Rebeca Moen
Feb 16, 2026 17:58
VeChain’s StarGate staking platform now live with NFT-based positions starting at 10,000 VET. Legacy node holders face March 15 migration deadline.
VeChain has rolled out comprehensive documentation for StarGate, its staking platform that went live in July 2025 as part of the Hayabusa phase of the VeChain Renaissance. The system replaces the legacy node structure with an NFT-based framework that opens staking to any holder with at least 10,000 VET—roughly $82 at current prices.
The timing matters. Legacy X Node and Economic Node holders face a hard deadline: March 15, 2026. After that date, the old rewards system shuts down permanently.
How the New System Works
VeChainThor runs on Delegated Proof-of-Stake with 101 validators producing blocks. Most users won’t run validator nodes—they’ll stake VET, receive an NFT representing their position, and delegate to active validators who handle the technical work.
The NFT approach is worth noting for traders. Your staked position becomes a transferable asset you can move between wallets, list on marketplaces, or trade—all while preserving staking attributes and reward history. That’s a meaningful departure from typical staking contracts where your tokens disappear into a smart contract.
Entry tiers start at 10,000 VET for a “Dawn” node with a 2-day maturity period. Higher tiers require more capital and longer maturity waits. X Nodes, which carry higher reward multipliers, can only be obtained through legacy migration or secondary market purchases—they cannot be created fresh.
The Economics
Validators take 30% of block rewards plus 100% of transaction priority fees. Delegators split the remaining 70% proportionally based on their stake weight. Your effective weight depends on your NFT tier, with X Nodes carrying boosted multipliers.
Don’t want to wait through maturity? A “Boost” feature lets you skip the waiting period by burning VTHO—approximately 50% of what you’d have earned during maturity. The fee decreases as time passes, so partial waiting reduces the cost.
For anyone running the numbers: a holder with 60,000 VET might generate more VTHO by splitting into one Lightning Node (50,000 VET) and one Dawn Node (10,000 VET) rather than a single Flash Node. The Dawn NFT’s shorter maturity means earlier reward accrual.
Validator Requirements
Running a validator requires minimum 25 million VET—adjustable up to 600 million at each renewal—plus server infrastructure capable of reliable uptime. No KYC required; the validator set is permissionless. Validators keep 100% of rewards when operating solo, switching to the 70/30 split once delegators join.
What Legacy Holders Must Do
Migration is straightforward: claim pending legacy rewards, initiate migration through stargate.vechain.org, and your old NFT burns while a new StarGate NFT mints. Migrated nodes skip the maturity period entirely and begin earning immediately.
One catch: remove any marketplace listings before attempting migration. Active listings block the process.
VET currently trades at $0.0082 with a $694 million market cap. The project ranked 7th in Santiment’s RWA development rankings earlier this month, and community discussion has focused on alignment with upcoming EU Digital Product Passport mandates—a potential 2026 catalyst for enterprise adoption.
The staking infrastructure is built. Whether the rewards justify the commitment depends on your VET holdings and time horizon.
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