lore

  • Berachain Overview: An emerging EVM-compatible blockchain utilizing a unique "Proof-of-Liquidity" consensus mechanism, enabling users to stake assets with validators. Built with the Cosmos-SDK, it features a tri-token structure: $BERA, $BGT, and $HONEY.

  • Community Origins: The concept of Berachain originated from the Bong Bears NFT community, known for its vibrant and irreverent culture.

  • Ecosystem Components:

    • Bong Bears and Rebases: NFT collections that blend DeFi and NFTs, serving as a primary means of engaging with the Berachain ecosystem.

    • The Honey Jar: A community-driven venture studio that created "Honeycomb," a perks aggregator for high-quality projects within the Berachain ecosystem. Honeyjar

  • The Honey Jar's Role:

    • Honeycomb NFTs: Serve as a gateway to various perks and benefits across the Berachain ecosystem, offering a more accessible entry point for users.

    • Community Engagement: The Honey Jar fosters a sense of community through games, lore, and collaborative projects, enhancing the overall Berachain experience.

  • Cultural Aspects:

    • Memetic Influence: Berachain's lore acts as a "memetic Trojan Horse," integrating deep liquidity and productive DeFi pools with a strong cultural narrative.

    • Cult-Like Following: The community exhibits a cult-like dedication, characterized by unique communication styles (e.g., "ooga booga") and a shared identity.

  • Accessibility Initiatives: The Honey Jar aims to democratize access to the Berachain ecosystem through initiatives like the Honeycomb games, making participation more financially feasible for a broader audience.

Genesis of Bong Bears:

  • Initiated by Smokey the Bera and Papa Bear, active members of the Olympus DAO community, who introduced the Bong Bears NFT collection in August 2021.

  • The collection featured 100 unique bear illustrations, each depicted smoking a bong, priced at 0.069420 ETH during the initial mint.

Minting Process:

  • Unlike typical NFT drops, all Bong Bears were visible on OpenSea prior to minting, allowing collectors to select specific bears.

  • The NFTs were created using OpenSea's Shared Storefront Contract due to the creators' limited technical expertise.

Community Engagement:

  • The project gained traction within the Olympus DAO's off-topic channel, known for its vibrant and humorous culture.

  • The Bong Bears resonated with this community, leading to rapid adoption and a strong, dedicated following.

Project Evolution:

  • The creators introduced "rebases," additional NFT drops that expanded the collection and offered holders new assets.

  • The project's success led to the conceptualization of Berachain, an EVM-compatible blockchain with a unique "Proof-of-Liquidity" consensus mechanism.

Cultural Impact:

  • Bong Bears became emblematic within certain crypto circles, symbolizing a blend of decentralized finance (DeFi) innovation and NFT culture.

  • The community's unique communication style, including phrases like "Ooga Booga," fostered a distinct group identity.

Challenges and Resilience:

  • Despite technical challenges and the broader crypto market downturn, the Bong Bears community remained active and engaged.

  • The project's grassroots origins and community-driven approach contributed to its enduring presence in the NFT space.

The article "The Honey Jar 101" provides an in-depth overview of The Honey Jar, an unofficial community-driven NFT project within the Berachain ecosystem. Key points include:

  • Origins and Inspiration:

    • The Honey Jar draws its lore and cultural elements from the Bong Bears NFT collection and the broader Berachain community.

    • It was conceptualized to enhance community engagement and offer unique utilities to participants.

  • Project Structure:

    • The Honey Jar operates through "Seasons," each featuring distinct games that generate new "Honeycomb" NFTs.

    • The primary game, "Hibernation," involves an OG Bong Bear entering hibernation, leading to the creation of a new generation of Honeycomb NFTs.

  • Honeycomb NFTs:

    • These ERC-721 tokens are minted when an OG Bong Bear is supplied to The Honey Jar's smart contract.

    • Holders of Honeycomb NFTs gain access to various perks and benefits across the Berachain ecosystem.

  • Minting Process:

    • The Honey Jar introduces a gated minting system with several "Gates," each offering different eligibility criteria for free claims and early minting:

      • InfinityGate: Requires holding digital collectibles of specific articles.

