vechain

The announcement of ‘VeChain Renaissance’ launched a series of major upgrades for the VeChainThor protocol. From interoperability to security, tokenomics, rewards, tooling and more — the vision for these three upgrades was to deliver the highest quality Web3 environment, building on a decade of practical, real-world experience.

Following many months of intense technical work by the VeChain core developer team, we’re excited to share that Hayabusa — the second stage of the ambitious VeChain Renaissance technical roadmap — has now on mainnet, and begins its transition phase, due to end on 9th December, 2025.

Whether tokenization, luxury goods, sustainability or VeBetter apps — the VeChainThor blockchain is all about real world impact. Our bold vision is to become foundational infrastructure of the Web3 revolution, onboarding the next billion users and synchronizing people, data, digital assets, and incentives in real time.

Hayabusa is here — it’s time to unleash the future of VeChainThor!

Hayabusa: What to Know

Today, Validators began updating their node software, kicking off the process of merging Hayabusa with mainnet, or, the ‘transition phase’ — a seven day period for Validators to onboard, complete their first rewards cycle, and launch the new StarGate staking mechanics.

Once complete — from the 9th of December — users will be able to delegate any owned StarGate NFTs to Validators of their choosing, contributing to the security of the blockchain, and earning block rewards for the first time.

You can monitor the transition phase countdown, here.

To prepare yourself, you can:

Download the VeWorld wallet from app stores, or use the Chrome Extension

Send VET tokens to your VeWorld address, using exchanges, or a fiat on-ramp

Use the ‘Earn’ function in VeWorld to access StarGate and begin minting a Delegator NFT

From 9th December — delegate your Delegator NFT to a Validator

Earn block rewards!

StarGate 2.0 — Transition Period & Full Launch

Excitingly, the launch of Hayabusa on mainnet unlocks the full StarGate staking model, with the ‘Delegation’ feature now live. N.B.: You’ll need to wait until 9th December to choose your first Validator.

Hayabusa launches alongside an upgraded StarGate platform, with enhanced UI and user flows. Head over to stargate.vechain.org to check out the new platform and familiarise yourself, and start staking!

In this new paradigm of staking on VeChainThor, you’ll need to actively delegate to earn rewards, aligning users’ efforts with their impact on network security and overall decentralization. VET tokens will no longer generate VTHO by themselves. You must stake, and actively delegate your stake, to earn protocol rewards.

The new tokenomics under Hayabusa pools all protocol rewards among stakers, reducing idle VTHO generation — such as those generated in exchange wallets — and overall inflation, while significantly boosting benefits at the individual level. Hayabusa works for you.

Designed for Global-Scale Adoption

As with everything we build at VeChain, we understand that real-world results require more than just technical prowess. User-friendly features, and an attractive economic and developer environment are key to driving long term success.

Hayabusa’s mainnet launch brings with it a suite of features designed to offer a more aligned, economically attractive and user-centric environment

Predictable, delegated, low-cost fees powered by VeChain’s two-token model

Greater reward APYs, more rewarding for builders and developers

Superior economic security, powered by DPoS consensus

Greater decentralization and more direct governance impact from users

Lower VTHO inflation, more robust tokenomics

These capabilities make Hayabusa a powerful complement to the VeChainThor blockchain, enhancing its value proposition and ease of building as the world transitions to blockchain adoption en masse.

BUIDL Better

From VeBetter to enterprise apps, VeChainThor hosts some of the world’s most pioneering Web3 software, letting you turn your aspirations into reality.

From EVM alignment to common dev tools such as Hardhat, transaction programmability that enhances the builder experience, and in the next phase of VeChain renaissance, JSON RPC, that unlocks new tools and services across the crypto industry — VeChain Renaissance is a game changer for the protocol.

Whether your goal is to build a recycling automation business, leverage Marketplace as a Service to enhance your products, deliver sustainability reporting, or integrating product-passports, Hayabusa serves everyone.

If you’re a builder looking to get started on VeChain, check out our documentation:

Developer Resources & Tools: docs.vechain.org

VeBetter Grants: https://vebetter.com/grants

A Turning Point

VeChain’s mission has always been clear: use blockchain to create real utility, scalable impact, and positive outcomes for the world. The launch of Hayabusa pushes the protocol another step forward on that mission.

It strengthens the infrastructure that real world users trust. It empowers builders to innovate, and enables them with the right tools. It rewards active participation, and better aligns the needs of all stakeholders.

Importantly, it sets a standard for how blockchain systems can operate — transparent, data-driven, user-friendly and economically aligned with sustainability.

With the fast-evolving regulatory landscape, it’s clear that a new world of possibilities is fast approaching the crypto industry. With Hayabusa, we position ourselves confidently to take on the challenge of building functional infrastructure for that highly-connected, digital world.

Head over to StarGate and begin your journey into Hayabusa!

#VET #Hayabusa

Hayabusa Mainnet Goes Live: Foundations for the Tokenized Economy was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Our new economic model has a simple idea at its core: active participation should correlate with protocol rewards. In Hayabusa, this approach is a central tenet. VTHO is no longer generated idly, but instead, solely as the product of staked VET, rewarding those who actively contribute to the network’s economic security viaStarGate

Conversely, every time someone creates a transaction, they pay VTHO as gas, with the base fee 100% burned. Any ‘priority fee’ payments go straight to the Validator who mined the respective block. Block rewards for any given block are split between Validators and their Delegators, at a 30:70 ratio.

VeBetter complements this flywheel. It transforms everyday user actions, into on-chain transactions, consumes VTHO and gives circularity to the model. The more people act through VeBetter and other applications, the more demand for VTHO, and so, the more rewarding staking becomes.

and minting your StarGate staking NFT!Hayabusa will merge with the VeCainThor mainnet on Dec 2, 2025 — prepare yourself by downloadingVeWorld

Getting Paid to Participate

From a VET holder’s point of view, the process of benefiting from Hayabusa is simple:

You stake VET through StarGate and receive a staking NFT that represents your collateral. That NFT passes through a short maturity period, or you can use Boost to skip the wait by paying a fee in VTHO, which is then burned. Once the maturity period has passed and the NFT is eligible, you delegate it to a Validator, with Validator reward cycles operating in periods of 7, 15, or 30 days.

This ensures staking has a clear rhythm — a known cycle, and a defined moment when rewards are made available.

Delegator, Validator, or Non-stakers

You can breakdown the new economics into three simple roles:

Delegator (staked VET holder) If you hold VET and contribute your stake to a Validator, you are a Delegator. You earn VTHO only while your VET stake is delegated. Your share of rewards is calculated by your effective stake, which equals the amount of VET staked multiplied by your NFT tier multiplier. Rewards accrue during the Validator’s 7, 15 or 30-day period and become claimable at its end.

Validator Validators run VeChainThor’s critical infrastructure. In return, they receive 30 percent of block rewards plus 100 percent of any priority fees on blocks they produce. The remaining 70 percent of block rewards flows to Delegators, split by effective stake. Good uptime, clear communication, and fair commission rates make a Validator attractive to Delegators over time.

Non-staked VET holder If you hold VET but choose not to stake and delegate, you do not generate or earn VTHO after Hayabusa. You still have exposure to network upside, but you are not participating in the reward stream.

Earning VTHO rewards is no longer about simply owning VET. It is about being rewarded for your role in contributing to the security of our network.

How Rewards Arise

When a user interacts with an application and writes to the blockchain, they create transactions that require fees paid in VTHO. The base fee is burned permanently, and any priority fees are paid to the Validator who mined the respective block.

In the background, the protocol generates VTHO block rewards in a dynamic fashion, as a product of an issuance curve derived from total VET staked. Those rewards are split 70 percent to Delegators and 30 percent to the Validator which is distributed according to each participant’s effective stake. A new interconnected economic web where you and your stake play a central role.

From a Delegator’s perspective, rewards depend on three things:

How often your Validator mines a block

How much stake, and what combination of tiers, are delegated to that Validator

Total VET stake across the network

VTHO Issuance Becomes Dynamic

Under the old model, VTHO was generated continuously for all VET, regardless of whether it was actively securing the network or not. Hayabusa changes that.

Issuance now routes to Delegators and Validators only. In other words, VTHO is generated solely as a reward for those who commit stake and run or support Validators. At the same time, VeChain’s fee system burns the base fee of every transaction. As adoption grows, burn scales up and accelerates deflationary effects for VTHO.

The result is a cleaner balance between issuance and burn. More stake means more participants sharing the reward pool. More real-world usage increases burn and offsets issuance. Over time, this combination is designed to reduce inflation pressure and improve the quality of yield for active contributors, refining the network’s tokenomics and serving the needs of every stakeholder.

Staking Choices and Models

Hayabusa gives VET holders two main ways to participate in securing the network.

Running a validator This path suits participants who can manage infrastructure. Validators commit stake, maintain uptime and compete on performance and reputation. They earn a fixed share of block rewards and keep all priority fees from the blocks they propose.

Delegating stake Most holders will delegate. You stake through StarGate, choose a Validator, and your staking NFT does the heavy lifting behind the scenes. You do not manage servers. You simply monitor your Validator’s performance, renew or exit at the end of each period, and decide whether to claim or restake your rewards.

Tiers add another layer of choice. Higher tier NFTs apply higher multipliers to your staked VET, which increases your share of the reward pool at a given validator. For long term participants, tier strategy can become an important part of their approach.

Closing the Loop: Staking and VeBetter

VeBetter is where the economics of staking meet everyday life.

VeBetter applications let people earn from actions that are useful in the real world: wellness habits, sustainable choices, community tasks and more. Each verified action becomes an on-chain transaction. That transaction consumes VTHO gas. The base fee burns and then the transaction is packaged into a block that helps generate the reward stream for validators and delegators.

If you stake and delegate, you participate in this flow. As VeBetter grows, as more brands and communities build into it, the volume of these actions increases. That means more transactions, more burn, and a stronger foundation for staking rewards.

Join A Global Movement

Getting involved with Hayabusa, Staking and VeBetter is simple — all thanks to our official wallet, VeWorld.

and secure your VET.Download VeWorld

and enjoy boosted rewards as Hayabusa approaches.Stake through StarGate

and see how your actions and the network’s activity flow into the same reward stream. Have you used a reusable coffee mug today?Try a VeBetter application

Stake, act and build with us, and help VeChain turn today’s sustainable choices into the foundation of tomorrow’s economy.

VeChain has entered a strategic partnership with Rekord to accelerate the next phase of tokenization infrastructure for Real-World Assets (RWAs).

This partnership brings together VeChain’s battle-tested, energy-efficient blockchain with Rekord’s API-first trust layer, which makes data streams tamper-proof with minimal integration effort. Enterprises will be able to secure logs, documents, and product events on-chain without changing user experience or rebuilding core systems.

