Berachain Founder Addresses Refund Report Amid Series B Investment Concerns

According to Cointelegraph, the founder of Berachain has refuted claims from a recent report suggesting that one of its lead Series B investors was granted a refund option of $25 million. The founder described the report as both "incomplete" and "inaccurate." The report, published by Unchained, indicated that Berachain had given Brevan Howard’s crypto-focused fund, Nova Digital, a one-year right to reclaim its $25 million investment in Berachain’s Series B round by April 2024. A side letter signed by Berachain general counsel Jonathan Ip and Nova director Carol Reynolds reportedly stated that Nova could recoup "some or all" of its investment within "twelve months following" Berachain’s token generation event (TGE). Berachain’s TGE, or token mint, occurred on February 6, which means Nova could potentially request a refund until February 6, 2026. Smokey The Bera, the anonymous founder of Berachain, emphasized that Brevan Howard was given the same terms as other investors. Smokey stated that Brevan Howard co-led the Series B fundraising a year ago through their Abu Dhabi office, using Nova, a new liquid-only vehicle, under the same conditions as all other investors. Nova had approached Berachain to lead the round months before this. Smokey further explained that Nova requested a provision to safeguard against a scenario where Berachain failed to conduct a TGE and get listed. In such a case, the locked Berachain (BERA) tokens Nova purchased would "not be an eligible investment via Nova’s liquid strategy." To address this, Berachain entered into a side letter and committed Nova to additional commercial arrangements, including an agreement to provide liquidity on the network, which was only feasible upon launch. Smokey clarified that the letter was not intended to close the deal with a party who otherwise would not have been interested, nor to prevent post-launch losses, adding that such arrangements generally have precedent. Smokey also highlighted that Nova is one of the largest tokenholders of Berachain and serves as a liquidity provider, holding both locked BERA acquired in the blockchain’s Series B and additional BERA purchased on the open market. Despite operating a liquid fund in a challenging alt environment, Nova has increased its BERA exposure over time. Smokey and the Berachain Foundation were contacted for comment via X, while Brevan Howard did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The BERA token has seen a significant decline, down 93% from its peak of $14.83 in February, currently trading at $1.05, up 3.2% on the day, according to CoinGecko.