Launch date

Stride's stBGT will go live as soon as Berachain mainnet launches. At that time, this article will be updated with all relevant links.

Purpose

Stride’s stBGT is a liquid wrapper for BGT.

BGT is the governance token for Berachain. It is non-transferable. You can stake BGT, and you can convert BGT 1:1 to BERA at any time. But you can’t trade BGT and you can’t use it as collateral. And once you convert BGT to BERA, it is not possible to convert back to BGT.

Thus, BGT by itself is not an economic asset. All you can do is stake it.

Stride’s stBGT turns BGT into an economic asset. With stBGT, you have the optionality to:

-> Stake stBGT

-> Trade stBGT

-> Collateralize stBGT

-> Provide stBGT as a liquidity in an incentivized stBGT/BERA pool

And you can still convert stBGT 1:1 to BERA at any time.

Unlike Stride’s normal liquid staked tokens, such as stTIA and stATOM, stBGT is a liquid wrapper. Meaning that stBGT by itself does not automatically earn staking rewards, and the value of 1 stBGT does not increase relative to 1 BGT.

How to get stBGT

There are two ways to get stBGT.

First, since stBGT is transferable the easiest way to get it is to simply buy it from BEX. It is not possible to buy BGT, but you can buy stBGT.

Buy stBGT on BEX: [link coming soon]

Second, you can earn stBGT by providing liquidity on Berachain, similar to how you earn BGT. Once you’ve provided liquidity on Berachain, instead of depositing your LP tokens in a normal BGT vault, deposit them in a special Stride LP vault. By doing so, Stride will be able to collect your BGT and issue you stBGT. For each 1 BGT you earn, you will be able to claim 1 stBGT. Stride has a special vault for all major LP tokens from BEX, BEND, and BERPS.

Deposit your LP tokens in a Stride vault to earn stBGT: [link coming soon]

stBGT use-cases

1. Staking

stBGT is a liquid wrapper of BGT, and by itself does not earn staking rewards. To earn BGT’s normal staking rewards using stBGT, stake it in the Stride stBGT staking contract.

100% of staking rewards earned by Stride’s underlying staked BGT is sent to the stBGT staking contract.

There is no cost to stake or unstake stBGT and no lockup or delay for unstaking. 

Stake stBGT: [link coming soon]

2. Provide as liquidity in stBGT/BERA pool

The stBGT/BERA pool is currently being incentivized with Stride points. Provide liquidity, deposit LP tokens in a Stride stBGT vault, and you will earn points. 1M STRD airdrop to points holders in a max of 75 days, full details here. Also, this pool will soon receive BGT incentive emissions.

LP the stBGT/BERA pool: [link coming soon]

3. Collateral to borrow against

With deep liquidity in the stBGT/BERA pool, stBGT should make a promising collateral. Several lending integrations are currently being established with major Berachain DeFi protocols. Check back shortly for updates.

Integrations coming soon!

4. Trade

Given the optionality of stBGT as opposed to BGT, it can make sense to hold for short or long term exposure to the Berachain ecosystem. Buy stBGT, use it onchain, and sell when desired.

Trade stBGT: [link coming soon]

Final thoughts

In the Berachain ecosystem, BGT will likely become a scarce token. It can only be earned by providing liquidity, and users can convert it 1:1 to BERA but can never convert back. Over time, the ratio of BERA : BGT in the ecosystem will continually grow.

Liquid wrappers for BGT, like Stride's stBGT, will likely become even more scarce than BGT! This is because you will only be able to create BGT liquid wrappers by staking LP tokens in special vaults and receiving fresh BGT as liquid wrapped BGT. As it is non-transferable, BGT cannot be liquid wrapped once it has been earned - it can only be liquid wrapped when emitted.

Thus, the scarcity of Berachain tokens will probably look like this: HONEY -> BERA -> BGT -> liquid wrapped BGT.

Food for thought as you're providing liquidity on Berachain.