For VeChain, this collaboration extends an established role at the heart of supply chain transparency, product authentication, and sustainability reporting. For Rekord, VeChain is the preferred public blockchain infrastructure partner, giving customers a proven, enterprise-focused network for high-value, regulated use cases.

Digital Product Passports and regulatory readiness

In Europe, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) will introduce Digital Product Passports (DPPs), which will tie product data directly to compliance, sustainability, and delivering the circular economy.

Working together, VeChain and Rekord will provide the underlying infrastructure that lets manufacturers and brands:

Capture and verify critical product and process data at source using Rekord’s trust layer

Anchor proofs on VeChainThor, creating permanent, independently verifiable records

Prepare for emerging DPP, sustainability, and supply chain rules without disrupting existing workflows

Rekord’s V1 API is already activated in production with full multi-chain support, and the team has successfully pushed its first live transactions to the VeChain network. This gives joint customers an immediate way to connect existing systems and devices to an enterprise-ready blockchain backend.

A Timely Opportunity for Compliant Infrastructure

With large businesses required to meet ESPR mandates from 2026, the timing is ideal, as blockchain enters the mainstream economy and connects the emerging technology to the growing needs of the real-world economy.

VeChain’s advanced technical infrastructure makes its blockchain a natural fit for enterprise-grade DPPs, built for scale, sustainability, and long-term regulatory readiness. Rekord’s DPP-as-a-service builds on VeChain’s established role in supply chain transparency and extends it into integrated sustainability reporting for one of the world’s most advanced economic regions.

What comes next is the tokenization and digitization of products entering the European Union to comply with real regulatory needs — a vision we have been building on since launch. The true embodiment of Real-World Assets (RWAs), driving actual value on-chain.

About VeChain

VeChain, founded in 2015, is a purpose-built Layer 1 public blockchain for real-world impact. It combines enterprise-grade infrastructure, a dual token model, and predictable transaction costs to support applications in supply chain transparency, tokenization, and sustainability. With over 5 million users and more than 350 applications built on VeChainThor, global brands and builders use VeChain to anchor verifiable data, unlock circular business models, and bring Web3 to everyday users.

For more information, visit https://vechain.org

About Rekord

Rekord is the Trust Layer for Real World Assets. Its mission is to make data verifiable, interoperable, and trusted across industries, turning any log, event, or document into tamper-proof, audit-ready evidence. Rekord provides a production-ready platform used for automation, traceability, and sustainability solutions, establishing the standard for verifiable enterprise data at scale.

For more information, visit https://rekord.io

Statement on tokenomics adjustment for interested parties: As part of the Hayabusa Upgrade — phase 2 of VeChain Renaissance — VTHO generation is moving from a fixed schedule to a dynamic model tied to user participation, with issuance becoming a function of total VET staked. Below are the before and after figures:

Before Hayabusa

Static generation rate: 5 × 10⁻⁹ VTHO per VET per second

Daily per VET guide: ≈ 0.000432 VTHO

Network annual issuance: ≈ 13.7B VTHO

After Hayabusa

Issuance is dynamic and depends on total VET staked across the network.

Example outcomes:

2.525B VET staked (2.61% total supply) → ~3.86B VTHO per year (21.87% current VTHO inflation)

Up to 60B VET staked (75% total supply) → ~19B VTHO per year (138.6% current VTHO inflation)

What does this mean?

This change rewards active contributors and strengthens decentralization. It also ensures more effective VTHO distribution, with it flowing only to staked VET, while backing Validators and helping secure the chain. The tokenomics adjustements unlock three key benefits:

Fairness: Rewards follow real participation rather than being generated among idle tokens.

Security and resilience: more staking and delegation support a healthier validator set, and increase economic security of the network.

Stakeholder alignment: issuance reflects network use and community commitment, creating a clearer link between value earned and value provided, while ensuring all parties benefit from the network.

In short, the model encourages everyone to play a role in VeChain’s security and long-term growth.

Transition timeline

Testnet: Successfully transitioned from PoA to DPoS on November 11, 2025.

Mainnet: Activation begins on December 2, 2025.

The transition period runs from December 2 to December 9, 2025. No VTHO is issued during this initial 7 day rewards cycle. After the transition period, the new dynamic issuance model is fully live.

What to do now — everyone

Download VeWorld, our super app designed to make staking simple and secure.

If you already hold $VET, open StarGate via the ‘Earn’ tab on the VeWorld home screen and start staking to earn VTHO rewards today.

Don’t have $VET yet? You can easily acquire it on major exchanges or buy directly in VeWorld. Join the program ahead of Hayabusa meeting mainnet to be prepared ahead of launch.

What to do now — for developers

Access StarGate testnet to try the new delegator and validator flows and share feedback.

Testnet app

Try find bugs as part of the Immunefi program and earn rewards

True decentralization is not leaderless, it’s leader-proof.

When we launched the VeChainThor mainnet in 2018, it came with a powerful message: ‘The Power for change is in your hands”.

True to that original vision, the upcoming Hayabusa upgrade brings changes that place you at the core of the blockchain, empowering and rewarding participation like never before.

One key change is to VeChainThor’s consensus mechanism — migrating from Proof of Authority (PoA) to Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS). This major update will fuel VeChain’s next phase of growth without compromising the predictable costs and features that real world users rely on.

This update transforms every VET holder into an active cooperant, turning user participation into shared, sustainable value creation — aligned by the common goal of long term growth and success.

TL;DR — What’s Happening

VeChainThor is moving from Proof of Authority (PoA) to Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS).

Anyone with VET can participate by staking and delegating to Validators.

VTHO rewards become dynamic, meaning only staked VET earns VTHO via protocol block rewards.

Security and decentralization increase while predictable fees remain.

PoA helped VeChainThor deliver enterprise-grade reliability and 100% uptime since launch. As VeChain’s ecosystem and macro regulatory environments have matured, three priorities emerged:ay updated and what to do when Hayabusa arrives!s

Why change consensus?

PoA helped VeChainThor deliver enterprise-grade reliability and 100% uptime since launch. As VeChain’s ecosystem and macro regulatory environment have matured, three priorities emerged:

Scalability with decentralization: Expanding the Validator pool and decentralizing the chain, while keeping operational reliability high.

Security via ‘skin in the game’: Raising the cost of attacks by tying consensus to stake.

Aligned incentives: Direct and greater protocol rewards to active participants who contribute to security and performance.

DPoS meets these goals by making stake the backbone of consensus and rewards.

What DPoS means for VeChain

DPoS involves two kinds of participants: Delegators and Validators. Delegators are VET holders who stake their VET, and mint a StarGate NFT. They then choose one or more Validators to support by delegating their stake. You can move, renew, or withdraw your stake according to StarGate’s rules and the Validator’s performance. Validators run the servers that produce and finalize blocks — and the Validator pool competes for Delegators on the back of their uptime, transparency, responsiveness, and community trust.

A Validator’s chance to produce the next block is a function of total VET delegated by Delegators — E.g., their ‘weighted stake’. Reliable teams attract delegations; weak ones lose them. Clear economic and reputational incentives keep validators online and compliant.

In this model, VeThor (VTHO) generation is dynamic. Only staked VET earns VTHO, paid as protocol block rewards to Validators and then shared with their Delegators in a 70:30 ratio. Rewards are tied to securing the network, not idling VET balances, preventing inflation in exchange wallets, for example.

From PoA to DPoS — what changes for you?

Whether you hold VET, run infrastructure, or build applications, DPoS changes how you participate without adding complexity. Token holders gain a direct role in security and rewards, Node operators compete on performance and trust, while businesses and builders keep the predictable costs that make consumer-grade experiences possible.

If you hold VET, you can take an active role in security by staking and delegating one or more Validators, earning VTHO directly from protocol block rewards. Choice matters: uptime, transparency, community presence and a proven track record are signals Delegators can watch.

If you plan to run blockchain infrastructure, you can become a Validator by meeting technical requirements and owning a minimum of 25 M VET. You’ll need to deliver high uptime (e.g., 99.9%+), 24/7 monitoring, and ideally, engage with your Delegators. It’s a performance business; Delegators can and do move, so reliability and communication are essential.

If you build applications or run enterprise workloads, fees stay predictable, and the developer’s experience remains familiar. StarGate and VeWorld streamline staking, delegation, renewal, exit, and withdrawal into a single, simple journey and creates a cohesive access point for applications on the network.

The Role of a Validator

Infrastructure Prospective validators need to meet technical criteria (hardware, networking, monitoring, key management) and register on-chain via StarGate. They can self-bond the required VET collateral (25M) and seek Delegators to increase their total weighted stake.

Operations Validators must maintain high uptime, keep nodes up to date, and follow upgrade procedures. They publish clear information so delegators can evaluate them.

Competition Because selection is stake-weighted and visible, Validators succeed by communicating performance, offering transparent terms, and engaging with their communities. It’s a winner-takes-all approach (up until the Validator weighting limit of 600M VET, that is).

Retention If a validator underperforms, Delegators can redelegate. If stake falls or issues persist, the validator can be cycled out of the active set. This market-style pressure drives reliability over time.

Rewards: How VTHO Flows in DPoS

Currently, VTHO is generated anywhere a VET token is held. Under DPoS, only staked VET earns rewards, which the protocol pays out as block rewards to Validators who then share with their delegators according to on-chain rules. This increases per Node rewards considerably, by condensing the rewards pool to active participants only.

This ties rewards to actual security work, lessening inflationary pressures, and lets VTHO burn scale naturally with real usage while fees remain predictable. Staking today positions you to earn staking-based rewards as Hayabusa mainnet approaches.

Builders, Businesses & Developers

VeChain’s hallmark of low, predictable fees is maintained, along with fee sponsorship, multitask transactions, EVM tooling, and the upcoming JSON RPC integration that vastly simplifies integrations/porting/interoperability.

Operations remain audit friendly, with established institutional Validators and community operators reinforcing uptime targets, monitoring, and incident response. In short, your existing integrations continue to work while the security model strengthens, and community participation broadens.

Migration notes for Legacy Node holders

If you hold a legacy X or Economic Node:

Migrate now! Earn boosted rewards and join StarGate by following the steps on stargate.vechain.org

Your participation style shifts from passive (holding VET) to active (staking VET).

At Hayabusa’s mainnet launch you will have direct influence over consensus security and a clear rewards path tied to activity.

FAQs

Do I have to run a node to earn rewards? No. You can stake and delegate your VET to one or more validators through StarGate and earn protocol rewards without running infrastructure.

Does the two-token model still deliver predictable for enterprises & apps? Yes. Predictable, low transaction costs remain a core design tenet. DPoS enhances security without sacrificing fee stability.

What happens if my selected validator goes down? Underperforming validators produce fewer blocks and thus fewer rewards. You can redelegate your VET to better operators according to the platform’s rules.

