VeChain (VET) is the native asset of VeChainThor, a public layer-1 blockchain built for enterprise supply-chain, sustainability and consumer applications. The network uses two tokens: VET for value transfer and staking, and VTHO (VeThor) as the gas token for transactions and smart contracts.
Core technology and blockchain architecture
VeChainThor is a modified fork of Go-Ethereum and has been EVM-compatible since its first block. It also supports fee delegation, multi-clause transactions and controllable transaction lifecycles (VeChain Docs). Its system contracts handle core operations. The Staker.sol contract manages the validator list and replaced authority.sol after the Hayabusa transition. The energy.sol contract implements VTHO as a VIP-180 (ERC-20) token with 18 decimal places (VeChain Docs – Built-in Contracts).
Hayabusa upgrade and DPoS transition
Hayabusa, the second phase of the VeChain Renaissance roadmap, activated on VeChainThor mainnet at block 23,414,400 on 2 December 2025. It replaced Proof of Authority with Delegated Proof of Stake, and its transition period ended on 9 December 2025 (StarGate Docs; CoinMarketCap). The change is specified in VIP-253.
StarGate staking
StarGate is VeChain's staking platform. Users stake VET to mint an NFT, then delegate that NFT to a validator. Delegation periods are 7, 15 or 30 days (StarGate Docs; Delegation Lifecycle). For each block a validator mines, 30% of rewards go to the validator and 70% are distributed to delegators in proportion to their stake (Rewards Structure).
Primary use cases and real-world applications
VeChain's main applications are product traceability and supply-chain data. Its Walmart China platform and a 2019 France-China food and beverage ecosystem with DNV and ASI Group are examples (DNV). VeChain's current materials also describe Rekord, a partner that connects enterprise systems and on-chain verification to support digital product passports (VeChain Official).
VeBetter is VeChain's consumer sustainability platform. It rewards verified eco-friendly actions with B3TR tokens across more than 50 integrated apps (Binance Academy). VeChain reports more than 5.2 million users and over 50 million on-chain transactions as of early 2026 (VeChain Manifesto). CoinStats notes that some of this activity may be automated or incentivized (CoinStats). Governance runs through VOT3, which is tied 1:1 to B3TR (Messari).
Who is behind VeChain and where is it based?
VeChain's team is publicly named. It was founded in 2015 by Sunny Lu, who previously served as CIO and IS&T Director for Louis Vuitton China (Investopedia; VeChainThor Whitepaper). The VeChainThor whitepaper lists Lu as Co-founder and CEO and Jay Zhang as Co-founder and CFO. The 2023 Whitepaper 3.0 names Antonio Senatore as CTO and Peter Zhou as Chief Scientist (VeChain Whitepaper 3.0). No source in the research reports a change of CEO. A different record, from CB Insights, names "Jie Zhang" as a founder, and MiCAR filings list Jie Zhang as President of the San Marino entity's board, so the sources do not fully reconcile the founding roster.
Most sources give 2015 as the founding year, and VeChain's support materials use the same date (VeChain Support). Key milestones include:
- 2017: VeChain Foundation Limited incorporated in Singapore on 22 August 2017, and the VEN token was distributed in a crowdsale.
- February 2018: VeChain confirmed a BMW partnership and rebranded to VeChain Thor (Finance Magnates).
- 30 June 2018: VeChainThor mainnet went live, with VEN swapped for VET at a 1:100 ratio (VechainInsider).
- February 2022: The Foundation announced a European headquarters in San Marino while keeping its Singapore presence (PR Newswire).
VeChain's documentation states that the company is headquartered in San Marino (VeChain Docs). A 2022 report said the technology team would work from Dublin, Ireland (Crowdfund Insider).
The legal structure has two main entities. VeChain Foundation Limited is a Singapore public company limited by guarantee, registered as UEN 201723861W (Companies.sg). VeChain Foundation San Marino S.r.l. is listed in the MiCA register, with Ireland as home member state and the Central Bank of Ireland as competent authority (MiCAWatch).
Tokenomics
VET is listed with a total supply and circulating supply of 85,985,041,177 VET each, and a market cap of $504.54M (rank #147). The 24h volume is $6.37M, and the all-time high is $0.281, with the current price 97.91% below it. VeChain's developer documentation describes a maximum fixed supply of around 86 billion tokens, all already minted (VeChain Docs). The sources reviewed do not provide a full breakdown of the original token allocation.
