Decentralized Finance yield platform Pendle is ready to switch its vePENDLE token as its major governance and reward token, arguing the earlier design held again broader adoption.
In an announcement through X on Monday, Pendle unveiled sPENDLE, its new “liquid staking token” that may quickly substitute vePENDLE as the first governance token on the protocol.
“We’re excited to introduce sPENDLE, the following evolution of Pendle tokenomics. This improve is designed to handle vital limitations of the vePENDLE system, whereas unlocking new alternatives for PENDLE holders and the protocol,” Pendle stated.
sPENDLE is a liquid price and governance token with a 14-day withdrawal interval, the group added.
sPENDLE staking will go dwell on Tuesday, whereas vePENDLE locks shall be paused on Jan. 29. A snapshot will then be taken of consumer vePENDLE balances to assist with the switchover.
On the identical day, the brand new governance construction below sPENDLE will absolutely roll out.
Based on knowledge from DeFi Llama, Pendle is the Thirteenth-largest decentralized finance (DeFi) platform when it comes to complete worth locked at virtually $3.5 billion.
Higher tokenomics a doable boon for Pendle customers
Within the submit, Pendle stated that regardless of sturdy platform development over the previous couple of years, vePENDLE in the end brought about “important boundaries” that restricted “broader adoption.”
One key issue was the lengthy lock-up occasions for the asset, through which customers couldn’t get their funds again till the set time intervals had been over.
Pendle stated it was designed to drive long-term dedication to the protocol, however failed to attain its objective. To deal with this, sPENDLE will be locked up and withdrawn at any time following a 14-day unwinding interval, or immediately for a 5% price.
Different issues included the dearth of interoperability of vePENDLE, because it was non-transferable, that means that it couldn’t be utilized throughout different DeFi platforms.
To deal with this, sPENDLE shall be built-in with a variety of DeFi platforms, enabling the asset for use for functions comparable to restaking.
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Pendle additionally stated the governance construction was too sophisticated for almost all of customers, because it required energetic weekly engagement to earn rewards from governance contributions.
“The weekly vote-to-earn system required a deep understanding of DeFi and market dynamics to optimize rewards,” Pendle stated.
“Regardless of producing over $37M in 2025, the advanced voting mechanics meant that rewards concentrated amongst vePENDLE holders with sufficient experience to navigate the system successfully — a tiny fraction of customers,” Pendle added.
To resolve this, Pendle is introducing a brand new governance construction that makes it a lot simpler for holders. As a substitute of weekly engagement, holders will solely must vote for “vital” Pendle Protocol Proposals (PPP) to stay eligible for governance rewards.
When there isn’t any PPP to vote on, they may mechanically stay eligible.
Beneath this construction, Pendle can even conduct PENDLE token buybacks utilizing “as much as 80% of protocol income” to distribute as governance rewards.
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