Does this make VeChain “more decentralized”? Yes. Security is powered by every VET holder, KYC is entirely removed, and anyone can now become a Validator with the requisite VET collateral.

Can I delegate to multiple validators? Yes. Delegators can split their stake across several validators to diversify and support decentralization. Each Delegator Node is assiged to a Validator individually.

How are rewards distributed? VeThor (VTHO) is generated dynamically and distributed via protocol block rewards to validators, who share with delegators based on stake and onchain mechanics.

What to do now?

Open VeWorld, tap Earn to access StarGate, stake your VET and mint a staking NFT of your choosing.

You will be able to delegate to a Validator when mainnet launches; until then, turn on push notifications and stay up to date!

Stake now to earn boosted rewards as Hayabusa approaches.

From PoA to DPoS: A Network Powered by You was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The name Hayabusa was chosen carefully. Like the Japanese spacecraft that overcame daunting challenges to deliver asteroid samples back to Earth, VeChain undertook this phase of the Renaissance to unlock radical improvements; empowering people, reinvigorating our tokenomics and unlocking the next phase of growth for the VeChainThor protocol. Precision. Endurance. Continuous iteration. Our guiding philosophies.

Hayabusa is the eighth hard fork in VeChain’s history, and the product of sustained engineering and careful testing. It prepares the network for a future that better aligns values across every stakeholder, rebuilding the engine that, to date, has delivered the most results in terms of real-world utility for blockchain and 100% uptime since launch in 2017.

Two protocol upgrades define Hayabusa, the second of VeChain Renaissance’s three phases.

The transition to Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) sees every VET holder become an integral cog in the machine — helping secure VeChainThor by staking and delegating their collateral in exchange for protocol-level rewards. Additionally, we are embracing a dynamic rewards model in which VTHO generation is tied to staked VET, distributed through block rewards from the protocol to those who help secure the network.

These changes upgrade our economic model, reducing VTHO inflation while actively increasing economic security. As activity grows, more VTHO is burned; more value is accrued at the protocol level, and transaction costs remain predictable for builders and partners.

In this article we explain what is changing, why it matters and how to prepare as activation approaches.

What Is Changing

Hayabusa reshapes two core elements of VeChainThor.

Firstly, consensus. With DPoS, VET holders (Delegators) can stake their tokens and delegate them to Validators — the backbone of the network. Total weighted stake helps determine who produces blocks — more VET delegated = greater overall likelihood of being the next block producer.

With this shift, the Validator set becomes dynamic and performance driven rather than probabilistic, with operators competing on uptime, transparency, and service. This expands decentralization, enables community growth, and raises the cost of attacks considerably — enhancing network security.

Secondly, tokenomics. VTHO generation becomes a function of staked VET, distributed through block rewards to those who secure the network. Rewards move closer to measurable activity; idle VTHO generation is eliminated, and deflationary pressures decrease. VTHO issuance, at launch, will shrink to ~60/70% of current levels, with users, builders, and partners continuing to benefit from low, predictable transaction costs while benefits increase among active participants.

Together, these changes accrue to create a stronger foundation for utility, growth, and value creation.

Unlocking VeChainThor’s Potential

Growth is a byproduct of ease, connectedness, and interoperability. Hayabusa moves VeChain to a state that welcomes seamless cross-chain collaboration, while enhancing the differentiating factors that make the blockchain unique in today’s market. JSON RPC and full EVM equivalence enhance developer readiness, while tools like VeChainKit, VeWorld, and thorough documentation shorten the distance from prototype to production.

Enterprises gain reliability at scale without adding complexity for customers. Third-party fee delegation and multi-task transactions help teams ship consumer-grade experiences while back-office systems benefit from clear, auditable processes. Operational efficiency improves, while deterministic execution lowers friction.

StarGate sits at the center of this experience, representing a bold departure from what was. The entry point for participation, StarGate connects the economics of Hayabusa with a clear user path, so activity can scale without adding complexity.

Interoperability remains strategic. It connects our mission to global movements in tokenization, sustainability reporting, and digital transformation. By making VeChain easier to build on and easier to integrate, Hayabusa sets the stage for durable adoption.

Participation and Governance

The move from Proof of Authority to DPoS broadens participation in meaningful ways. Every VET holder can now help secure and guide the network by staking their tokens. Performance and reputation matter in this new epoch. Validators compete to earn and retain delegations by operating transparently, maintaining high standards, and actively engaging their communities.

This structure improves accountability and resilience. More stake behind consensus raises cryptoeconomic security. A dynamic validator set adapts to the needs of the network. Individuals gain a direct role in stewardship while enterprises retain the predictable cost model required for production systems.

The result is a governance framework designed for scale, long-term health, and sustainable value creation.

Alignment of Stakeholders

Hayabusa aligns incentives across the ecosystem, with growth reinforcing growth.

Enterprises benefit from stable fees. Applications become easier to deploy and maintain across existing processes. Validators and Delegators earn rewards that track real activity. VTHO is generated dynamically and distributed to those who secure the chain. As on-chain usage increases, VTHO burn increases. The loop between participation and measurable outcomes becomes tangible.

Builders can ship faster on a predictable, value-accelerating platform. Familiar tooling, sponsored gas options, and reliable costs help applications reach mainstream users with a simple and familiar user experience (UX).

These dynamics strengthen one another. Useful applications drive transactions. Transactions drive VTHO burn and user rewards. Greater rewards attract more staking. More staking increases security and confidence for the next wave of deployments.

Trust, Compliance, and Institutional Backbone

Adoption requires trust. Hayabusa advances VeChain’s readiness for evolving regulation and mainstream technology requirements.

The shift to DPoS makes participation rules transparent and auditable. Greater decentralization ensures VeChainThor meets the standards necessitated. Stake determines representation. The VeBetter app ecosystem shows how open participation and accountability can operate side by side.

VeChain aligns with European and wider global regulation, including MiCA. VeChain and VeBetter’s whitepapers are confirmed and listed in ESMA’s interim MiCA register. For businesses and users alike, this means traceable records, predictable costs, and reporting that maps to ESG and compliance needs. For institutions, it means clearer risk models and integration paths that respect custody, audit, and oversight.

Scale also depends on robust operations. Institutional validators and infrastructure providers such as BitGo, Redeno and Keyrock bring experience in custody, key management, monitoring, and incident response. Uptime targets, controlled change management, and well-defined recovery procedures create confidence for larger deployments. Community validators and institutional operators together widen the base of security and resilience.

How to Get Involved

Participation is central to this phase. Hayabusa opens staking to every VET holder through DPoS, and StarGate is the gateway. It provides a clear flow to stake or delegate and to monitor rewards tied to real activity when activation begins.

Keep an eye on VeChain channels over the coming weeks — everything you need to know about this next phase of the Renaissance upgrades will be shared, including how to make the most of staking through StarGate.

Go to StarGate now, stake your VET, and enjoy boosted rewards. When Hayabusa meets mainnet in December, you’ll be ready to experience the full, final user flow, full Validator/Delegator model, and experience the future of turbocharged tokenomics on VeChain.

Imagine a thriving beehive. Every bee has a role, and together they form one of nature’s most efficient systems. The hive provides structure and stability. The bees’ collective effort fuels activity, gathering nectar that sustains their community. Through pollination, they give back to the wider environment, creating the conditions that allow the hive and everything around it to grow stronger.

VeChain’s three-token economy functions much like this hive. Each component plays a distinct role but contributes to a single, regenerative cycle of utility, reward, and renewal.

$VET provides the foundation that secures and governs the network.

$VTHO powers every movement, acting as the energy consumed in daily operations.

$B3TR transforms productive actions into new growth, extending the benefits of the system to the broader ecosystem.

These tokens form a circular economy where participation fuels progress and progress strengthens value. It is a model designed not only to sustain itself but to reward every positive action that contributes to the whole. Here’s how that system works in practice.

$VET: The Hive That Secures the Network

$VET is the foundation of the VeChain ecosystem. It provides the structure and security that keeps everything organized and running smoothly, much like the hive itself. When users stake their $VET through StarGate, they help secure the network and earn $VTHO as a reward. Staking also enables participation in VeChain’s governance system, giving users a voice in shaping the network’s direction.

There are 85.98 billion $VET in circulation out of a total lifetime cap of 86.71 billion, ensuring transparency and a predictable economic model. In simple terms, $VET represents trust and stability. It is the structure that allows the rest of the system to flourish.

$VTHO: The Energy That Keeps Everything Moving

If $VET is the hive, $VTHO is the energy that keeps it alive. Every transaction on the VeChainThor blockchain consumes $VTHO. It acts as the gas that powers the network’s activity, ensuring efficiency and stability across all applications.

With the Hayabusa upgrade, 100% of all transaction fees will be burned, which means each time the network is used, a small amount of $VTHO is permanently removed from circulation. This process reduces supply over time and ties the token value directly to network activity. The more the ecosystem is used, the more $VTHO becomes scarce, creating a natural balance between activity and value.

$B3TR: The Reward That Sustains Growth

$B3TR connects blockchain activity to real-world impact. It powers the VeBetter ecosystem, where individuals and organizations are rewarded for sustainable and positive behaviors. From improving personal well-being to adopting eco-friendly habits, every measurable action can earn $B3TR rewards.

Earning $B3TR consumes $VTHO, creating a seamless connection between sustainable behavior, on-chain activity, and value creation. This means that once you record your action, you get $B3TR rewards.

$VTHO does all the work in between for you and gets burned in the process. It is in this frictionless link between real-world actions and digital rewards that participation in the ecosystem becomes both purposeful and engaging.

In the bee analogy, $B3TR represents pollination. It is the process that spreads value outward, renewing the system with every interaction, and ensuring that positive actions benefit both the network and the environment around it.

How the Hive is Becoming Stronger

In nature, a hive begins with activity everywhere. Each bee works to gather energy, building the foundation for the colony to grow. Over time, as the hive expands, the bees adapt. They organize, specialize, and refine how they use their energy. By focusing their efforts, the hive becomes more efficient, using fewer resources to create even greater strength.

VeChain’s ecosystem has followed a similar path. In its early stage, every $VET holder generated $VTHO automatically, keeping the network supplied with the energy needed for transactions. This ensured steady activity, helping the system grow and mature.

Now, as the network enters its next phase of evolution, it is becoming more refined. Through the upcoming Hayabusa phase, part of VeChain’s broader Renaissance upgrades, $VTHO generation will shift to only those who stake their $VET through StarGate. This new structure focuses the system’s energy, reducing $VTHO inflation by up to 72.2% and rewarding those who actively support network security and participation.

At the same time, 100% of $VTHO used in transactions will continue to be burned, connecting network activity directly to scarcity. As adoption increases, each use of the blockchain strengthens its economy through real utility and measurable impact.

