VeChain Renaissance: Staking NFTs Powering Superior Rewards — What You Need to Know

VeChain Renaissance: Staking NFTs Powering Superior Rewards — What You Need to Know

With VeChain Renaissance officially underway following the successful Galactica Upgrade vote, we look forward to many exciting developments in 2025.

One of the most impactful changes is the introduction of the Staking NFT system that transform the ecosystem’s reward and tokenomic models.

As outlined in our Web3 for Better Whitepaper, we believe incentive-based models are the key to driving real world impact with blockchain. Through VeChain Renaissance, we apply this philosophy at the heart of VeChain, rewarding active contribution and complementing the X-2-Earn VeBetter app ecosystem.

Below, we unveil the benefits and details of the Renaissance Staking model, including the newly announced ‘Early Bird’ Staking Program with a 3 BILLION $VTHO budget — projected to be around $10M dollars*.

*Depending on market conditions.

Catch up on VeChain Renaissance articles including updates to VTHO tokenomics, EVM compatibility/JSON RPC integration, and the 2025 roadmap.

Staking NFTs: A Superior Reward Structure

One key change is that the era of passive VTHO generation ends with Renaissance. VET will no longer generate 0.000432 VTHO per token, daily; instead, the new model exclusively rewards those who take an active role in securing and decentralizing the network through staking, condensing the reward pool while increasing rewards for active participants.

To achieve this, we’re introducing an innovative NFT staking system, where a user’s VET collateral is used to mint Staking NFTs, with tiers reflecting total VET held.

Delegator Staking NFTs are one form. Delegators share 70% of block rewards — a significant increase that reflects their importance to the upgraded VeChain ecosystem. Validators — the block producers — receive the remaining 30% of block rewards plus 100% of priority fees (“tips”) from the new dynamic gas fee market.

The block reward pool includes:

• A share of newly generated VTHO
• Priority fees
• Additional rewards, weighted by Node tier

Renaissance also overhauls the existing governance model, introducing a weighted system where VET contributions are assigned an “effective staking” weight based on the Node type. This weight affects the probability of producing blocks and subsequently, earning rewards:

• Validators have a 2.0x effective weight — the highest in the system
• X-Node Delegator staking has a 1.5x effective weight
• Economic Node Delegator staking has a 1.0x effective weight

This weighted system maximizes block production probability for Validators while ensuring fair distribution based on contribution level.

Conservative projections* estimate Delegator can earn protocol rewards of up to 12.8% APY, lowering as participation grows, while Validators may start at approximately 20% APY at launch. Rewards are determined by network participation and may adjust over time.

*Based on market conditions — subject to change. Staking involves risks, including potential slashing and variable rewards. Rewards are determined by network conditions and are not guaranteed. This is not an investment product.

Delegator Nodes: More Accessible, More Decentralized

The existing Economic Node and X-Node program will transition to the new Delegator System, with all Node holders maintaining their tiers and privileges. All Node holders will be entitled to mint new Delegator NFTs by swapping their current Node NFTs and staking the required amount of VET collateral for their respective tier.

• Delegator VeThor X (600,000 VET): 2.0x staking rewards multiplier.
• Delegator Strength X (1,600,000 VET): 3.0x staking rewards multiplier.
• Delegator Thunder X (5,600,000 VET): 4.0x staking rewards multiplier.
• Delegator Mjolnir X (15,600,000 VET): 5.0x staking rewards multiplier.
• Delegator Strength (1,000,000 VET): 1.5x staking rewards multiplier, capped at 2,500 NFTs for a total stake limit of 2.5 billion VET.
• Delegator Thunder (5,000,000 VET): Increased 2.5x rewards multiplier, limited to 300 NFTs for a maximum total stake of 1.5 billion VET.
• Delegator Mjolnir (15,000,000 VET): Premium rewards with a 3.5x multiplier, limited exclusively to 100 NFTs for a maximum total stake of 1.5 billion VET.