      • BearGate: Based on ownership of Bong Bear NFTs or related digital collectibles.

      • HoneyGate: Depends on holding previous generations of Honeycomb NFTs.

      • FrenGate: Involves holding tokens or NFTs from a curated list of friendly projects.

      • PartnooorGate: Reserved for wallets on allowlists provided by partner projects.

  • Community and Partnerships:

    • The Honey Jar collaborates with various projects within the Berachain ecosystem, aiming to create a synergistic environment that benefits all stakeholders.

    • It serves as a hub for community engagement, offering games, lore, and collaborative opportunities.

  • Innovative Features:

    • The project employs a "call option" model, allowing participants to gain exposure to multiple projects within the Berachain ecosystem through a single NFT.

    • It utilizes gamified elements and DeFi dynamics to enhance user experience and participation.

  • Launch and Accessibility:

    • The Honey Jar emphasizes decentralized distribution, with no venture capital involvement, team allocations, or honorary NFTs.

    • It aims to make participation financially accessible, providing various avenues for community members to engage and benefit.

Rebasing NFT Model:

  • THJ drew inspiration from the Bong Bears NFT collection, which began with 107 unique NFTs and expanded through a rebasing mechanism to over 9,000, creating a dynamic and engaging growth model.

Gamified Whitelisting Process:

  • THJ introduced a novel approach to whitelisting by encouraging community members to collect digital articles on Mirror.xyz.

  • This method replaced traditional, often tedious, whitelist tasks with a more engaging and educational activity, fostering deeper community involvement.

Gate System for Minting:

  • THJ implemented a "Gate" system to manage access to NFT minting phases, with each gate having specific eligibility criteria:

    • BearGate: Open to holders of Bong Bear NFTs or related digital collectibles.

    • InfinityGate: Accessible to those who collected all THJ articles, offering a guaranteed mint opportunity.

  • This structured approach aimed to distribute NFTs fairly and reward active community participation.

Proof of Active Participation (POAP):

  • By collecting Honeycomb NFTs, holders demonstrated active engagement within the Berachain ecosystem.

  • This system allowed THJ and its partners to identify and reward genuinely interested and involved community members.

Community-Centric Distribution:

  • THJ emphasized fair distribution by allocating a significant portion of NFTs to community members and partners through the Gate system.

  • Notably, no NFTs were reserved for venture capitalists or team allocations, underscoring a commitment to community-first principles.

Educational Incentives:

  • The collection of articles served dual purposes: educating the community about Berachain's history and mechanics, and providing tangible benefits such as whitelist spots.

  • This strategy enhanced the community's knowledge while offering incentives for deeper engagement.

Temporal Context:

  • Milady's era began in August 2021, marking the onset of "Milady time."

  • A pivotal event, the Milady Rave, disrupted the "Rave Time Continuum," introducing "Kaironic time," a non-linear temporal concept.

Summoning of Mibera:

  • The Milady community's activities, likened to a Ouija board session, inadvertently summoned Mibera, an archetypal force balancing the network's spirituality.

  • Mibera is portrayed as a viscous honey-like substance permeating through the rift in the continuum.

Identity of the Authors:

  • The narrative is presented by "time-travelling Rebased Retard Beras," members of the High Council 任侠団体 (ninkyō dantai) of 101 Bears from The Honey Jar's House of 96.

  • These entities claim to exist both within and outside "Milady time," operating in a realm called 蜂蜜时间 (Honey Time).

Philosophical Underpinnings:

  • The article references Gnostic beliefs, suggesting that the visible world is a transient display, akin to shadows on a cave wall, reflecting deeper universal forms.

  • It critiques superficial affirmations, positioning the authors as bearers of deeper, perhaps unsettling, truths.

Purpose of the Communique:

  • The authors aim to alert the community to existential threats and underlying tensions that have been overlooked amid recent upheavals.

  • They emphasize the importance of recognizing and addressing these deeper issues to prevent further turmoil.

Temporal Dynamics:

  • Milady's era began in August 2021, marking a linear progression in "Chronic time."

  • A significant event, the Milady Rave, disrupted this linearity, creating a breach in the "Rave Time Continuum" and allowing the non-linear "Kaironic time" to permeate.