Buzzing with Activity

Across the network, legacy node holders are migrating to Stargate, preparing for the Hayabusa phase and enjoying the boosted rewards that come with it. The system is alive with activity, each participant strengthening the network as we move toward the next chapter of VeChain’s evolution.

More than 13,000 nodes have already been minted, with over 6 billion $VET staked through Stargate. If you have not yet claimed a node, now is the time to get involved. By staking your $VET through Stargate, you can begin earning $VTHO fuel and take part in the next era of VeChain’s growth. By claiming a node now, you can earn boosted rewards as we move closer to the Hayabusa phase.

Join the buzz and be part of the hive at Stargate.

Sustainable Action in Motion

Beyond the blockchain, the VeBetter ecosystem continues to grow rapidly. Over 5 million users are already earning $B3TR by completing real-world sustainable actions that create measurable environmental and social impact. From taking a photo of your re-usable mug to charging your electric car, these actions prove that positive behavior can drive value for both individuals and the planet. You can now start earning $B3TR directly through the VeWorld wallet, the gateway to our growing ecosystem of sustainable applications.

Be the pollination, earn $B3TR, and help make the VeWorld a VeBetter place.

Understanding The VeChain Ecosystem Token Flywheel was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We are thrilled to announce that VeBetter’s native token, $B3TR, has been confirmed in the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) register — a core component of the EU’s MiCAR crypto compliance framework.

This regulatory milestone comes on the back of $VET and $VTHO tokens achieving similar status, marking bold steps forward for the VeChain and VeBetter ecosystems. Compliance with MiCAR in Europe is a core strategic objective in our pursuit to deliver real world adoption and utility for blockchain applications.

With compliant status obtained, VeBetter positions itself as one of the first viable candidates to become a mainstream Web3 app store for real world utility. After recently hitting 5 million active addresses, and almost 40 million tokenized sustainable actions across 40+ applications, VeBetter’s growth and adoption continue to accelerate, with ESMA confirmation helping advance its growth prospects.

Web3 Apps Going Mainstream

B3TR’s inclusion in the ESMA register grants VeBetter a significant competitive advantage in the fast-evolving world of crypto. The “regulatory passport” allows seamless operations across EU member states, simplifying market access for the platform’s growing roster of sustainability applications.

The milestone also strengthens VeBetter’s position as an onboarding mechanism for institutions, who increasingly seek differentiating factors for their investments — one of the most important being real world utility and functionality. The synergy between technological innovation and regulatory adherence positions the entire VeChain ecosystem for sustainable growth over the next decade, supported by institutional capital.

VeBetter is the world’s first Web3 app store for real-world utility. Through the platform, owned and governed by its community, users engage with various applications that tokenize and reward sustainability-related actions — from eating more healthily to working out, reducing waste or saving energy. B3TR tokens are awarded as incentives to encourage repeat behaviours. The outcome is millions of small activities contributing, at scale, to greater collective outcomes that tackle global challenges and bring benefits for the world at-large.

The platform’s unique positioning and ESMA confirmation opens new technological avenues for communities, organisations and businesses looking to deploy their own applications through the VeBetter platform, forging new growth avenues for the platform, and the aforementioned stakeholders.

VeBetter’s app store ecosystem currently includes over 40 sustainability-focused applications and has given rise to multi-million-user success stories like Mugshot and GreenCart — apps that exemplify simplicity and ease of use — something that has proven challenging for generations of Web3 Applications to date. This approach to adoption, in tandem with a complaint token ecosystem, presents ample opportunity for orders of magnitude more growth in the coming years.

The Path Ahead: Compliance For Global Impact

VeBetter’s goal is to accelerate the creation of a sustainable, circular economy powered by Web3 technologies. The journey toward mainstream adoption requires both technological excellence and regulatory responsibility, and, with B3TR’s MiCAR compliance now secured, VeChain, and the VeBetter ecosystem, are well positioned to continue leading, and scaling up, this transformation.

A new dawn of value creation for individuals, enterprises, and the world, has arrived.

Explore VeBetter and experience a bold new world for yourself!

Disclaimer: This crypto-asset marketing communication has not been reviewed or approved by any competent authority in any Member State of the European Union. The person seeking admission to trading of the crypto-asset is solely responsible for the content of this crypto-asset marketing communication. This marketing communication is issued by VeChain Foundation San Marino S.r.l..

White Papers relating to the crypto assets that we issue in the European Economic Area (EEA) are published and available on our website.

Contact: https://support.vechain.org

VeChain Financial Report — Q2 2025

Dear Community,

The second quarter of 2025 marked yet another defining period for the VeChain ecosystem. Renaissance roadmap execution accelerated while institutional partnerships materialized, establishing Q2 as a pivotal quarter that enabled multiple transformative launches over the summer.

Following the successful Galactica testnet launch in Q1, Q2 focused on the intensive final preparations required for a successful July 1st mainnet deployment. This critical preparation phase encompassed comprehensive security audits, and the technical integration work necessary to deploy four major protocol upgrades on VeChainThor.

The Renaissance roadmap’s scope extended beyond these immediate deliverables, with Hayabusa technical development accelerating in parallel, progressing toward Delegated Proof of Stake consensus and dynamic VTHO tokenomics based on staked participation.

The ecosystem welcomed key institutional partnerships, including strategic collaborations with BitGo, the digital asset custody leader, and Keyrock, the market-making firm turned network Validator. Meanwhile, our first cross-chain bridge via Wanchain delivered interoperability with over 40 leading blockchains for the first time, opening new pathways to adoption and liquidity.

The VeBetter ecosystem continued its explosive trajectory, with multiple applications surpassing the one million user milestone, demonstrating blockchain’s potential to drive sustainable behavior at massive scale. The upgraded VeBetter Grants Program launched with community-powered funding decisions, further decentralizing ecosystem growth and innovation.

By the end of Q2 2025, the Foundation’s treasury stood at $167,239,770.70, reflecting disciplined resource management during turbulent market conditions and ambitious ecosystem expansion — while maintaining ample resources for ongoing operations and future initiatives.

As always, in the name of openness and transparency, we are excited to deliver the details on our Q2 2025 expenditures, honouring the commitments made back in 2017.

Thank you for being an integral part of the VeChain community, joining us in our mission to deliver blockchain technology that creates meaningful impact for business, society, and our planet.

Sincerely,

VeChain Foundation

Treasury balances for Q2 of 2025

At the end of Q2 2025, the VeChain Foundation’s total treasury value, including stablecoins and holdings of BTC, ETH, and VET, stood at $167,239,770.70 — representing a decrease of 23.5% from the $218,545,123.57 reported at the end of Q1 2025.

The volatility is reflective of both our strategic investment in Renaissance protocol upgrades and ecosystem expansion initiatives, combined with broader cryptocurrency market conditions experienced during the quarter.

Comparing Q1 2025 with Q2 2025, asset prices demonstrated mixed performance amid turbulent market conditions, with major assets like ETH gaining 38.43% and BTC rising 31.64%, while VET decreased by 4.05%. Despite these market fluctuations and our comprehensive strategic investments, VeChain maintained operational excellence and successfully executed critical development milestones and partnership initiatives without interruption, demonstrating the resilience of our financial model and long-term approach.

Expenses Sheet

Expenses Sheet for Q2, 2025.

The expenses sheet covers all spending categories and summarises the expenses incurred by the foundation through various activities, initiatives, developments, and engagements.

Treasury outgoings for Q2, 2025

PR & Marketing: PR & Marketing expenses supported strategic positioning ahead of major launches, including allocation to the Revolut Learn & Earn program, campaign development for Renaissance milestones, and strategic positioning initiatives that elevated VeChain’s global visibility. These investments ensured optimal market positioning during the transformative July period that brought Galactica, StarGate, and major partnerships to mainstream attention.

Legal & Finance: Legal & Finance expenditures relate to compliance, regulatory affairs, and strategic legal frameworks. This covers the legal infrastructure required for institutional partnerships — such as with BitGo and Keyrock — ongoing regulatory compliance activities, and specialized advisory services as institutions join and interact with our ecosystem.

Eco-Ops: Eco-Ops relates to ecosystem operations, enhanced community development initiatives, and the infrastructure improvements necessary to support our evolving ecosystem needs. This expenditure covers outsourced technical services, specialized consulting engagements, and team compensation.

Tech-Ops: Tech-Ops expenditures support intensive development work across the Foundation’s technical departments. This includes internal teams working on protocol upgrades, comprehensive security testing, wallet and application development, infrastructure improvements, and specialized development tools for ecosystem growth.

Eco BD: Eco BD expenditures focus on ecosystem development and strategic growth initiatives. This includes funding for application development, partnership integration, and community programs, such as the upgraded VeBetter Grants Program, which now features community-driven approval processes and enhanced support for sustainability-focused projects.

A Quarter of Execution and Acceleration

Where Q1 established the groundwork, Q2 delivered execution and acceleration, with strategic resource allocation enabling the achievements that followed, as well as those yet to be announced. The July 1st Galactica mainnet implementation introduced four critical VIPs including dynamic fee markets and EVM parity upgrades, while StarGate’s deployment enhanced network participation through NFT-based staking. The stage is set for Hayabusa.

Strategic partnerships with Revolut expanded our reach to over 60 million global users, while institutional collaborations with BitGo and Keyrock established critical infrastructure for enterprise-grade operations. The deployment of cross-chain bridge capabilities via Wanchain connected VeChainThor to over 40 leading blockchains, substantially expanding operational accessibility and liquidity channels.

Q2 2025 also demonstrated the importance of disciplined financial management and strategic resource allocation. Our CFO team, led by David Smith, has continued to strengthen its operational capabilities, enabling us to execute our transformative roadmap while maintaining fiscal discipline.

Our mission to advance blockchain’s real-world utility continues to drive our strategic decisions and operational focus. With the unwavering support of VeFam and growing recognition of blockchain’s practical applications, we advance confidently toward delivering solutions that solve real problems, create measurable impact, and demonstrate blockchain’s power to drive positive change across global markets and communities.

About VeChain

Founded in 2015, VeChain built a world-leading enterprise smart contract platform, VeChainThor, which helps deliver blockchain adoption apps to hundreds of enterprise partners.

Building on this expertise, VeChain, in close partnership with Boston Consulting Group, launched the VeBetter ecosystem — comprised of sustainability apps that use tokenization and incentivization to reward users, businesses and other stakeholders for sustainable actions.

To learn more, including how you can build apps of your own, grants, documentation and more, visit vechain.org — or vebetter.com to explore.

VeBetter’s cosmic journey reaches the ice giant — Neptune GM NFTs are now officially live!

Throughout our evolution of tiers, the gravitational pull of each GM NFT release has drawn more community members into our ecosystem, rewarding the most committed with greater influence and amplified rewards. Today, we break through the frozen frontier where Neptune’s deep blue rewards await discovery.