VTHO generation and burn
- Before Hayabusa: VTHO was generated passively at 5 × 10⁻⁹ VTHO per VET per second, roughly 13.67 billion VTHO per year. Of the VTHO used for gas, 70% was burned and 30% went to Authority Masternodes (Binance Square; Bybit).
- After Hayabusa: VTHO is generated only from actively staked VET, at a dynamic rate tied to total VET staked. Holding VET no longer generates VTHO (VeChain Docs; CoinMarketCap – VTHO).
- Burn: Base transaction fees are 100% burned (VeChain Official). VIP-251 governs VTHO supply through a dynamic fee mechanism inspired by EIP-1559.
- Reported effect: In its first thirteen weeks, StarGate reportedly cut VTHO emissions by 50.2%, with 10.7 billion VET locked and active stakers up 93.9%. These figures are VeChain Foundation data as reported by Blockchain.News on 13 March 2026 (Blockchain.News).
A February 2026 VeChain Foundation proposal would route a fixed share of VTHO block rewards and fees into a burner contract that swaps VTHO for VET and sends the VET to a burn address. The research does not confirm whether it was adopted (VeChain Discourse).
Consensus and network security
VeChainThor now uses Delegated Proof of Stake. VET holders can run validator nodes with a collateral minimum of 25,000,000 VET, or act as delegators by staking VET to a chosen validator (VET White Paper). Anyone holding VET can participate by staking and delegating (VeChain Official).
Before Hayabusa, the network used Proof of Authority with 101 Authority Masternodes. Each had to disclose their identity to the VeChain Foundation and complete a KYC process (VeChain Docs – Consensus Deep Dive).
Key partnerships and ecosystem integrations
- Walmart China: The Walmart China Blockchain Traceability Platform, built on VeChainThor, was announced on 25 June 2019 with PwC, the China Chain-Store & Franchise Association, Inner Mongolia Kerchin Co. and VeChain (PR Newswire). The first 23 product lines were implemented, and customers can scan a QR code for product details.
- Sam's Club China: In 2020, the Walmart subsidiary partnered with VeChain on a traceability platform, with PwC assisting (Cointelegraph).
- BMW: BMW Group and VeChain developed a digital vehicle passport solution (VeChain Whitepaper 2.0).
- DNV: DNV GL bought a stake in VeChain in May 2018. The two companies developed the My Story digital assurance solution on VeChain's public ledger (DNV – My Story).
- PwC: The relationship began in 2017 as a Joint Business Relationship (PwC Japan).
- Boston Consulting Group: At Money20/20 in 2023, VeChain's CEO and BCG discussed tokenization and "X to Earn" models for sustainability (VeChain Medium).
Competitive advantages and unique value proposition
- Fee structure: The split between VET as the value asset and VTHO as the transaction-cost asset is presented by VeChain as greater cost predictability (Gate).
- EVM compatibility: Developers can use Ethereum-style tooling, and Interstellar extends that compatibility.
- Enterprise deployments: Walmart China, BMW and DNV are documented deployments.
- Burn design: Post-Hayabusa, VTHO issuance is tied to staking, and base fees are burned.
Development activity and roadmap
VeChain Renaissance has three phases:
- Galactica introduced an EIP-1559-style gas fee market with priority tips for validators (VeChain Manifesto).
- Hayabusa (December 2025) moved the network to DPoS and dynamic VTHO issuance.
- Interstellar (VIP-255) brings the VeChainThor EVM up to date with Ethereum's Cancun, Prague and Osaka releases through 11 EIPs (GitHub – thor releases). Voting ran from 10 to 17 August 2026 on VeVote. The testnet hardfork was scheduled for block 25,891,380 on 9 September 2026, and mainnet for block 25,902,540 on 16 September 2026 (Crypto Economy). VeChain reports that mainnet activation occurred at block 25,902,540 (LinkedIn – VeChain Foundation). Full transaction equivalence with Ethereum is planned for a future VIP.
The 2026 roadmap covers VeWorld, real-world asset issuance, agent infrastructure and an agent marketplace (VeChain Roadmap 2026). It also includes JSON-RPC compatibility and MCP, along with agent identity and reputation (Box Ventures). The B3MO Quest launched in April 2026 (Bitget).