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In our latest AMA, Sunny Lu, CEO of VeChain, joined the BeInCrypto Trading Community to share updates on StarGate — a major innovation in staking, transforming the way users interact with the VeChain network. With over 5.4 billion VET already staked and 10,000+ staking NFTs minted, StarGate is quickly becoming a core part of VeChain’s growing ecosystem.

We talked with Sunny about decentralization, real-world adoption, institutional traction, and where VeChain is heading next. Below are the key highlights from the session — and if you want to hear more of Sunny’s candid thoughts (including a few jokes about dog poop and “dino coins”), check out the full AMA in our Telegram Community.

AMA Session With VeChain

BeInCrypto: What makes StarGate such a breakthrough in staking?

Sunny Lu: Being decentralized is hard. Not everyone can run a node. The real question is: how to eliminate the technical barrier for ordinary users to be part of protocol security to ensure real decentralization. That’s the NFT mechanism of StarGate — as long as you know how to “operate” an NFT, you can participate in staking from your wallet very easily. On top of that, NFT holders will receive protocol rewards directly, rather than through some middleman. Users don’t need to worry about the rewards or security of assets staked.

BeInCrypto: What are the key takeaways so far from the StarGate launch?

Sunny Lu: So far so good! There are more than 10,000 NFTs minted or migrated, a total of 5.4B VET staked, and the number is still growing. Check out https://app.stargate.vechain.org for the most updated info. The community loves that as a novel and inclusive way to enable real decentralization in general. Meanwhile, the validator onboarding is in very good progress so far — a staking platform from the VeChain community (Redeno.org) has onboarded 125M+ as new validators, and it’s planned to be 250M–350M range as the first target. We are pushing for more staking for sure.

BeInCrypto: Earlier, you mentioned over 40 applications already live on VeBetter.com. Can you highlight those that are showing strong traction or unique use cases?

Sunny Lu: Sure. There were 42 applications by last week, and more to come. In terms of user growth, Mugshot.eco is No.1 with 1.8M users now. Mugshot is the DApp to incentivize people to use reusable mugs for coffee or tea instead of disposable cups. Very simple use case: take a photo of your coffee or tea, and then the AI will decide the reward based on your submission.

GreenCart.ai is No.2 with more than 1.5M users as well — it incentivizes users to do sustainable shopping or shop for sustainable goods.

There are also other interesting examples — EvEarn.io is integrated with Tesla systems already. Users can log in to EvEarn with their Tesla account, and the charging data will be automatically loaded to the smart contract to incentivize people by charging their car.

And not mentioning BYB — VeBetter dApp branded by the UFC, made for UFC fans and fans of fitness (yes, you are right, THE UFC).

One more fun one: ScoopUp.vet — to motivate people to pick up the dog poop while walking the dogs. It’s a real application. And you gotta do KYD — Know Your Dog — process to start.

BeInCrypto: How are institutional partners getting involved post-StarGate launch?

Sunny Lu: Institution onboarding is one of our top priorities now. There are three types of institutional engagement ongoing:

1. Investors like Keyrock who are becoming validators
2. Infrastructure service providers like BitGo and Redeno who are onboarding more institutions with staking services or validator-as-a-service
3. Professional service providers like The Tie (The Terminal) who are opening up more channels to institutions.

Additionally, some partners, such as Franklin Templeton, are being onboarded with multiple roles, including Benji token integrations, soon.

Last but not least, we have Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as our go-to-market partner to build the ecosystem together and onboard more enterprise applications and partnerships.

BeInCrypto: With MiCAR compliance already achieved, how does VeChain plan to expand its footprint in the European market? Are there parallel efforts for U.S. or Asian regulatory alignment?

Sunny Lu: MiCAR is the most comprehensive crypto regulation so far in the main jurisdictions of the world, covering 27 countries in Europe. And VET/VTHO was confirmed in MiCAR through the Central Bank of Ireland early this year. It opens up the door to the mainstream, including institutional investors, partners, and enterprise adoption.

We are also working on expanding more classes in MiCAR (covering B3TR token, custodian for wallets) for mass adoption.

In terms of the other jurisdictions, the U.S. is one of the priorities for sure, and we’re monitoring the regulatory developments. And we’ve got the best advisor to help on this — Dana White, president of UFC.

We are also going to explore more jurisdictions like the Middle East and Asia step-by-step.