Discover Neptune

As the ninth tier in our GM NFT progression system, Neptune represents a major leap forward in benefits for the most dedicated members of VeBetterDAO:

Extraordinary 10.00x Multiplier — Maximize your GM Rewards Pool share with the highest multiplier available before Galaxy tier

Peak Governance Influence — Exercise maximum authority in VeBetterDAO’s decision-making and strategic direction

Prestigious Neptune Status — Enter the most exclusive tier of ecosystem leaders, one step away from Galaxy

Oceanic Artwork — Showcase Neptune’s distinctive deep-blue cosmic design as a symbol of your ecosystem commitment and leadership

Like Uranus last month, no free node upgrades are available at Neptune. To claim this new status, community members must contribute 5,000,000 B3TR to the VeBetter Treasury.

Activating Neptune’s Full Force

Neptune tier provides immense potential, but optimal returns require active participation throughout the ecosystem:

Maintain voting consistency — Participate in every governance cycle and X Allocation round to activate your complete Neptune multiplier

Diversify participation — Engage across multiple proposals and initiatives to maximize reward opportunities

Optimize with VOT3 — Enhance your Vote2Earn approach by strategically deploying VOT3 across governance activities

Remember: Your Neptune GM NFT is a gateway, not a destination. It establishes your multiplier capacity, but your active participation is the only way to power the system and capture meaningful rewards.

Galaxy on the Horizon

Having reached Neptune, the final cosmic destination comes into view:

Galaxy (December, Level 9) — 12,500,000 B3TR donation | No free node upgrades

Ready to Rule Neptune’s Realm?

Neptune’s status as the most remote ice giant parallels this tier’s exclusive nature — offering a 10.00x rewards multiplier and unmatched governance influence to VeBetterDAO’s most committed participants who venture this far. Head over to VeBetter and check it out!

For complete details and technical specifications, consult the official whitepaper and follow our official X channel for all updates on future tier releases and ecosystem advancements.

Neptune GM NFTs Now Live: The Ninth Tier in VeBetterDAO’s Cosmic Journey was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Builders — the wait is over! Following our recent Developer Workshop Series broadcast on YouTube, we’ve armed you with everything you need to know to dive into The VeChain Global Hackathon — which is now, officially live!

We’re inviting devs worldwide to build tools, applications and resources for the VeBetter and VeChain ecosystems, competing for a $30,000 prize pool! This is your chance to showcase your innovations while helping tackle real-world challenges using Web3 technology.

What is the VeChain Global Hackathon?

The VeChain Global Hackathon is an online developer competition challenging teams to build next generation sustainable applications, AI-powered brilliance and infrastructure tools for the ecosystem.

With $30,000 in prizes to be won, participating devs will be contributing to the future of real world utility Web3 — whether fighting inequalities or environmental impact, supporting communities, or advancing the ecosystem itself.

The mission: build apps that can scale to millions of users while solving problems that actually matter.

Key Dates

Submissions open — 22nd September (16:00 UTC +2)

Submission deadline — 5th October (23:59 UTC +2)

Winners announcement — 13th October

Getting Started: Your Path to Success

Step 1: Form Your Team

Assemble a balanced team that can handle both the technical challenges and creative vision of your project.

Team Size: 2–4 members maximum

Skills: Blockchain development, UI/UX design, frontend/backend development, research, and AI integration

Format: Join online and complete starting challenges alongside the main hackathon

Step 2: Choose Your Track

Select the track that aligns with your team’s strengths and the problem you’re passionate about solving.

Track 1 — Social Impact — Build for People: Address social challenges like education access, healthcare, or community building through innovative technology solutions that improve lives at scale.

Track 2 — Economic & Environmental Impact — Protect our Planet: Create apps that reward users for verifiable environmental actions like reducing carbon emissions, sustainable transportation choices, or conservation efforts.

Track 3 — Ecosystem & Technical Innovation — Grow the VeChain Ecosystem: Build developer tools, infrastructure, dashboards, APIs, or platforms that make it easier and faster for others to build on VeChain.

Step 3: Meet Core Requirements

Every winning project must integrate these essential components to be eligible for judging:

B3TR token integration as a reward mechanism

VeWorld wallet support for seamless transactions

AI-powered functionality that adds genuine user value

Sustainability focus aligned with X-to-Earn principles

Judging Criteria

Projects will be evaluated across four equally weighted categories, with each worth 25% of your total score. Build with these four pillars in mind, and you’ll give the judges every reason to push your project to the top.

Innovation and Creativity (25%)

Your idea shows novel use of VeChain features to solve real-world problems

You have used AI to provide added value to the user

You have a clear idea of why blockchain is needed for your use-case

Technical Skills (25%)

The design of your dApp demonstrates ability to write code meant to be maintained

Your dApp has smooth UX and functionality

You have integrated B3TR as a reward mechanism within the app

You have integrated VeWorld wallet support for seamless B3TR transactions

Impact and Feasibility (25%)

Your dApp shows potential to onboard hundreds of thousands of users

You have been effective in addressing the targeted problem

Your dApp is viable in the real-world

Business Model and Research (25%)

Your documentation explaining problem, solution, and impact is complete and compelling

Your value proposition is agreeable

You have a good idea of the roadmap, and of how to turn the idea into a sustainable business

Note: Projects must be aligned with a specific hackathon track to be eligible for evaluation.

Educational Workshop Series & Resources

Before jumping into development, take advantage of the comprehensive Global Hackathon Workshop Series designed to onboard new VeChain builders. Get everything you need from past recordings, code repositories, and summaries:

Solidity Smart Contracts — Master the fundamentals of smart contract development

Backend & VeChain SDK — Learn backend integration and SDK implementation

Frontend & VeChainKit — Build user interfaces with VeChain development tools

VeBetter Integration — Deep dive into the sustainability-focused ecosystem

Full Stack Application — Complete end-to-end development guidance

Access all workshop resources — https://academy.vechain.org/hackathon-resources

Ready to Build?

The VeChain Global Hackathon is your chance to turn innovative ideas into reality and drive real-world impact. Join a community of top talent, leverage cutting-edge technology, and build dApps that make a difference.

Check the resources, form your team, and submit your winning entry at https://dorahacks.io/hackathon/vechain-builders

With $30,000 in prizes and an October 6th deadline, the time to build is now.

The VeChain Global Hackathon is Live: Build Real Utility & Win $30k in Prizes! was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

An Open Letter From Sunny Lu — A Message To VeFounders

Dear VeFounders,

This year marks the 10th anniversary of VeChain (where does time go?!), as well as my own decade-long journey as a startup founder and CEO. Looking back, the road has been both humbling and exhilarating. I’ve experienced the restless energy of the early days, the doubts and sleepless nights, the hard-won breakthroughs, and the quiet but profound joy of seeing an idea take shape in the real world. Through it all, one constant has remained: the unshakable conviction that founders are a rare breed of builders. A special type of person willing to embrace uncertainty in pursuit of a vision.

Every founder begins as a doer, sleeves rolled up, ready to take on anything. But as the journey unfolds, even the most capable of us eventually discover that we can’t do everything alone. We become the bottleneck to our own mission if we don’t learn to grow the right people and place them in the right roles. And in today’s world, startups often operate globally from day one, which means navigating across cultures, languages, and beliefs. It is as inspiring as it is challenging — demanding resilience, adaptability, and the ability to orchestrate teams with diverse talents and perspectives.

These are the everyday realities of being a founder, alongside countless other responsibilities. Whether planned or unplanned, loved or loathed, the life of a founder is never about ease or glamour, even if those moments occasionally appear. It is about persistence, grit, and staying true to a purpose bigger than yourself.

The Three Pillars of Being a Founder

FundingBefore anything begins, funding comes first. Resources are always scarce compared to ambition. Balancing what you want to achieve with what you can afford is a delicate and ongoing challenge.

StrategyEvery founder starts with an idea that is both beautiful and often unrealistic. Time and reality reshape it, but the true art is knowing when to protect the core vision and when to adapt — responding to shifts in the market, industry, or team dynamics.

PeopleThis is the hardest, and also the most important. Founders live in a constant state of anxiety — whether it’s making tough strategic calls, building and optimizing teams, launching products, or even deciding something as small as a marketing detail. You must motivate others while finding your own strength, be the General in the back office and the soldier at the front line. Resilience must replace comfort, and failure must be accepted as part of the climb toward success.

Why We Climb

The founder’s journey may feel “anti-human” at times. Founders set the course, endure the hardship, and in return, grow immensely as individuals. We get to solve problems, innovate, build from scratch, and perhaps leave a mark on the world that outlives us. We create what others may never dare, and along the way, may even build generational wealth.

Being a founder is like climbing a mountain. You see the peak, take the first step, and know the path will be long and grueling. The muscle aches, the sweat pours, sometimes the blood boils — but you accept it, because deep down you know the truth — the view from the top is the greatest.

And it all begins with the first step: Starting

That’s why I’m excited to invite you to the VeFounder Program by VeChain — an initiative created to support and celebrate those bold enough to take the leap to becoming a founder.

Together, let’s climb higher.

Sunny.

_________________________________________________________________

Visit the VeFounder homepage to explore the program:

VeFounder Homepage

An Open Letter From Sunny Lu — A Message To VeFounders was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

We’re excited to share that Wanchain, the industry’s leading cross-chain protocol, has become an endorsed application within the VeBetter ecosystem. The move sees Wanchain evolve from a technical bridge partner into an ecosystem stakeholder, and we warmly welcome their arrival!

Wanchain’s connection to 40+ leading blockchains and handling of $1.5 billion in cross-chain volume without incident presents a golden opportunity for VeBetter and its growing ecosystem. Boasting several million active accounts and 30+ Million tokenized on-chain actions, this development marks the beginnings of truly integrated cross-chain sustainability infrastructure.

Bridge-to-Earn: Incentivizing Cross-Chain Adoption

A cornerstone of Wanchain’s ecosystem developmental strategy is its innovative Bridge-to-Earn mechanism. It rewards users for completing specific cross-chain transactions — or, tasks — that help generate or rebalance cross-chain liquidity, allowing users to contribute to the entire ecosystem without locking their funds.

The mechanism creates a feedback loop where cross-chain activity generates rewards that can be reinvested in further ecosystem growth. Users who bridge assets to support VeChain DeFi protocols can earn a reward while simultaneously strengthening the infrastructure that supports VeBetter’s sustainability applications, creating a more liquid environment and supporting the growth of its user base.

Stay tuned for details on the future VeChain x Wanchain Bridge-2-Earn campaign!

Proven Strategies: The Success Blueprint

Wanchain’s approach to ecosystem development has generated impressive results to date. In the second year of its Cardano integration, Wanchain’s technology had facilitated a 137% YoY growth in TVL, with stablecoin TVL increasing 110% for USDC and USDT.

