VeChain uses a revolutionary dual-token system: VET (the primary value and governance token) and VTHO (the operational fuel token) — separating the store of value function from the transaction fee function to solve a critical enterprise adoption problem: if a company builds supply chain tracking on VeChain, they don’t want their operational costs to fluctuate wildly with VET’s market price. VTHO is generated continuously by holding VET (5,000 VTHO per 1,000,000 VET per day) and is burned entirely when used to pay transaction fees. VeChain’s governance can adjust the VTHO generation rate and the VTHO cost per transaction to maintain stable, predictable operational costs for enterprise clients — a feature no single-token blockchain can easily offer. VTHO has no maximum supply and is continuously generated and burned in equilibrium with network usage.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | VTHO |
| Price | $0.00 |
| Market Cap | $57.55M |
| 24h Change | +3.3% |
| Circulating Supply | 99.32B VTHO |
| All-Time High | $0.05 |
How It Works
VTHO generation:
Every VET address holding VET automatically generates VTHO at a rate of 0.000432 VTHO per VET per day. This means simply holding VET earns you an ongoing stream of VTHO — usable for transactions or sellable.
VTHO burning:
Every transaction on VeChain burns VTHO. The amount burned = gas used × base gas price (adjustable). After burning, VTHO is permanently destroyed — reducing supply.
Elastic supply equilibrium:
VeChain’s governance can:
- Adjust the VTHO generation rate per VET held
- Adjust transaction base gas price (VTHO costs per operation)
This means if enterprise transaction costs become too expensive (VTHO price too high), governance can increase generation rates or reduce per-transaction VTHO costs.
Fee delegation:
VeChain supports “fee delegation” — an enterprise client can have a designated account pay VTHO on behalf of users/devices. This allows consumer-facing blockchain apps where end users never need to understand gas or hold tokens.
Proof of Authority consensus:
VeChain uses a curated set of 101 “Authority Masternodes” (large institutions that have completed KYC) to validate blocks — enabling high throughput (~10,000 TPS) and predictable block times.
Tokenomics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Supply | Inflationary (generated by VET holders) |
| Generation rate | 0.000432 VTHO per VET per day |
| Burn mechanism | 70% of each transaction fee burned; 30% to block proposer |
| Adjustment | VeChain Foundation and Authority Masternodes can adjust generation/burn |
| VET holders | Also stakeholders — they hold VTHO-generating assets |
Use Cases
- Transaction fees — VTHO burned to pay for all VeChain network transactions
- Enterprise operations — Businesses use VTHO for supply chain tracking transactions, product authentication events, etc.
- Passive generation — VET holders earn VTHO continuously; may sell or use operationally
- Fee delegation — Enterprises pay VTHO on behalf of customers for gas-free UX
History
- 2015 — VeChain founded by Sunny Lu; originally built on Ethereum
- 2018 — VeChain mainnet launches with VET and VTHO dual-token system
- 2019–2020 — Enterprise partnerships with PwC, BMW, DNV GL, Walmart China grocery tracking
- 2021 — VeChain bull run; VET and VTHO reach all-time highs
- 2022 — VeChain expands to sustainability applications (carbon tracking, ESG reporting)
- 2024 — VeChain announces EVM compatibility upgrade (VeChain Thor EVM); enterprise adoption continues
Common Misconceptions
“VET and VTHO are interchangeable.” VET is the governance, staking, and value-storage token. VTHO is the gas token. They are not interchangeable. You must hold VET to generate VTHO; you cannot trade VTHO for VET at parity.
“Running out of VTHO means your transaction is lost.” Transactions that fail gas checking (insufficient VTHO) are rejected before execution — not submitted. The VTHO is only burned on successful transaction inclusion.