IR Token is launching on Gate today! An article to understand Infrared Finance's airdrop and participation methods

The community has been buzzing since early morning—Infrared Finance officially announced that the IR token will be listed for trading on Gate Exchange at 16:00 Beijing time on December 17.

As the DeFi protocol with the highest locked value in the Berachain ecosystem, the launch of Infrared Finance has attracted widespread market attention.

01 Project Background

Infrared Finance holds a central position in the Berachain ecosystem and is the DeFi protocol with the highest locked value within it.

It is not just a simple liquidity staking protocol but also the “liquidity gateway” of the Berachain ecosystem, simplifying complex liquidity proof mechanisms into user-friendly interfaces.

The protocol issues the iBGT token to solve the “soul-binding” restriction of Berachain’s native governance token BGT, enabling holders to maintain governance rights while gaining liquidity.

This innovation has allowed iBGT to capture nearly 60% of the BGT market share, making it a leading token in the field. By the time of launch, Infrared Finance’s total locked value had reached $500 million, with over 400,000 users.

02 Core Functions of IR Token

The IR token is not only the governance token of Infrared Finance but also a multifunctional ecosystem catalyst. It is designed as the core driver for protocol growth and value accumulation.

According to the official announcement, the IR token has three core functions:

Governance voting rights: Holders can stake IR tokens to receive sIR, gaining governance voting rights and directly participating in future development decisions of Infrared Finance.

Profit-sharing mechanism: A portion of protocol fees will go into the “Red Fund” for IR token buybacks, enabling profit sharing for token holders, which is significantly different from many traditional DeFi token economic models.

Protocol optimization tools: Through token issuance mechanisms, optimize the overall protocol operation efficiency and revenue models, creating a more sustainable ecosystem.

03 Airdrop Details and Eligibility

Infrared Finance’s airdrop plan is a key part of its community-driven value creation strategy. The airdrop mainly targets three types of participants:

Early community members: Users who continue to use Infrared during the points program will receive rewards.

Boyco pre-deposit activity participants: Users participating in this activity are also on the airdrop list.

Active community contributors: Including those involved in Discord interactions, user surveys, community events, testnet participation, etc.

Users can claim the airdrop in two ways: first, by pre-depositing through centralized exchanges in advance; second, by claiming on the token generation day via non-exchange channels.

Gate, as one of the three designated pre-deposit exchanges, provides users with a convenient early claim channel.

04 Important Timeline

There are several key dates for the IR token launch and airdrop claims that users should pay close attention to:

The centralized exchange pre-deposit window opened at 20:00 December 13 (UTC+8) and will close at 01:00 December 16 (UTC+8).

The IR token will officially be listed for trading on Gate and other exchanges at 16:00 December 17 (UTC+8).

All airdrop claims will be permanently closed at 08:00 January 12, 2026 (UTC+8). Unclaimed tokens after this date will be reclaimed.

It is worth noting that Binance Wallet will also host the 42nd exclusive TGE event for Infrared Finance from 16:00 to 18:00 December 17 (UTC+8), but participation requires using Alpha points.

05 How to Participate in Pre-deposit on Gate

For users wishing to pre-claim IR airdrops via Gate Exchange, the process is relatively simple:

Visit the Infrared Finance official website and initiate the pre-deposit process.

Select “Gate” as the pre-deposit platform in the exchange options.

Submit your Gate exchange user ID to complete the pre-deposit registration.

Note that the pre-deposit window is limited; users need to complete the operation within this period. As one of the designated exchanges, Gate provides a stable and reliable pre-deposit service for eligible users.

06 Market Performance and Future Outlook

As of December 17, with the IR token listed on Gate Exchange, market interest in this flagship protocol token of the Berachain ecosystem is strong. Infrared Finance, as the DeFi protocol with the highest locked value in the ecosystem, has established a solid user base and ecosystem.

The design of the IR token cleverly combines governance, value accumulation, and liquidity, driving protocol growth through a governance flywheel effect—mutually reinforcing liquidity provision, validator delegation, and yield generation.

With the development of the Berachain ecosystem, Infrared Finance’s position as its main liquidity gateway is expected to further strengthen.

Investors and users can monitor the real-time price of IR on Gate, as well as key indicators such as locked value and user growth, to assess its long-term development potential.

Future Outlook

Today at 16:00, the IR token trading page on Gate Exchange has already started flashing. The initial token price fluctuates amid market enthusiasm, with buy orders clearly outnumbering sell orders.

As more users complete airdrop claims through Gate, the liquidity of IR tokens gradually increases. In the Infrared Finance Discord community, users share their staking strategies—some choose to hold long-term for governance, while others use Gate’s convenient trading features for short-term positioning.

On the Berachain ecosystem map, this $500 million locked value project is powered by iBGT and IR as dual engines, aiming to redefine the game rules of liquidity staking. Meanwhile, the trading volume curve on Gate quietly records every market vote on this experiment.