTopVaultDeposits(chain, vaultAddress, top); polGetSWberaVaultSnapshots(chain, range); polGetSWberaVaultMetadata(chain, resolution).
Types: GqlValidatorIncentive (per-validator aggregated incentive, incentiveRate/remainingAmount plus USD-denominated variants), GqlValidatorStats, GqlValidatorCommissionHistory, GqlValidatorInList, GqlSWberaVaultSnapshot, GqlSWberaVaultMetadata.

Removed

The GqlUserBGTBalance type (chain, user address, BGT balance breakdown) is no longer exposed.

February 2026

Staking pools released — Validator-operated liquid staking went live. Validators can deploy a pool, offer stBERA liquid shares to their community, and earn commission on Proof of Liquidity incentives that flow through their validator. Stakers deposit any amount of BERA, receive auto-compounding stBERA, and withdraw via a shared WithdrawalVault with on-chain finalization delay. Alongside the contracts, Berachain ships an example operator stack in the berachain/guides repo: a React frontend template you can fork as a staking UI, and install helpers — bash scripts and a Python smart-operator-manager CLI — that generate the cast commands, configuration, and frontend env you need to bring a pool online and operate it day-to-day. See Staking Pools Overview, Operator Guide, and Smart Contract Reference.

December 2025

Reward allocation documentation updates — Introduced automated BeraChef reward allocations for validators

October 2025

Safe integration for reward vault incentives — Added integration documentation for adding incentives to a reward vault from a Safe (formerly Gnosis Safe) multisig. $sWBERA token documentation — Added documentation, including 7-day unstaking period details and integration patterns. PoL integration updates — Updated with Incentivize Anything playground examples.

August 2025

Reward vault enhanced functionality — Two staker-facing additions:

Staking on behalf of another account — Any account can stake tokens directly for another address without that address granting delegation permission. See Staking for other accounts.
Partial reward claims — Stakers can claim a specific amount of accumulated rewards instead of the full balance. See Partial reward claims.

BRIP-0004 — Enshrine PoL — Each block automatically includes the reward distribution transaction for the previous block, removing the dependency on external bots to trigger payout. Shipped as part of the August 2025 hardfork.

July 2025

BERA staking — Launched. Earn yield on BERA via the Hub. The WBERA staker vault and incentive fee collector contracts shipped alongside; PoL incentive fees flow through the collector to BERA stakers. Reward vault rate-based emissions — Reward vault managers can configure emissions to flow at a target per-second rate; the distribution period is computed automatically from the reward amount and target rate. Validator commission cap — Validator commission on incentive tokens is capped at 20%. Existing validators with rates above 20% are automatically capped.

June 2025

Reward allocation delay — Reduced from 8,191 blocks to 500.

April 2025

PoL updates:

New maximum of 3 incentives per reward vault. See Incentives.
Block reward emissions modified in line with the targeted inflation rate of 10%. See Block rewards.
Auto-Incentivizer: fees from default cutting board BEX reward vaults automatically offer incentives.
Reward allocations limited to 30% share of emissions per reward vault. See Manage reward allocations.

January 2025

Proof of Liquidity launch — Public release of the Honey Paper and Berachain mainnet. BGT minting unlocked — Beacon Kit v1.1.0 unlocked minting of tokens towards the BGT contract.

​May 2026 - PoL Next

​BGT is deprecated

​Deployment timeline

​Source code & audits

​PoL Contract changes

​Contracts & Interfaces Renamed

​Functions

​Events

​Errors

​GraphQL API changes

​February 2026

​December 2025

​October 2025

​August 2025

​July 2025

​June 2025

​April 2025

​January 2025