VeThor (VTHO)

Overview

VeThor’s role on VeChainThor

VeThor, known by its ticker VTHO, is the token used to pay for activity on the VeChainThor blockchain. Sending a token, recording information, or running a smart contract uses computing resources. VeChainThor measures that work in gas and charges the fee in VTHO. This makes VeThor essential to the network’s day-to-day operation. (docs.vechain.org)

VeChainThor has a two-token design. VET is the asset people stake to help secure the network, while VTHO pays for using it. Keeping these roles separate gives developers and businesses a way to plan for operating costs without making VET the direct payment for every transaction. The amount of VTHO needed for a transaction still depends on the work performed and the network’s fee rules. (docs.vechain.org)

History & Team

From VeChain to VeChainThor

Sunny Lu founded the VeChain project in 2015. VeChainThor began operating as its own blockchain in 2018, with VET and VTHO forming its core economic model. VTHO was introduced as part of that network design rather than as a separate blockchain project. VeChain’s published materials identify Lu as its founder and Jay Zhang as a member of its leadership team who served as chief financial officer. (docs.vechain.org)

The network has changed substantially since launch. In July 2025, the Galactica upgrade introduced a new transaction-fee system. In December 2025, Hayabusa changed how VeChainThor reaches agreement on transactions and how new VTHO is issued. These upgrades matter when reading about VeThor: descriptions of automatic VTHO generation from simply holding VET explain an earlier version of the network. Today, VTHO rewards are tied to active staking. (vechain.org)

Technology & How It Works

Transactions, validators, and gas

VeChainThor uses delegated proof of stake, or DPoS. Validators produce blocks and confirm transactions. Other VET holders can participate by staking VET and delegating it to a validator through StarGate. When a user submits a transaction, the network calculates the computing work it needs and charges a fee in VTHO. A simple transfer and a complex smart-contract action can therefore use different amounts of gas. (support.stargate.vechain.org)

Galactica divided transaction fees into two parts. The protocol sets a base fee, which is burned—permanently removed from circulation. A user can also include a priority fee, which goes to the validator that proposes the block. The base fee can adjust as network activity changes. This system connects VTHO consumption to actual use of VeChainThor. (docs.vechain.org)

The blockchain also supports features designed for applications with many users. A transaction can contain several clauses, allowing multiple actions to be handled together. Through fee delegation, an organization or app can pay a user’s VTHO fee. That lets someone interact with an application without first obtaining the gas token themselves. The fee is still paid on the network; the sponsor covers it. (docs.vechain.org)

Tokenomics & Utility

How VTHO enters and leaves circulation

VTHO is created through network rewards and spent on transactions. It has no fixed maximum supply. Before Hayabusa, holding VET generated VTHO at a set rate. Under the current system, issuance depends on how much VET is actively staked across the network. Validators and people who delegate VET can receive VTHO rewards for their role in securing it. Merely holding unstaked VET no longer generates those protocol rewards. (docs.vechain.org)

The amount created is dynamic: it changes with the total VET staked, rather than rising by the same amount for every VET held. At the same time, transaction base fees are burned. New issuance adds VTHO to circulation, while fee burning removes it. The balance between those forces depends on staking and blockchain activity. (docs.vechain.org)

VTHO’s main utility is straightforward. It pays for transfers, contract deployment, and other actions that change the blockchain’s records. VET staking supports security and reward participation. Holding VTHO alone does not grant VeChainThor governance votes; StarGate staking NFTs are among the tools used for governance participation. (files.vechain.org)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Business records and consumer apps

VeChainThor was built to support applications that need a shared, lasting record of events. A business can use it to record steps in a product’s journey, such as when goods move through a supply chain. Walmart China’s blockchain traceability platform, launched with VeChain and PwC in 2019, is an example of a food-tracking application built within the wider VeChain ecosystem. Recording and updating information on-chain involves transactions paid for with VTHO. (vechain.org)