In a nutshell, VeChain has achieved MiCAR compliance in Europe, which is always considered an “over-regulated” jurisdiction — it will help us to ease the process to achieve the others and get to 100%.

BeInCrypto: What major developments or upgrades can the community expect for the remainder of 2025?

Sunny Lu: We have clear strategies in VeChain for mass adoption. Firstly, the VeChain Renaissance is for sure our base: it’s just halfway there. Hayabusa, as the 2nd stage, is ongoing, which is even more critical than Galactica (the first stage), with some critical upgrades:

• Validator target: 600M VET
• Lower VTHO issuance significantly
• Many other technical upgrades for scaling and security

Secondly, we’ll continue to boost the growth of VeBetter.com. We’re aiming to achieve 100 apps and 20M users as the first milestone.

Third, compliance work — to go to more jurisdictions, including MiCAR for B3TR, and get more readiness for mass adoption.

Last but not least, institutional onboarding remains a main focus.

Questions by the Community

@TuanAnh1234562: Why does Sunny Lu consider 2025 a turning point for VeChain’s real-world utility, and how does this reflect broader trends in the blockchain industry?

Sunny Lu: 2025 is critical. I just mentioned the changes I believe are happening globally. Also, the regulation clarity across the world — MiCAR in the EU, Genesis Act in the U.S., and others — really opens the door to the mainstream.

To answer this, I’d like to share feedback I got from one of my friends who attended a digital assets seminar organized by Goldman Sachs a few weeks ago:

1. Everybody is asking — other than BTC, what else can they invest in?
2. Where are the real utility applications with user growth?

It proves my theory.

@MaiTuyet97: What is VeChain’s biggest competitive advantage that makes you confident in leading the blockchain market?

Sunny Lu: Constant deliveries with such longevity. I was called by my friends — VeChain is a ‘dinosaur coin’ — has been in the crypto space “forever,” haha.

In my view, technology is always evolving, and iteration is the main theme. VeChain, as one of the pioneers in the crypto space, has always been delivering. And such longevity has shown a proven record.

VeChain has iterated three times with successive white papers (2017, 2019, and 2023), and we are still delivering the iterations and upgrades.

@glukhova1_lena: How does StarGate’s transformation of staked VET into NFTs differ from traditional staking mechanisms in the Web3 space, and what are the tangible benefits this NFT-based approach offers to long-term VET holders?

Sunny Lu: As a veteran in the crypto space (starting from 2013), I have always believed decentralization sits at the top of crypto principles. But being decentralized is hard — in PoW, mining pools or miner manufacturers could be centralized. In PoS, staking services can be centralized.

The obstacle is very simple — not everyone is capable of setting up and running a node.

The NFT mechanism of StarGate eliminates the technical barriers. As long as you know how to operate an NFT, you can stake from your wallet easily.

NFT holders receive protocol rewards directly — no middleman. You don’t have to worry about rewards or the security of staked assets.

We introduced delegators represented by NFTs to participate in decentralization. And rewards are pretty juicy — check out https://redeno.org/simulator to run your simulation.

@Peter2198: How is VeChain expanding its institutional participation, and what role do these institutions play beyond just being investors?

Sunny Lu: Institutions can be investors, validators, delegators, and service providers. More than a year ago, we set up a new team called “Institution Growth,” led by Johnny Garcia, who has deep experience in TradFi. His last job was BTC ETF Product Manager at Bitwise.

Johnny is now leading the team to engage and onboard institutions. I’m sure you’ve seen the news about VeChain partnering with BitGo, KeyRock and Franklin Templeton — and we’re just getting started.

@dmanh55: During bear markets, many projects disappear. How does VeChain plan to stay resilient and continue thriving through different market cycles?

Sunny Lu: Our 8-year survival with constant delivery tells the story. VeChain has been here through multiple cycles and is still delivering. We’ve iterated through three whitepapers and kept building.

I believe the TradFi and crypto worlds are meeting in the middle. There are so many opportunities.

Conclusion

This AMA gave the community a closer look at VeChain’s steady progress and bold vision — from NFT-based staking and sustainability DApps to enterprise-grade compliance and institutional adoption.

Want to hear even more from Sunny Lu — in his own words, jokes, and energy?

Catch the full AMA in our Telegram Community and join the conversation.

“The future is bright — and we’re just getting started.”

The post VeChain x BeInCrypto AMA Session: NFT Staking, Real Utility & What’s Next for VeChain in 2025 appeared first on BeInCrypto.