In the forest of cryptocurrencies, most people are frantically chasing those wild beasts that jump and scream, trying to capture fleeting gains, while I inadvertently turned myself into a forest guardian sitting on a gold mine but forgot to bring the key.
Until last week, when I reviewed the profit curve for the second half of 2025, I suddenly realized that the veBANK voting power that had been gathering dust in my wallet for half a year could have become a digital ATM working 24/7. It feels like there’s a barrel of crude oil buried in your backyard while you’re fretting over your monthly electricity bill.
The so-called veBANK is essentially the core driving engine of the Banker protocol. If we compare the Banker protocol to a highly developed digital free trade zone, then holding BANK tokens is merely having an entry ticket, while locking it to exchange for veBANK is the parliamentary voting rights of this trade zone. As we enter the deep waters of Web3 in 2025, mere token holdings will no longer be competitive; real profits have shifted from the secondary market's speculation to governance dividends brought by governance rights.
Why is it said that missing out on the past six months is a huge loss? This starts with the monetization logic of power in the ve (Vote Escrowed) model. In the current DeFi 3.0 stage, liquidity is no longer a cheap resource, but the lifeblood that major lending protocols and decentralized exchanges compete for. To provide their liquidity pools with higher yields, other emerging protocols need to incentivize holders of veBANK to vote their governance tickets towards their pools. This is known as the bribery mechanism. During these six months, I could have been like a digital landlord, collecting rent from those projects wanting to establish themselves within the Banker ecosystem.
From a data perspective, the market in 2025 is already extremely rational. According to on-chain monitoring, the comprehensive annualized yield of veBANK has remained stable between 25% and 40% over the past six months. This includes not only the transaction fee dividends from the Banker protocol itself but also, more importantly, the bribery income from external protocols. This income is not a bubble created by rising token prices but is driven by real liquidity demand. During the time I ignored it, this income did not disappear into thin air, but was divided by those more governance-conscious hunters.
The economics of governance rights behind this is actually a profound transformation of the attributes of crypto assets. Before 2024, the tokens in our eyes were more like stocks, but by 2025, assets like veBANK are more akin to fixed assets with productive capabilities. Through the locking mechanism, BANK disappears from the market, reducing sell pressure; at the same time, the longer the locking period, the higher the voting weight, which deeply binds the long-term interests of the protocol with those of the holders. It solves a classic game theory problem: how to make selfish individuals contribute to the collective prosperity.
Looking back at my missteps, the core issue lies in thinking that still remains in the primitive stage of buying and holding. In today's interwoven network of Layer 2 and modular blockchains, capturing yields has become increasingly three-dimensional. Participating in veBANK voting is not just a click of the mouse; it is a game about the power of resource allocation. If you hold BANK but do not convert it to participate in governance with veBANK, you not only miss out on direct cash flow but also become marginalized in inflation and incentive distribution, leading to the dilution of your assets in this silence.
For those investors like me who have similar assets, I recommend immediately reviewing your governance asset balance sheet. First, assess the balance point between the locking period and yield; in the market environment of 2025, a locking period of typically one year can achieve the optimal risk-return ratio. Secondly, make good use of governance aggregator tools; these platforms can automatically help you find the highest bribery yields to target, avoiding the hassle of manual operations. Lastly, always pay attention to new partners in the Banker ecosystem, as every new protocol joining means the rent bill for veBANK holders is about to thicken.
Opportunities in the crypto market no longer exist solely in the fluctuations of candlestick charts; more often, they are hidden in seemingly complex contract rules and governance proposals. The lesson of veBANK teaches me that in the second half of Web3, the moat of knowledge is the moat of yield. If you do not participate in the formulation of rules or the distribution of power, you are destined to become just a data node in someone else's yield.
Do not let your assets depreciate in silence. In this era where digital democracy and algorithmic finance are highly integrated, every vote sparkles with the glow of money.
This article is an independent personal analysis and does not constitute investment advice.
