Key Points:
- Infrared Finance secured $14 million in a Series A round, bringing its total funding to $18.75 million.
- The funding round was structured as a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT), with Framework Ventures leading the investment.
- Infrared is the largest protocol on Berachain, with $1.7 billion in total value locked (TVL).
Infrared Finance, a liquid staking protocol on Berachain, has raised $14 million in a Series A funding round, increasing its total capital to $18.75 million.
The round, which was structured as a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT), was led by Framework Ventures, with additional participation from Citizen X, Halo Capital, No Limit Holdings, NGC Ventures, and Selini Capital.
This latest investment follows Infrared’s previous strategic funding round in June 2024, which raised $2.25 million from Binance Labs (now YZi Labs), Hack VC, and No Limit Holdings.
Binance Labs initially contributed $1 million to that round. Additionally, Infrared had secured a $2.5 million seed round last year, bringing its total fundraising to date to $18.75 million.
Infrared began raising its Series A in November 2024 and closed the round in January 2025. While the company has not disclosed its token valuation or launch timeline, CEO Raito Bear confirmed that Infrared will no longer use the ticker IRED for its token, as previously planned.
Infrared’s Role in the Berachain Ecosystem
Infrared was incubated through the Berachain Foundation’s Build-a-Bera program and has developed two liquid staking tokens (LSTs):
- iBGT – Corresponding to Berachain’s governance token (BGT).
- iBERA – Linked to Berachain’s gas token (BERA).
With $1.7 billion in total value locked (TVL), Infrared is currently the largest protocol on Berachain, which itself holds approximately $3 billion in TVL, according to DeFiLlama.
The project generates revenue by collecting fees from various reward streams, but it does not charge fees on principal deposits.
Berachain and Market Challenges
Berachain, an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, launched its mainnet and BERA token in February 2025.
However, the project has faced criticism over insider control and supply concerns, contributing to a 57% price drop for BERA since its launch. The token is currently trading at around $6.30, reflecting broader market uncertainty.
