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- VeChain activated its Hayabusa upgrade and shifted to a permissionless DPoS model.
- The upgrade introduced new tokenomics, a full base-fee burn, and enhanced security.
VeChain has recently completed the “Hayabusa” upgrade on its mainnet, marking one of the largest technical changes in the blockchain’s seven-year history. The network has officially transitioned from its traditional Proof-of-Authority model to a fully-fledged public Delegated-Proof-of-Stake model, which increases validator participation among the general public and enhances economic incentives for community actors.
Validators produced the first DPoS block minutes after its activation, marking the official end of the permissioned PoA era. Sunny Lu, CEO of VeChain, confirmed the milestone moments after activation on X.
hayabusa activated! pic.twitter.com/9sE0Q8cZly
— Sunny LU @VeChain (@sunshinelu24) December 9, 2025
Vechain Consensus Shift Transforms Validator Participation
Under Hayabusa, all the VeThor (VTHO) gas token rewards now go only to stakers. The change eliminates the passive VTHO generation exchanged and not staked by wallets built up historically. As a result, the update increases APY for users who actively support the network while reducing the dynamics of circulating supply.
The company claims that the new model makes VeChain’s reward system more efficient than Ethereum’s. VeChain validators can stake up to 600 million VET, resulting in proportionately higher reward weightings and increased flexibility of participation. Meanwhile, the network’s shift to open validation is consistent with its long-term roadmap of decentralization.
Moreover, the upgrade introduces priority tip mechanics and a similar burn-based gas design, similar to Ethereum’s EIP-1559, which enables 100% burning of the base fees. The model creates more predictability for developers while creating a more deflationary token environment.
Technical Roadmap Drives The Wider Renaissance
The Hayabusa activation is the second phase of VeChain’s multi-stage “Renaissance” program. The roadmap covers EVM upgrades, new developer tooling, governance enhancements, and a modernized gas market geared towards enterprise and consumer applications.
The project focused on regulatory alignment during the process. As we reported earlier, VeChain asserted that the technical changes have been reported to and approved by the MiCA register of the European Securities and Markets Authority.
The company considers compliance as one of the critical prerequisites to scaling digital-asset infrastructure within regulated markets, particularly those with increased transparency and consumer protection. Hayabusa is also the eighth hard fork of the network, continuing a tradition of continuous uptime that began with the blockchain’s launch in 2017.
Vechain Partnerships Expand Utility and Adoption
VeChain is pairing its technological transformation with new ecosystem development. The network declared a partnership with Rekord, an EU-oriented creator of Digital Product Passports, aimed at sustainability, supply-chain tracking, and regulatory requirements on ESPR.
Beyond the use cases for industry, the consumer use cases for VeChain are also in development. The network also has a consumer-facing presence in its ongoing relationship with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The collaboration resulted in the Build Your Body fitness app, which rewards users for doing workouts designed by UFC champions. In a recent interview, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that he purchased $1 million in VET and became an advisor to VeChain, bringing even more recognition to the ecosystem.