By connecting VeChain with major blockchains and decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and Raydium, individuals and projects can establish B3TR trading pairs and open the door to growth opportunities, opening doors to new stakeholders who can experience VeBetter’s array of X-to-Earn applications in their daily lives.

Looking Forward: The Connected Economy

As VeBetter continues marching towards its goal of onboarding hundreds of millions of users to Web3 by 2030, Wanchain’s VeBetter membership provides essential infrastructure and strategic expertise.

Stay tuned for future announcements about upcoming Bridge-to-Earn campaigns, as well as new blockchain integrations by Wanchain.

Please extend a warm welcome to the Wanchain community, and be sure to follow their page for updates!

Wanchain’s X Handle: @wanchain_org

Wanchain Joins the VeBetter Ecosystem To Unlock Cross-Chain Sustainability at Scale was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Hayabusa Devnet Goes Live — Test VeChain’s Upgraded Tokenomics & New Consensus

Today, we took a bold step towards fulfilling the ambitious vision laid out in the VeChain renaissance roadmap — with the Hayabusa Devnet officially going live!

The goal of Hayabusa is simple: Deliver a more versatile, rewarding protocol for builders and users that champions decentralization, enhances security and drives greater value to the core of the protocol through intelligent tokenomics.

Hayabusa’s upgrades are now fully available to test out, including the full StarGate Delegator/Validator rewards mechanics. It’s time to experience the evolution of VeChainThor!

Links & Resources:

Below, you can find core resources for accessing and testing the Hayabusa Devnet:

Custom Network Configuration & Token Faucet

Stargate Hayabusa Devnet

Hayabusa Block Explorer

DevNet Thor API

Documentation Hub

VIP 253 & 254: Modified Tokenomics, Upgraded Consensus

Hayabusa unlocks powerful new capabilities for VeChainThor. It fundamentally modifies VTHO issuance, enhances protocol rewards and accelerates deflationary tokenomic pressure. It shifts VeChainThor to a new consensus model, and introduces the full Delegator/Validator block production/staking mechanics.

Follow the links below for a full deep dive on each VeChain Improvement Proposal (VIP) — also summarised below:

VIP-253: Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)

VIP-253 sees VeChainThor transition from Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus to Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus.

Under DPoS’ upgraded Validator/Delegator model, Delegators, comprised of individual VET token holders, can stake VET collateral with a chosen Validator to secure the VeChainThor network in a user-friendly, compliant way. The outcome is superior economic security for the VeChainThor blockchain, enabled through active user participation.

Validators, carrying a minimum of 25M VET collateral, produce blocks, secure the blockchain and earn protocol rewards, distributing them to their Delegator pools at a 30/70 ratio.

DPoS introduces several important benefits:

Increased Decentralization: The validator pool set is no longer beholden to a KYC process, and instead, becomes dynamically determined by market-based staking, expanding the pool of potential validators and reducing reliance on trusted parties.

Enhanced Cryptoeconomic Security: By allowing a wider base of VET holders to contribute their stake toward securing the network, DPoS increases the economic weight behind consensus, raising the cost of potential attacks and improving the overall resilience of the blockchain.

Validator Competition and Accountability: With stake-weighted block production (greater combined VET stake across Validator + Delegators = higher block production probability) and the possibility of entry and exit from the Validator set, performance and reputation become key to retaining delegations and rewards. This fosters greater validator accountability and operational excellence, and introduces new gamification opportunities.

VIP-254: Dynamic VTHO Issuance

VIP-254 ends the static VTHO generation rate of 0.000432 VTHO per VET, per day, and supersedes it with a dynamic VTHO generation rate and new block reward mechanism.

While the current static VTHO generation rate is efficient and scalable, it no longer aligns with network incentives. Improving VTHO tokenomics sees VeChain necessarily evolve towards a more rewarding environment, with greater decentralization and stakeholder participation at its core.

Aligned Incentives: VTHO will only be generated by network participants (stakers) that actively contribute to securing the network via VET staking.

Reduced VTHO Generation: The new VTHO generation rate will be a function of staked VET and can result in a lower VTHO inflation rate vs the current VTHO inflation rate.

Greater Economic Security: As more VET is locked in VeChainThor, the protocol benefits from greater economic security and reduced attack vectors.

StarGate Devnet — Test Validator/Delegator Staking

The Devnet for StarGate is also now accessible — allowing builders to test out and experience the new Validator/Delegator mechanics and their role in VeChain’s new staking platform.

To access the StarGate Devnet, add a custom network in VeWorld:

INSTRUCTIONS

Then Access the StarGate Devnet, here:

STARGATE DEVNET

Renaissance Roadmap: What’s Next?

The launch of the Hayabusa Devnet is a crucial milestone on the VeChain Renaissance roadmap — but far from the last.

Once the Devnet has been running for some time, the next stage will be to launch the public Hayabusa testnet. Hayabusa is due on mainnet by the end of December, 2025, with exact times, dates and block heights to be confirmed later.

Looking to 2026, we are excited to begin delivering the Interstellar Phase of VeChain Renaissance. At its core, the addition of JSON RPC will enable seamless cross-chain communication and interoperability with the crypto-verse, opening VeChainThor to a myriad of new opportunities for growth and expansion.

Calling All Builders

Building the future of Web3 takes an army. Accordingly, we warmly invite you to probe, test and break things in the Hayabusa Devnet. Your feedback and input is greatly appreciated, and highly valuable for our core developer teams.

Explore each VIP in depth, experience VeChain’s new tokenomics and consensus, then hop in to our Discourse and Discord channels to share your thoughts and feedback with our team.

A bold new era for VeChain has begun. We’re building the foundations for tomorrow’s Web3 world, and we humbly invite you to join our mission.

Hayabusa Devnet Goes Live — Test VeChain’s Upgraded Tokenomics & New Consensus was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

VeBetter’s cosmic ascension continues — Uranus GM NFTs are now officially live!

Following the successful release of Saturn, community enthusiasm and participation have remained sky-high. With every tier, VeBetterDAO’s ecosystem grows stronger, empowering participants with elevated influence, rewards, and recognition. Now, it’s time to push even further into the outer reaches — Uranus has arrived.

Welcoming Uranus?

As the eighth tier in our GM NFT progression system, Uranus represents a major leap forward in benefits for the most dedicated members of VeBetterDAO:

Amplified Rewards Multiplier — Unlock a powerful 5.00x rewards multiplier, maximizing your share of the GM Rewards Pool

Expanded Governance Influence — Leverage an even stronger voice in VeBetterDAO’s governance and strategic decision-making

Prestigious Uranus Status — Join an exclusive circle of pioneers forging the path toward the Galaxy tier

Celestial Artwork — Display Uranus’ iconic cosmic aesthetic as a badge of advanced commitment and leadership

Unlike earlier tiers, no free node upgrades are available at Uranus. To claim this new status, community members must contribute 1,250,000 B3TR to the Treasury.

Maximizing Uranus Benefits

Owning a Uranus GM NFT is just the beginning. To fully unlock the rewards, active participation is essential:

Vote every cycle — Cast your votes in both governance proposals and XAllocation rounds to activate your full Uranus multiplier

Spread your engagement — Participate across multiple proposals for maximum reward potential

Boost with VOT3 — Strengthen your Vote2Earn strategy by holding and using VOT3 across governance, complementing your Uranus multiplier benefits

Remember: even at Uranus tier, rewards are only realized through action. Ownership alone doesn’t generate returns — it’s your active engagement that powers the system.

Looking Ahead: The Final Steps in the Voyage

With Uranus now live, the journey to the cosmic summit continues:

Neptune (October, Level 8) — 2,500,000 B3TR donation | No free node upgrades

Galaxy (December, Level 9) — 12,500,000 B3TR donation | No free node upgrades

Ready to Harness the Power of Uranus?

Uranus GM NFTs represent a bold new milestone in VeBetterDAO’s evolution — bringing unmatched multipliers, deeper governance authority, and a new level of prestige to committed ecosystem members.

For complete details and technical specifications, consult the official whitepaper and follow our official X channel for all updates on future tier releases and ecosystem advancements.

Uranus GM NFTs Now Live: The Eighth Tier in VeBetterDAO’s Cosmic Journey was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As ever, we’re committed to fostering a transparent, lively, and equitable governance process within VeBetterDAO. While the existing framework enabled open participation, it also revealed the need for structural refinements to maintain quality and operational efficiency.

Following the recent approval of a community submitted proposal and many hours of hard work by our engineers, the measures outlined have been mostly implemented. These changes are designed to safeguard proposal quality, encourage balanced participation, and ensure stakeholders remain incentivised to engage actively in governance. Read on for the full breakdown!

You can review the original proposal, here.

Identified Challenges

The proposal highlighted several challenges with the governance proposal system:

No barrier to entry: Any submission could be submitted, resulting in excessive low-value or duplicate proposals.

Lack of clarity: Ambiguous or poorly structured proposals slow decision-making.

High and rising support thresholds: Smaller stakeholders were often unable to contribute meaningfully thanks to the flat 2% quorum of all VOT3 tokens required.

Locked VOT3 without yield: Supporters were discouraged from backing proposals due to being excluded from the weekly snapshot, and therefore losing out on weekly governance rewards.

Implemented Changes

The approved measures address these issues through a combination of new requirements, targeted adjustments, and retained safeguards.

New Requirements

Moon-level GM NFT is now required to create proposals, ensuring authors have demonstrated long-term commitment and to reduce spam.

Mandatory “List of Changes” section, categorising amendments as Removed, Modified, or Added Features.

Note: Other changes, such as using B3MO as an AI agent to review proposals, and the requisite to create Discourse threads prior to creating proposals will be included in a future update.

Adjustments to Current Parameters

Maximum Support cap of 5 million VOT3: This change helps prevent disproportionate influence by large holders and improve engagement for smaller stakeholders. Currently, VeBetterDAO requires proposals to receive community support equal to 2% of the circulating supply of B3TR (as VOT3) before advancing to the formal voting phase — this amount may become prohibitive for smaller stakeholders to meet over time, excluding participation.

VOT3 tokens used to support proposals will now count toward voting power in dApp weekly allocation voting rounds (allowing users to remain eligible for rewards from the weekly allocation during the lock-up period).

This approach ensures that active governance participation is not penalised, while maintaining a meaningful cost for voting and endorsement.

Importance of Community Engagement

Governance is the foundation of VeBetterDAO’s sustainability and growth. These changes represent not only a procedural improvement, but also an investment in the DAO’s long-term resilience.

A healthy governance ecosystem depends on:

Broad participation — Ensuring diverse perspectives and decentralised decision-making.

Informed engagement — Encouraging members to review, discuss, and evaluate proposals carefully.

Shared accountability — Making governance a collective responsibility rather than the domain of a few large holders.

