VeChain Launches $15M StarGate Staking Program Following SEC Crypto Guidance

Launching July 1, VeChain’s StarGate staking program introduces a major upgrade to native staking on the VeChainThor blockchain, backed by a $15m bonus pool over six months, arriving as ETFs eye staking opportunities following recent SEC guidance

VeChain, a world-leading blockchain foundation, today announced the launch of its StarGate staking program. The launch comes after the SEC’s landmark guidance clarifying that protocol staking activities do not constitute securities offerings, and the industry is expecting approvals for staking ETFs by late 2025, positioning VeChain ahead of the institutional staking wave.

The launch of StarGate marks a major milestone in the VeChain Renaissance technical roadmap and for staking on the VeChainThor Blockchain, delivering increased rewards and direct-from-protocol staking leveraging NFT technology.

VeChain Renaissance represents the most significant protocol upgrade in VeChain’s history, introducing improved tokenomics, a new staking model, and key features like EVM equivalence and JSON RPC, with the goal of increasing the economic attractiveness and ease of building on VeChainThor. The new Weighted Delegated Proof of Stake consensus mechanism will allow VET holders with as little as 10,000 VET to participate in staking, enhance network security, and earn rewards, marking a fundamental shift toward broader accessibility and network decentralization.

“The SEC’s recent guidance validates what we’ve been building toward: a fully compliant, accessible staking model that treats rewards as compensation for network services rather than investment returns,” said Sunny Lu, CEO and Founder of VeChain. “Our innovative approach of leveraging NFTs to represent participation ensures both simplicity for users and full regulatory alignment.”

With major ETF issuers actively seeking staking integration for their products, and banks receiving authorization to validate Ethereum transactions, VeChain’s NFT-based model offers a unique solution that combines regulatory compliance with accessibility, appealing to institutions who are increasingly attracted to the crypto industry.

To catalyze widespread adoption of the new staking model, the VeChain Foundation has committed 5.48 billion VTHO tokens (valued at approximately $15 million) to provide a six-month bonus boost to the rewards program. This initiative provides substantially enhanced Annual Percentage Yields (APY) to early participants who migrate their existing nodes and stake their VET tokens, and sees Nodes continue to generate higher APY than the current iteration once the 6-month bonus window has ended.

The approved staking tiers include nodes with a VET staking requirement at:

• Dawn tier: 10,000 VET minimum
• Lightning tier: 50,000 VET
• Flash tier: 200,000 VET
• Additional tiers up to Mjolnir X at 15.6 million VET

“As regulatory clarity emerges globally, we’re positioned to lead the next wave of compliant, accessible blockchain participation,” added Lu. “The generous rewards pool ensures early adopters benefit while contributing to network decentralization.”

To participate in StarGate staking and earn enhanced rewards, VET must be moved from exchanges to self-custody wallets, such as VeChain’s official wallet – . Only self-custodied tokens will be eligible to receive the staking NFT required for activation. VET holders can use the VeChainStats VTHO Staking APY Estimator or the Redeno Staking Simulator to calculate potential rewards and choose their optimal staking tier based on their VET holdings.

For more information about the upcoming vote and StarGate staking model, visit vechain.org.

About VeChain

VeChain is a pioneer in blockchain-powered solutions for tokenization of assets and actions. Built on this foundation, the VeBetter ecosystem leverages decentralized applications (dApps) to drive sustainability, rewarding users—from individuals to enterprises and institutions—with B3TR tokens for their impactful actions. By incentivizing sustainable choices, VeBetter fosters long-term behavioral change, creating a lasting positive impact on society and has enabled nearly 20 million tokenised, sustainable actions since VeBetter’s launch in 2024.