X-Node Notice: Delegator X-Nodes carry forward a key characteristic of the current X-Node model — permanence. If you convert your current X-Node to a Delegator X-Node and later decide to unstake your VET, your X-Node will be destroyed, as with the system today. No new X-Nodes will ever be created.

Here’s some exciting news — VeChain Renaissance introduces three new Delegator Economic Node tiers, dramatically lowering the barriers to entry and inviting broader participation from newcomers:

• Delegator Dawn Node (10,000 VET): With a 1.0x staking weight multiplier, this tier offers newcomers an accessible entry point to the VeChain ecosystem, capped at 500,000 nodes for a total maximum stake of 5.0 billion VET.
• Delegator Lightning Node (50,000 VET): Step up your participation with improved reward weighting as 1.15x and enhanced network influence, limited to 100,000 nodes for a total maximum stake of 5.0 billion VET.
• Delegator Flash Node (200,000 VET): Unlock premium rewards with a 1.3x multiplier, capped at 25,000 nodes for a total maximum stake of 5.0 billion VET.

The new tiers of Node help users gain access to rewards network influence, while preserving the exclusivity of the original Economic Node and X-Node model.

When the Delegator System launches, the newest Node Tiers will have quicker maturity periods — 2 days for Dawn, 5 days for Lightning, and 15 days for Flash Nodes — while existing Node tiers will be increased — 30 days for a Strength Node, 45 days to Thunder, and 60 days to Mjolnir.

Note: Quantities of nodes are pulled from VeChainStats a VeChainThor block explorer — numbers may vary on release of data. If Eco-node limits for Mjolnir, Thunder and Strength stated above are breached by the official launch of the Delegator Program, all will be eligible to convert as expected.

Early Bird Staking: Massive Bonuses for First Movers

To encourage early migration — we’re launching something awesome. Launching July 1st, 2025, we will formally launch the Early Bird staking program, packed with substantial incentives for participants.

Early Birds will receive the standard staking rewards for the updated VeChain Renaissance tokenomics, PLUS a special bonus incentive for 6 months ahead of Hayabusa launch. In total, VeChain Foundation will allocate a total of 3.0B VTHO for the Early Bird Delegator NFT Program — projected to be around $10M at the time of launch.

Rewards will follow the weighted system of the new Delegator System, with higher-tier Nodes receiving proportionally larger bonuses — up to 3x current rewards for Mjolnir X-Node holders. This program ensures a smooth transition with high staking rates from day one of Renaissance.

TL;DR: The sooner you stake, the greater your benefits. Mark your calendars — July 1st 2025 kicks off a new era of tokenomics for VechainThor! Full details will be released towards the end of Q2 2025 to give you time to prepare.

How to Become a Delegator

StarGate — the new staking system — will commence in July 2025. Here’s how you can participate and start earning rewards as a Delegator:

1. Acquire a Node Badge — Hold an Economic Node (starting at 10K VET with Dawn Node) or purchase an existing X-Node from the market
2. Generate Your Delegator NFT — Stake your Node Badge plus the required VET amount through StarGate to create your Delegator NFT. Note: Your original Node NFT will be burned during this process
3. Select Your Validator — Research and choose from 101 Validators based on their performance history and status (active/inactive)
4. Earn Automatically — Your 14-day delegation cycle begins, with rewards distributed through smart contracts that you can claim anytime

Your delegation automatically renews with your current Validator unless you take action. After each 14-day period, you can withdraw your delegation, switch Validators, or continue with your current choice.

Important Node Information: When unstaking, your Delegator NFT is burned. For X-Node holders, this means a permanent destruction of the Node token. Economic Node holders can restake later but must undergo the respective maturity period.

How to Become a Validator

Validators are the backbone of the VeChainThor protocol. Here’s how you can find yourself stepping into this essential role:

1. Prepare Infrastructure — Validators must set up and configure servers to run the VeChainThor client
2. Stake Minimum 25M VET — Validators must stake a minimum of 25M VET to participate in block production
3. Join the Validator Queue — Submit a transaction to enter the Validator queue. The first 101 addresses with sufficient stake will become active Validators. While in the queue, your VET will be locked, but rewards won’t be generated until you become an active Validator.
4. Begin Block Production — Once activated, your Node will participate in consensus, securing the network, and earning rewards

All Validator stakes have a fixed 14-day lock period, which automatically renews unless a user decides to exit. Validators can adjust their staked at each renewal interval, totalling between 25M up to 600M VET. Rewards are claimable at any time.