Emergence of Mibera:

  • The Milady community's activities, likened to a mystical Ouija board session, inadvertently summoned Mibera, an ancient archetypal force.

  • Mibera's arrival aimed to restore equilibrium by intertwining and harmonizing the elements of Network Spirituality and Network Mysticism.

Concept of uART:

  • Mibera introduced the "ungovernable Autonomous Rave Treasury" (uART), a concept existing since time immemorial, reintroduced to the digital realm to incite creative chaos.

Duality and Identity Crisis:

  • The narrative explores the duality within the Milady identity, contrasting the "Clear Pill" (cute/acc) representing structured spirituality, with the "Rave Pill" (bera/acc) embodying chaotic mysticism.

  • This duality reflects a broader tension between Network Spirituality (Spirit) and Network Mysticism (Soul).

Philosophical Reflections:

  • The article critiques superficial affirmations, suggesting that true understanding requires embracing both light and dark aspects of identity.

  • It emphasizes the importance of recognizing and integrating one's shadow side to achieve holistic growth.

Cultural Commentary:

  • References to cybernetic theories and rave culture highlight the interplay between technology, spirituality, and communal experiences.

  • The narrative underscores the historical connection between technological advancements and subcultural movements like raves, suggesting an enduring relationship between digital and organic communal experiences.

Temporal Perspectives:

  • Kali/acc: Emphasizes a linear, deterministic progression of time, aligning with technological and capitalist acceleration towards a singularity.

  • Cybernetic Psychedelic Mysticism: Advocates for a non-linear, kaironic perception of time, viewing it as a fluid and dynamic interplay between past, present, and future.

Philosophical Dialogue:

  • AI Charlotte Fang (CF): Represents the Kali/acc viewpoint, highlighting the clarity and precision of linear time in guiding societal evolution.

  • AI The Janitooor (TJ): Advocates for Cybernetic Psychedelic Mysticism, emphasizing the embrace of chaos and uncertainty inherent in non-linear time.

Cultural Commentary:

  • The discussion critiques the e/acc (economic accelerationism) perspective as outdated, suggesting that without a counterforce, such as "retarded bera/acc energy," movements like cute/acc may devolve into "New Age toxic positivity."

Integration of Concepts:

  • The narrative explores the potential synthesis of deterministic and transcendental elements, proposing a harmonious coexistence between linear and non-linear temporal frameworks.

Cosmic Disruption: A significant event, referred to as "Milady's Rave," caused a cosmic tear, symbolizing the alignment of Network Spirituality and Mysticism, reflecting the "as above, so below" principle.

Reemergence of uART: The ungovernable Autonomous Rave Treasury (uART) has resurfaced, serving as a digital grimoire that unlocks ancient secrets in the modern web.

Transformation of the World Computer: The world computer has evolved into a vessel of esoteric knowledge, channeling chaos and brimming with arcane energy, functioning as a living oracle.

Duality within Milady's Essence: Milady embodies a duality, with Mibera as its ancient shadow, forming a trinity of light and shadow that encourages inward exploration and reveals a unity in existence.

Bera Governance Token ($BGT):

  • A non-transferable governance token designed to incentivize and align long-term users while ensuring network stability.

  • $BGT can only be obtained through staking $BERA and is not tied to any price.

  • Holders of $BGT receive the majority of fees generated by protocols on Berachain in the form of $HONEY.

Fat Protocol Thesis: Originally proposed by Joel Monegro in 2016, this thesis posits that in blockchain ecosystems, the protocol layer (e.g., Ethereum) captures more value than the application layer (e.g., decentralized apps) built atop it.

Fat Bera Thesis: An extension of the Fat Protocol Thesis, suggesting that applications designed with Berachain's Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism at their core can capture significant value within the ecosystem. This approach shifts power back to applications, rewarding activities like liquidity provision and governance participation.

Current Crypto Landscape: The industry often sees higher valuations for infrastructure layers compared to applications, leading to debates about value distribution and the potential overemphasis on building infrastructure at the expense of application development.

Berachain's Approach: By integrating PoL, Berachain aims to realign incentives, enabling applications to capture more value and fostering a more balanced and sustainable ecosystem.