VeChain reaffirms its commitment to creating an environment where every committed stakeholder can contribute meaningfully. By participating in discussions, proposing constructive changes, and voting thoughtfully, the community ensures that VeBetterDAO remains adaptable, transparent, and aligned with its mission to drive sustainable innovation.

Another Step Forwards

The implementation of these governance refinements marks a significant step forward for the VeBetter ecosystem. By combining higher submission standards, fairer thresholds, and aligned incentives, the process is now better equipped to handle proposals that genuinely benefit the ecosystem.

Want to contribute a proposal of your own? Head on over to Vebetter.org and join the community!

VeBetter Proposal Update: Higher Quality, Fairer Participation, Improved Engagement was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As ever, we’re committed to fostering a transparent, lively, and equitable governance process within VeBetterDAO. While the existing framework enabled open participation, it also revealed the need for structural refinements to maintain quality and operational efficiency.

Following the recent approval of a community submitted proposal and many hours of hard work by our engineers, the measures outlined have been mostly implemented. These changes are designed to safeguard proposal quality, encourage balanced participation, and ensure stakeholders remain incentivised to engage actively in governance. Read on for the full breakdown!

You can review the original proposal, here.

Identified Challenges

The proposal highlighted several challenges with the governance proposal system:

No barrier to entry: Any submission could be submitted, resulting in excessive low-value or duplicate proposals.

Lack of clarity: Ambiguous or poorly structured proposals slow decision-making.

High and rising support thresholds: Smaller stakeholders were often unable to contribute meaningfully thanks to the flat 2% quorum of all VOT3 tokens required.

Locked VOT3 without yield: Supporters were discouraged from backing proposals due to being excluded from the weekly snapshot, and therefore losing out on weekly governance rewards.

Implemented Changes

The approved measures address these issues through a combination of new requirements, targeted adjustments, and retained safeguards.

New Requirements

Moon-level GM NFT is now required to create proposals, ensuring authors have demonstrated long-term commitment and to reduce spam.

Mandatory “List of Changes” section, categorising amendments as Removed, Modified, or Added Features.

Note: Other changes, such as using B3MO as an AI agent to review proposals, and the requisite to create Discourse threads prior to creating proposals will be included in a future update.

Adjustments to Current Parameters

Maximum Support cap of 5 million VOT3: This change helps prevent disproportionate influence by large holders and improve engagement for smaller stakeholders. Currently, VeBetterDAO requires proposals to receive community support equal to 2% of the circulating supply of B3TR (as VOT3) before advancing to the formal voting phase — this amount may become prohibitive for smaller stakeholders to meet over time, excluding participation.

VOT3 tokens used to support proposals will now count toward voting power in dApp weekly allocation voting rounds (allowing users to remain eligible for rewards from the weekly allocation during the lock-up period).

This approach ensures that active governance participation is not penalised, while maintaining a meaningful cost for voting and endorsement.

Importance of Community Engagement

Governance is the foundation of VeBetterDAO’s sustainability and growth. These changes represent not only a procedural improvement, but also an investment in the DAO’s long-term resilience.

A healthy governance ecosystem depends on:

Broad participation — Ensuring diverse perspectives and decentralised decision-making.

Informed engagement — Encouraging members to review, discuss, and evaluate proposals carefully.

Shared accountability — Making governance a collective responsibility rather than the domain of a few large holders.

VeChain reaffirms its commitment to creating an environment where every committed stakeholder can contribute meaningfully. By participating in discussions, proposing constructive changes, and voting thoughtfully, the community ensures that VeBetterDAO remains adaptable, transparent, and aligned with its mission to drive sustainable innovation.

Another Step Forwards

The implementation of these governance refinements marks a significant step forward for the VeBetter ecosystem. By combining higher submission standards, fairer thresholds, and aligned incentives, the process is now better equipped to handle proposals that genuinely benefit the ecosystem.

Want to contribute a proposal of your own? Head on over to Vebetter.org and join the community!

VeChain Financial Report — Q1 2025

Dear Community,

The opening quarter of 2025 marked yet another a transformative period for the VeChain ecosystem. With major protocol upgrades taking centre stage and a backdrop of rapid user/transaction growth powered by the VeBetter platform, Q1 was a period of acceleration for VeChainThor.

Following the publication of our ambitious ‘VeChain Renaissance’ technical roadmap — a wishlist of updates including upgraded staking, revamped tokenomics, a new consensus model, Full EVM equivalence and JSON RPC integration — the stage is set for radical evolution — necessary, as we continue our pursuit of delivering real world adoption for blockchain.

The wider ecosystem welcomed new partnerships under the TKO umbrella, including a deal with the Power Slap league, opening the doors to new audiences, and Wanchain, the interoperability protocol, delivering cross-chain bridging capabilities to over 40 leading blockchains for the first time, opening new pathways to adoption and liquidity.

On the community governance front, a successful all-stakeholder vote took place, helping launch the Galactica testnet – phase one of VeChain Renaissance – demonstrating the centrality of community influence in the direction of the protocol’s evolution. Once the second stage of VeChain Renaissance goes live - ‘Hayabusa’ - this importance will only grow, with stakers helping decentralize and secure the protocol, earning for their efforts.

By the end of Q1 2025, the Foundation’s treasury stood at $218,545,123.57, having endured volatility due to wider market conditions. Thanks to stringent internal processes and disciplined resource management, VeChain had no issue navigating this period with ample resources on-hand.

As aways, in the name of openness and transparency, we are excited to deliver the details on our Q1 2025 expenditures, honouring the commitments made back in 2017.

Thank you for being an integral part of the VeChain community, joining our journey as we build a better future, together.

Sincerely,

VeChain Foundation

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet shows the total value of tokens held by VeChain, denominated in US Dollar value, and includes the value of BTC and ETH raised during ICO in 2017.

At the end of Q1 2025, the VeChain Foundation's total treasury value, including stablecoins and holdings of BTC, ETH, and VET, stood at $218,545,123.57. This represents a decrease from the $454,378,261.73 by 51%, as reported at the end of Q4 2024. The volatility is reflective of the broader cryptocurrency market conditions experienced during the quarter.

Comparing Q4 2024 with Q1 2025, asset prices were significantly impacted by market conditions: VET decreased by 48.16%, ETH fell by 46.19%, and BTC declined by 11.13%. Despite these market challenges, our strategic initiatives and operational execution continued without interruption, demonstrating the resilience of our financial model and long-term approach.

Expenses Sheet

The expenses sheet covers all spending categories and summarises the expenses incurred by the foundation through various activities, initiatives, developments, and engagements.

PR & Marketing: PR & Marketing investments support growth, advertising, brand positioning and more across traditional, agency, and KOL channels. These investments are key in helping VeChain maintain its leading role in the broader crypto market.

Legal & Finance: Q1 Legal & Financial expenses totalled $1,128,959 USD, covering compliance, regulatory, and strategic advisory services. This investment supported our continued MiCAR compliance operations and helped establish legal frameworks for partnerships developed during the period.

Eco-Ops: Eco-Ops pertain to the continued expansion of ecosystem operations and development. This expense covers outsourced technical services, specialized consulting engagements, and team compensation.

Tech-Ops: Tech-Ops expenditures relate to intensive development work spanning the Technology centre of the Foundation. It covers various internal teams pursuing multiple technical goals in parallel, from wallet to protocol, to infrastructure, tools and technologies.

Eco BD: Eco BD funds are support to the growth and expansion of the VeChain and VeBetter ecosystems, including strategic investments, onboarding new strategic partners, and supporting the overall expansion of the ecosystem.

A Quarter of Preparation and New Growth

2025 Q1 served a critical function this year – serving as a foundation-building quarter for many of the successes we’ve seen since, as well as those yet to be announced.

2025 Q1 also highlighted the importance of disciplined financial management and fiscal prudence. Our CFO team, led by David Smith, has continued to enhance its operational capabilities, and allowed us to navigate a turbulent quarter without having to compromise on our strategic priorities.

Continued investment in ecosystem development, strategic partnerships, and technical advancements during Q1 were proven prescient, baring fruit in later quarters as we march through 2025.

VeChain’s evolution and pursuit of its goal to deliver mass adoption of Web3 technology remains steadfast. With the unwavering support of VeFam and growth across the wider Web3 industry, we continue moving confidently toward our goal of delivering a valuable, impactful Web3 App platform that incentivizes users, and creates tangible impact and benefits to the world around us.

Onwards, we ride! Keep building.

About VeChain:

Founded in 2015, VeChain is a general-purpose, adoption-focused blockchain platform built to drive mass adoption for Web3, while rewarding positive social and environmental actions in the real-world. Its energy-efficient blockchain, VeChainThor, provides scalable, low-cost infrastructure for developers and businesses to build applications without requiring deep technical expertise. Having proven its model through global partnerships with UFC, BCG, and Walmart, and with over 2 million users engaging in VeBetter-powered apps, and 28 Million tokenized actions on-chain, VeChain is driving a retail-first adoption strategy, making blockchain accessible, impactful, and rewarding for everyday users. For grants, resources and more, visit vechain.org.

Disclaimer:

This crypto-asset marketing communication has not been reviewed or approved by any competent authority in any Member State of the European Union. The person seeking admission to trading of the crypto-asset is solely responsible for the content of this crypto-asset marketing communication. This marketing communication is issued by VeChain Foundation San Marino S.r.l..

White Papers relating to the crypto assets that we issue in the European Economic Area (EEA) are published and available on our website.

Contact: https://support.vechain.org

VeChain Financial Report — Q1 2025 was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Keyrock, the Brussels-based market-making firm serving institutional clients globally, is set to become a VeChainThor Validator to support network security while enhancing market liquidity for VET and VTHO.

Founded in 2017, Keyrock has established itself as a leading change-maker in digital asset markets, providing liquidity to over 85 centralized and decentralized venues worldwide. The firm’s decision to support ecosystem liquidity and become a network Validator demonstrates the growing institutional recognition of VeChain’s unique value proposition: real-world utility backed by technical excellence.

Institutional Pedigree Meets Real-World Blockchain

Keyrock joins VeChainThor’s Validator network with robust institutional operations forged through years of digital asset market leadership. Their 170+ member team operates across 36 countries, blending crypto-native expertise with traditional finance backgrounds and compliance specialization — precisely the type of Validator needed for VeChain’s phase of mass adoption.

The firm’s founding vision remains focused on providing large-scale liquidity across all digital assets, an infrastructure-first philosophy that complements VeChain’s mission to deliver blockchain solutions with real-world utility and measurable impact.

Keyrock’s operational resilience became evident during the crypto winter of 2022–23, when they secured major institutional backing while many competitors faltered. The firm’s ability to triple trading volume and double headcount during market stress demonstrates the institutional-grade reliability essential for securing VeChainThor.

Proven Infrastructure Excellence Across Markets

Keyrock’s VeChainThor Validator entry builds on their extensive experience managing mission-critical financial infrastructure. Their proprietary algorithmic trading technologies operate across 85+ trading venues, handling billions in volume while maintaining enterprise-grade security and uptime standards.

