Nasdaq-listed Greenlane Holdings Inc. (ticker: GNLN), a distributor of premium smoking accessories and lifestyle products, revealed a $110 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction.
The funds will establish a dedicated cryptocurrency treasury focused on BERA, the native token of the Berachain blockchain. This marks the first institutional treasury strategy backed by the Berachain Foundation, positioning Greenlane as one of the largest publicly traded holders of BERA.
The raise involves the sale of Class A common stock and/or pre-funded warrants at $3.84 per share and $3.83 per pre-funded warrant. Approximately $50 million will come in cash, with the remaining $60 million in BERA tokens.
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Net proceeds will fund open-market purchases and over-the-counter (OTC) transactions to acquire BERA, making it Greenlane’s primary treasury reserve asset. This strategy aims to generate returns while enhancing BERA’s liquidity, governance participation, and ecosystem stability.
Polychain Capital is leading the placement, with participation from Blockchain.com, Kraken Ventures, North Rock Digital, CitizenX, dao5, and the Berachain Foundation. Aegis Capital Corp. acted as the exclusive placement agent.
The deal is expected to close around October 23, 2025. Greenlane’s stock will continue trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under GNLN. Ben Isenberg joins as Chief Investment Officer to lead the Berachain Treasury Strategy.
Bruce Linton former CEO of Canopy Growth appointed as Board Chairman. Billy Levy joins as Director. Isenberg highlighted BERA’s unique yield model, powered by Berachain’s Proof-of-Liquidity consensus mechanism, which derives staking rewards from network revenues rather than traditional Proof-of-Stake inflation.
He noted untapped institutional growth potential for Berachain, a Layer 1 blockchain known for its strong brand in crypto communities.
Jonathan Ip, General Counsel of the Berachain Foundation, described the move as a “key step in Berachain’s broader engagement with capital markets and institutional participants,” praising the team’s expertise in traditional finance, crypto, and retail.
GNLN shares surged 30-45% in premarket and intraday trading following the news, reflecting investor enthusiasm for Greenlane’s pivot into digital assets as a hedge against macroeconomic uncertainty.
BERA’s price rose about 8% on October 20, trading around $1.6-$1.8 support levels, with analysts eyeing resistance at $2-$4 and potential upside to $8-$10 if institutional adoption accelerates. This comes amid broader trends of altcoins like ETH, SOL, XRP, and BNB gaining traction in corporate treasuries.
Greenlane’s strategy echoes moves by companies like MicroStrategy and Tesla with Bitcoin, but focuses on an emerging DeFi ecosystem. Berachain, which raised $150 million from investors including Brevan Howard and Framework Ventures, uses Proof-of-Liquidity to incentivize liquidity provision.
Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) Mechanism
Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) is a consensus mechanism developed by the Berachain blockchain, designed to incentivize liquidity provision while securing the network.
Unlike traditional Proof-of-Stake (PoS) or Proof-of-Work (PoW), PoL aligns network security with decentralized finance (DeFi) activity by rewarding users for providing liquidity to the ecosystem.
PoL encourages participants to lock up or stake assets like BERA, Berachain’s native token in liquidity pools or other DeFi protocols on the Berachain network. This liquidity supports the ecosystem’s decentralized applications (dApps) while contributing to network security and governance.
Instead of relying solely on staking for block validation, PoL ties rewards to the economic activity generated by liquidity provision. User deposit assets (e.g., BERA or other tokens) into Berachain’s liquidity pools, such as those in its native decentralized exchange (DEX) or other DeFi protocols.
These pools facilitate trading, lending, or other financial activities, ensuring the ecosystem has sufficient liquidity for dApps to function efficiently. Berachain uses a Proof-of-Stake-based consensus, but validators are selected and rewarded based on their contribution to liquidity pools, not just staked tokens.
The more liquidity a participant provides (e.g., through BERA or paired assets), the higher their influence in the network’s validation process. Rewards are derived from network revenues, such as transaction fees, trading fees from the DEX, or other protocol-generated income, rather than inflationary token minting common in traditional PoS.
Participants earn yields based on the amount and duration of liquidity provided, creating a sustainable incentive model that aligns with DeFi activity. For example, Greenlane’s treasury strategy leverages PoL to generate returns on its BERA holdings by staking them in these pools, as noted by Chief Investment Officer Ben Isenberg.
Liquidity providers and validators can participate in Berachain’s governance, influencing protocol upgrades or fee structures. This aligns with Greenlane’s goal to enhance BERA’s ecosystem stability through active governance participation.
Unlike PoS systems that often dilute token value through inflation, PoL rewards come from real economic activity, making it more sustainable. PoL bridges DeFi and blockchain security, ensuring validators have a stake in the ecosystem’s success.
By incentivizing liquidity, PoL supports Berachain’s Layer 1 scalability, enabling high-throughput DeFi applications. Greenlane Holdings’ $110M raise to build a BERA treasury leverages PoL to generate returns on its holdings.
By staking BERA in liquidity pools, Greenlane can earn yields from Berachain’s network revenues while supporting the ecosystem’s liquidity and governance. This strategy positions Greenlane to benefit from BERA’s growth as an altcoin, especially as institutional interest in DeFi rises.
A portion of these fees is distributed to Greenlane as a reward, proportional to their liquidity contribution. Simultaneously, their stake helps secure the network, earning additional governance rights or validator rewards.
PoL’s focus on liquidity-driven rewards makes Berachain attractive for institutional players like Greenlane, as it offers a hedge against inflation and aligns with DeFi’s growth.
Greenlane plans quarterly transparency reports on holdings, performance, and governance to build trust. This development signals growing Wall Street interest in altcoin treasuries, potentially paving the way for more public firms to integrate tokens like BERA.