The ecosystem also includes VeBetter, a platform for apps that reward everyday actions such as using a reusable mug. Its reward token is B3TR. When VeBetter apps make transactions on VeChainThor, those actions use VTHO for gas. The distinction is useful: an app may give users one token as a reward while using another behind the scenes to pay its blockchain costs. (vebetter.com)

Developers can use smart contracts for other kinds of records and services, too. Fee delegation lets an app sponsor transactions, which can make the blockchain less visible to its users. As a result, someone can use a VeChainThor-based service without directly handling VTHO, even though the token remains part of the service’s operation. (docs.vechain.org)

Advantages & Challenges

What the design offers

VeThor gives VeChainThor a dedicated payment token for computing work. Its two-token structure separates network fees from VET staking. Features such as multi-action transactions and sponsored fees give developers options for building services used by businesses or the public. The base-fee burn also provides a direct link between blockchain activity and VTHO consumption. (docs.vechain.org)

The model has trade-offs. VTHO’s practical use is closely tied to activity on VeChainThor: applications need transactions for the gas token to be used. A separate token also means users and developers must understand the difference between VET, VTHO, and any rewards an app may offer. Although the fee system can adjust to network conditions, the amount paid for a transaction can vary with the work required and the applicable gas fee. (docs.vechain.org)

Hayabusa added another distinction to learn. VET ownership and active staking are now different things for VTHO rewards. A delegator stakes VET through StarGate and connects a staking NFT to a validator; rewards follow the network’s staking rules. (docs.stargate.vechain.org)

Where to Buy & Wallets

Purchasing and storing VTHO

VeThor can be purchased on Coinbase and Binance in supported locations. Both platforms provide VTHO purchase information, while the available payment methods depend on the user’s region and account. VTHO can also be obtained as a network reward by actively staking VET and delegating through StarGate. (coinbase.com)

VeWorld is VeChain’s wallet for managing assets on VeChainThor. It is available as a mobile app and browser extension, supports StarGate participation, and can connect with a Ledger hardware wallet. An exchange account holds assets through the exchange; VeWorld lets users manage their own wallet credentials. VTHO sent for on-chain use belongs on the VeChainThor network, so the network selected for a withdrawal matters as much as the destination address. (veworld.com)

Regulatory & Compliance

Legal and religious considerations

In the European Union, VeChain has published a VTHO white paper under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA, for admission to trading. The paper identifies VTHO as a crypto-asset other than an asset-referenced token or e-money token. It describes the token’s function, issuance, and holder rights. The white paper’s notification date is November 19, 2025. (files.vechain.org)

In the United States, digital-asset tax rules apply to activities such as receiving rewards and selling or exchanging tokens. The Internal Revenue Service treats digital assets as property for federal income tax purposes. Trading services also operate within applicable financial rules, including requirements that can apply to businesses exchanging or transmitting digital assets. (irs.gov)

For Islamic finance, ShariaQuant’s published screening classifies buying and holding VTHO as halal. Its reasoning centers on VTHO’s use as a transferable token that pays for blockchain transactions and smart-contract work. That assessment concerns holding and using VTHO; financial arrangements offered around a token, such as lending products, are separate activities. (shariaquant.com)

Future Outlook

Development priorities

VeChain’s next proposed development phase, Interstellar, focuses on making VeChainThor more compatible with Ethereum-based developer tools and applications. Its proposed VIP-255 upgrade would add newer Ethereum Virtual Machine features. These plans build on Galactica’s fee changes and Hayabusa’s move to delegated proof of stake. (vechain.org)

For VTHO, the lasting question is how often people and organizations use VeChainThor. More on-chain actions mean more gas paid in VTHO and more base fees burned. Staking participation, meanwhile, affects the creation of new tokens. Together, application use, fee rules, and staking shape VeThor’s continuing role in the network. (docs.vechain.org)

Summary

The essential idea

VeThor is the working token of VeChainThor. It pays for transactions and smart contracts, while staked VET helps secure the blockchain and generates VTHO rewards. The network’s fee system burns base fees and pays priority fees to validators. From product records to consumer apps, VTHO supplies the gas that lets activity take place on-chain—even when an app handles the payment for its users. (docs.vechain.org)