The firm’s participation in Northstake’s ETH Validator Marketplace, alongside institutional giants like GSR, Nonco, and DV Chain, demonstrates its Validator capabilities. Keyrock’s addition to the regulated marketplace for institutional ETH staking validates their ability to meet the compliance and performance standards that sophisticated investors demand.

Keyrock’s Swiss regulatory clearance from VQF and dedication to “upholding rigorous regulatory standards within the crypto space” showcase their ability to operate sophisticated financial infrastructure within strict compliance frameworks — essential capabilities for validating enterprise-focused blockchain networks.

Keyrock’s Market-Making Mission for VET and VTHO

Keyrock’s collaboration with VeChain extends far beyond network validation to encompass their core expertise: market making and liquidity provision. As a leading digital asset market maker operating across 85+ centralized and decentralized venues, Keyrock brings critical infrastructure capabilities to enhance VET and VTHO trading efficiency.

The firm’s algorithmic trading technologies, proven across billions of dollars in volume, will focus on enhancing market depth and reducing spreads for VeChain’s native tokens. This enhanced liquidity benefits the entire ecosystem by providing more efficient price discovery and reduced trading costs for both institutional and retail participants.

“We look forward to deepening our involvement across the ecosystem by enhancing market liquidity on CEXs and DEXs,” stated Juan David Mendieta, CSO of Keyrock. This market-making infrastructure becomes increasingly valuable as VeChain’s enterprise adoption drives organic token demand, ensuring that growing utility translates into efficient and liquid markets for all ecosystem participants.

Strategic Timing with VeChain Renaissance

The VeChain Renaissance protocol upgrade has created attractive Validator economics while enhancing network security, decentralization, and institutional accessibility — exactly the type of environment that sophisticated infrastructure providers like Keyrock seek.

Under Hayabusa’s tokenomics upgrades, Validators can stake between 25M and 600M VET, earning 30% of block rewards plus 100% of priority fees from the dynamic gas market. With projected Validator APY starting at approximately 20%, these economics provide the institutional-grade returns that are inviting significant capital commitments.

The Renaissance upgrade’s removal of KYC requirements while maintaining robust governance frameworks aligns with Keyrock’s global operations and regulatory-first approach, making VeChainThor validation both accessible and compliant for its institutional structure.

Real-World Utility Drives Infrastructure Investment

Keyrock’s Validator commitment underscores VeChain’s differentiation through proven real-world utility. Unlike speculative blockchain projects, VeChainThor powers real-world applications for both businesses and retail, generating consistent transaction volume and user growth — the foundation that institutional Validators require for sustainable returns.

The VeBetter ecosystem’s millions of users and growing suite of X-to-Earn sustainability applications provide utility-driven VTHO consumption that supports Validator economics. Keyrock’s participation will benefit directly from this organic demand rather than purely speculative activity.

Their partnership approach — “Your success is our success” — aligns with VeChain’s collaborative ecosystem model, where Validators, Delegators, builders, and enterprises all benefit from shared success rather than zero-sum competition.

The Institutional Validation Accelerates

Keyrock’s Validator participation represents more than individual commitment — it signals institutional validation of VeChain’s strategic direction. When a firm managing billions in trading volume across 85+ venues chooses to commit significant resources to securing a network, it demonstrates calculated confidence in the network’s strategic direction.

The firm’s “ambitious” goal to “become one of the largest players in global financial markets” requires careful capital allocation and strategic positioning. Their decision to become a Validator on VeChainThor while expanding globally suggests that they believe VeChain represents critical infrastructure for the tokenized future they’re building toward.

The Next Growth Chapter Begins

Keyrock’s entry into VeChainThor validation marks another milestone in the institutional adoption of compliance-focused blockchain infrastructure. Their sophisticated approach to risk management, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence exemplifies the Validator quality that VeChain seeks to attract.

As VeChain Renaissance continues enhancing network capabilities through improved EVM compatibility and advanced tokenomics, Keyrock’s participation validates a fundamental thesis: the future belongs to blockchains that combine regulatory excellence with measurable real-world utility.

The convergence of institutional capital, proven infrastructure, and enterprise adoption creates the foundation for VeChain’s next phase of growth — powered by Validators who bring institutional-grade expertise and long-term commitment to network security.

About VeChain

Founded in 2015, VeChain is a general-purpose, adoption-focused blockchain platform built to drive mass adoption for Web3, while rewarding positive social and environmental actions in the real-world. Its energy-efficient blockchain, VeChainThor, provides scalable, low-cost infrastructure for developers and businesses to build applications without requiring deep technical expertise. Having proven its model through global partnerships with UFC, BCG, and Walmart, and with over 2 million users engaging in VeBetter-powered apps, VeChain is driving a retail-first adoption strategy, making blockchain accessible, impactful, and rewarding for everyday users. For grants, resources and more, visit vechain.org.

About Keyrock

Founded in Brussels in 2017, Keyrock is a global crypto investment firm leading in market making, OTC, and options trading for digital assets. Providing liquidity to over 85 centralized and decentralized venues worldwide, their 170-strong team operates across 37 countries, with entities in Belgium, the UK, Switzerland, France, and the U.S. Keyrock’s commitment to the industry is practical, not theoretical. They offer in-depth industry insights, co-create DeFi ecosystems, and actively support Web3 startups.

With Keyrock, the future of digital assets is not just envisioned; it’s actively being built.

Disclaimer:

This crypto-asset marketing communication has not been reviewed or approved by any competent authority in any Member State of the European Union. The person seeking admission to trading of the crypto-asset is solely responsible for the content of this crypto-asset marketing communication. This marketing communication is issued by VeChain Foundation San Marino S.r.l..

White Papers relating to the crypto assets that we issue in the European Economic Area (EEA) are published and available on our website.

Contact: https://support.vechain.org

Keyrock to Become Network Validator: Institutional Market Maker to Bolster VeChain’s Infrastructure was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There is no more doubt: The world is moving to blockchain. Accordingly, a strategic priority at VeChain is onboarding key institutional players who can bring the tools, services and infrastructure needed to support our goal of delivering mass adoption for Web3 applications.

On that front, we’re incredibly proud to spotlight the first of three new institutional collaborators - BitGo - a global leader in digital asset custody and institutional infrastructure, and an OG in the space, having been operational since 2013.

Integration with BitGo brings regulated custodian products that open up many new opportunities for VeChainThor and the VeBetter ecosystem, and their institution-grade tokenization and Node/Staking services help facilitate peace of mind for large, professional stakeholders joining us to secure the blockchain as a Validator once VeChain’s tokenomics changes are enacted towards the end of 2025.

The Business of Trust

Founded in 2013, BitGo offers a broad suite of services centered around digital asset custody and infrastructure. This includes both hot and cold wallets with advanced multi-sig and key segregation, custodial services backed by regulated trust entities, and insurance coverage up to $250 million.

BitGo serves over 2,000 institutional clients across more than 90 countries. These clients range from exchanges and brokerages to token foundations, hedge funds, asset managers, and large consumer brands such as Nike and SoFi. This global reach is a testament to BitGo’s ability to meet the complex needs of organizations that require high levels of security, compliance, and performance in their digital asset operations. Now, we welcome BitGo’s technical prowess into our own expanding institutional ecosystem.

BitGo’s trading and settlement tools, including the Go Network, enable institutions to settle assets off-exchange in real time, reducing counterparty risk and improving capital efficiency. BitGo also provides secure staking services, access to decentralized finance, NFT wallet capabilities, and tooling for launching stablecoins, including as the custodian and infrastructure provider for the launch of USD1, World Liberty Financial, Inc.’s US dollar-backed stablecoin.

“Institutional adoption depends on secure, scalable infrastructure,” said Chen Fang, Chief Revenue Officer at BitGo. “BitGo is proud to bring regulated custody and operational expertise to VeChain’s ecosystem, supporting the next generation of tokenized products alongside other leaders currently entering their ecosystem.”

Validating Confidence

Following the integration of BitGo’s custody solutions, the VeChainThor ecosystem gains an invaluable pillar of trust and risk management — a must-have for financial institutions, corporations, and investors looking to become Validators, secure the blockchain, and participate in VeChain’s reward, decentralization, and security mechanisms.

With financial institutions exploring blockchain with increasing fervour, VeChain, thanks to BitGo, can confidently meet their stringent needs, opening new avenues to collaborators that share our vision of a future powered by tokenization, RWA, and Web3.

Our flagship app platform — VeBetter — recently hit 4 million active users, and boasts over 27.8 Million tokenized activities in just one year of being live on mainnet. Bolstered by the support and institutional infrastructure, provided by BitGo and others, we’re incredibly optimistic about how we scale and grow even further from here.

Crypto Growth’s New Meta

Looking ahead, it’s clear things are changing for the crypto industry. Institutional infrastructure is taking an increasingly central presence as legacy players — those with the capital, resources and technologies to meaningfully move markets — deploy en masse.

Therefore, for any protocol, working with the right parties is critical for crossing the gap, scaling ecosystems, and pursuing a collective goal: The onboarding of a billion users to crypto, and beyond.

We can summarise four emerging macro patterns for crypto market as:

1. From retail driven to institutionally led

2. From narrative driven to utility-focused

3. From infrastructure-level to killer applications

4. From novel tech to driving real user growth

BitGo, in this sense, deliver foundational infrastructure for VeChain, and represent an important step on this journey.

Stay tuned — much more to come!

About BitGo

BitGo is the leading infrastructure provider of digital asset solutions, delivering custody, wallets, staking, trading, financing, and settlement services from regulated cold storage. Since our founding in 2013, we have focused on enabling our clients to securely navigate the digital asset space. With a large global presence through multiple regulated entities, BitGo serves thousands of institutions, including many of the industry’s top brands, exchanges, and platforms, as well as millions of retail investors worldwide. As the operational backbone of the digital economy, BitGo handles a significant portion of Bitcoin network transactions and is the largest independent digital asset custodian, and staking provider, in the world. For more information, visit www.bitgo.com.

About VeChain

Founded in 2015, VeChain is a general-purpose, adoption-focused blockchain platform built to drive mass adoption for Web3, while rewarding positive social and environmental actions in the real-world. Its energy-efficient blockchain, VeChainThor, provides scalable, low-cost infrastructure for developers and businesses to build applications without requiring deep technical expertise. Having proven its model through global partnerships with UFC, BCG, and Walmart, and with over 2 million users engaging in VeBetter-powered apps, VeChain is driving a retail-first adoption strategy, making blockchain accessible, impactful, and rewarding for everyday users. For grants, resources and more, visit vechain.org.

VeChain Joins Forces With BitGo to Build Foundations For Institutional Adoption was originally published in VeChain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.