VeChain Unveils Hayabusa Staking Model with December 2 Mainnet Merge and Exchange Support

VeChain has detailed its Hayabusa staking model ahead of the highly anticipated merge with the VeChainThor mainnet, scheduled for December 2, 2025. The new economic model eliminates idle VTHO generation, requiring users to actively stake or delegate their VET to earn rewards. Through the StarGate platform, users can stake VET to receive a staking NFT, with options to wait for maturity or use a VTHO fee to accelerate the process.

Rewards are structured with 30% allocated to validators who operate the VeChainThor infrastructure, plus 100% of priority fees, while 70% goes to delegators who stake their VET. Non-staked VET holders will no longer earn VTHO, a shift from the previous model. The validator reward cycles operate in 7, 14, and 30-day periods, and the fee system burns base transaction fees, enhancing deflationary effects for VTHO as adoption grows.

In support of the upgrade, Bithumb, a leading South Korean exchange, will suspend VET and VTHO deposits and withdrawals starting at 3:00 PM KST on December 2 to ensure network stability. Other global exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Crypto.com, KuCoin, and Revolut, have confirmed technical readiness. The upgrade transitions VeChain from Proof-of-Authority (PoA) to Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS), involving 101 validators selected via a first-in, first-out queue for holders with 25 million VET.

VeChain's Hayabusa upgrade is officially recognized under the EU's MiCA regulatory framework, with updated whitepapers filed on November 19, 2025. Future phases include the Stargate testnet launch by end-2025 and Interstellar with JSON-RPC compatibility and an EVM upgrade in 2026, integrating with VeBetter to reward real-world actions that consume VTHO gas.