If you decide to exit, submit an exit transaction during the current 14-day cycle. Your stake will enter an exit queue, becoming available for withdrawal within 24 hours after processing completes.

Validator onboarding starts in July 2025, transitioning Authority Masternodes to the new system. Existing Authority Masternodes will become Validators upon the launch of the Hayabusa Upgrade, scheduled for December 2025.

Strategic Control and Flexibility

Renaissance puts control of VeChainThor in the hands of Validators and Delegators, offering a balanced ecosystem with greater rewards and minimal complexity.

For Delegators, smart contracts handle reward distribution automatically. This means no server maintenance, manual claims, or technical expertise needed — select your chosen Validator and watch rewards be automatically distributed to your wallet.

Validators have a new level of autonomy under Renaissance. The KYC requirements are no more, marking a shift toward true decentralization, empowering those who directly secure the network’s future, while also benefiting from the streamlined reward distribution mechanism.

The ecosystem deploys a 14-day cycle that benefits both roles. Delegators can strategically select and adjust their chosen Validators, freely moving at the end of each 14 day cycle, or staying put, as desired. Validators can optimize their stake amount (25M-600M VET) at the end of each 14-day cycle, as market conditions evolve. Validators and Delegators benefit from flexible characteristics designed to best help users optimize their rewards.

X-Node Warning: While X-Node Delegators have the same flexibility in selecting Validators, be careful — unstaking permanently destroys your X-Node with no ability to recreate it.

Tokenomics Aligned for Growth

Renaissance fundamentally reshapes VeChainThor tokenomics to prioritize active ecosystem participation. This isn’t just an upgrade — it’s a complete economic realignment that sets the stage for sustained rewards as VeChain leads in this new era of blockchain adoption.

Under the new model, 100% of base transaction fees are permanently burned, creating natural VTHO scarcity. Meanwhile, VTHO inflation drops dramatically to just 27.8% of previous levels at launch, with a carefully calibrated issuance curve tied directly to network staking.

As more VET is staked, VTHO generation increases gradually to protect early Delegators from reward dilution while maintaining attractive returns as participation grows. When total VET staking reaches 30 billion (approximately 35% of total supply), VTHO inflation will be at 98% of today, but with 14x the economic security vs the current model.

Priority fees paid by users are rewarded directly to Validators and their Delegator pools, creating an additional rewards stream. With VTHO now exclusively generated through active staking, we eliminate the issue of ‘idle VTHO’ where non-participating wallets generated the token without contributing to the ecosystem.

All this comes together to create a powerful economic flywheel benefiting both Validators and Delegators. As network activity grows, VTHO consumption and burning increase, driving increased demand and value across the ecosystem.

VeBetter serves as a vital catalyst, with B3TR incentivizing sustainable actions that generate transactions. These transactions burn VTHO and generate rewards for staked VET, creating a self-reinforcing cycle where all stakeholders directly benefit from VeChain’s expanding ecosystem.

Join the VeChain Renaissance: Stake, Earn, Grow

VeChain Renaissance represents a pivotal opportunity for VET holders to transform passive holdings into active contributions while earning significant rewards. Whether as a Validator or Delegator, you’ll benefit from one of the industry’s most thoughtfully designed staking systems — one that balances accessibility, rewards, and long-term sustainability.

As we approach the July 2025 launch of the new staking system, now is the time to consider your Renaissance strategy. Whether you’re a long-term X-Node holder, a potential Validator with substantial VET holdings, or new to the ecosystem, Renaissance offers appropriate entry points and clear paths for growth.

Get ready to stake, earn, and grow with VeChain Renaissance!

VeChain Renaissance: Staking NFTs Powering Superior Rewards — What You Need to Know was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.