Despite Launching RFRV Batch 8, Berachain's TVL Drops Below $1B as Capital Leaves the Protocol

On May 20, Berachain approved RFRV Batch 8—its newest governance proposal focused on expanding Proof-of-Liquidity functionality.

May 20 saw Berachain approve RFRV Batch 8, its newest governance proposal. This batch focused on expanding Proof-of-Liquidity functionality with multiple vaults designed to improve token utility and boost user engagement. Among the most notable is the STG/HONEY vault, seeded with $5 million in liquidity by Stargate DAO. This vault allows omnichain users to earn yields on OFT-based assets, opening the door to crosschain reward opportunities.

Another addition is the QIA buy-and-burn vault. This uses protocol emissions to purchase and destroy QIA tokens from the open market, offering passive rewards to tokenholders without requiring active staking or liquidity provisioning. This deflationary design is one of Berachain’s most interesting incentive models to date.

Despite these protocol improvements, the market’s response has been largely muted.

TVL Drops Below $1B as Capital Leaves Berachain

Berachain’s total value locked (TVL) has plummeted from an early April peak of over $3.5 billion to around $900 million as of May 20, 2025. This sharp decline suggests a significant capital outflow, even as new vaults are activated.

Over a month saw nearly a 75% drop in TVL, highlighting concerns that current incentive programs may not be enough to retain long-term liquidity or ecosystem participants. Technical analysis suggests the bears are still in control, at least in the short term.

From a technical perspective, BERA/USD has remained locked within a descending channel since its sharp sell-off from the May 11 high of $4.80. As of press time, the pair is trading around $3.11, with intraday price action showing little momentum to the upside.

The relative strength index (RSI) on the 4-hour chart currently reads near 42, recovering from oversold levels reached on May 17. However, the rebound has failed to breach the neutral 50 level, indicating that bearish sentiment still dominates in the short term.

A clear rejection from the $3.20 resistance—near the upper boundary of the descending channel—suggests the market has not yet priced in the impact of the new vaults or has simply lacked the liquidity and conviction to shift sentiment.

You May Also Like: Can Berachain Token Compete with Solana and Ethereum?

Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) across multiple timeframes are stacked bearishly, with BERA still trading below the 20, 50, 100, and 200-period averages. The EMA-20 sits near $3.18, while the EMA-50 and EMA-100 are positioned at $3.37 and $3.49, respectively. The long-term EMA-200 at $3.75 remains a significant hurdle that bulls must reclaim to confirm a trend reversal.

If BERA fails to break above the $3.20 resistance in the coming days, the price could revisit the channel’s lower boundary around $2.85. A close below that level could accelerate losses toward the $2.60-$2.50 region, which acted as previous support in early May.

However, if the token manages to push above $3.20 and gains follow-through buying, it could attempt a short-term rally toward $3.50, where the EMA-100 currently resides. A successful close above that would open the door to $3.75-$3.80, aligning with the EMA-200 and a critical resistance zone.

For now, the market appears to be consolidating below resistance, and unless macro or protocol-specific catalysts drive fresh interest, price action is likely to remain muted or bearish.