Ten years ago, Sunny Lu, the founder of VeChain (VET), unveiled the prototype of what would become a pioneering blockchain network.
A decade later, he’s sharing not just the achievements of VeChain but also the developments still on the horizon. At Consensus 2025, he sat down with Joseph Raczynski to talk about what’s been achieved and, more importantly, what’s coming next.
Sunny began by reflecting on VeChain’s growth,
“Firstly, we had what we call the three White Papers journey. I think we might be the only project to release three white papers at different stages of our development. Our latest white paper, developed together with the Boston Consulting Group, we called ‘Web 3 for Better.’ Our mission is simple: harness blockchain technology for good.”
Real-World Enterprise Applications
Sunny then explained VeChain’s real-world impact,
We’ve focused on enterprise applications, like the food safety platform we built for Walmart China in 2019, the PYD carbon credits project, battery management systems, and even ocean cleanup initiatives to track recycled plastics. Since last summer, we’ve been developing a new platform called VeBetter DAO ecosystem designed to bring together both enterprise and retail applications.
For context, VeBetter DAO is a decentralized platform launched to drive eco-friendly and socially positive behavior. It rewards users with tokens for contributing to sustainability goals like recycling or using clean energy.
“We want to tokenize people’s positive behaviors,” Sunny said. That means actions like taking public transportation, drinking coffee from a reusable cup, or charging your EV in an eco-conscious way can now be turned into blockchain-tracked contributions.
This concept, known as Proof of Habit, is already live in several apps. Cleanify encourages recycling and community cleanliness. EcoMeal helps users make sustainable food choices. EVearn rewards Tesla drivers who charge responsibly, and NewPillar. It’s one of the more grounded uses of blockchain we’ve seen in a while, far from the hype of NFTs or memecoins.
A question that often comes up is why VeChain didn’t just build on Ethereum or another major chain.
Sunny answered this directly that between 2015 and 2016, VeChain explored Ethereum. However, they faced limitations. Network congestion, volatile gas fees, and lack of privacy made Ethereum a poor fit for enterprise clients. VeChain went its own way, built a purpose-built blockchain with faster transactions, stable costs, and better support for business logic.
Looking ahead, VeChain is still building.
According to Crypto News Flash, they’re now working on a Behavioral Index Fund, a new kind of data initiative that collects and analyzes how people and companies act in ways that support ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) goals. Their next big technical update, VeChain Renaissance, is now ready to execute its first phase. Galactica went live on the testnet, and the mainnet launch is set for July 1st.
Sunny shared a glimpse into VeChain’s future plan.
AI will play a central role in helping users connect with the most impactful blockchain tools. “It’s one of the top strategies for us,” Sunny said. “AI can help users understand which apps to use, how they connect, and what benefits they bring. It’s all part of the ecosystem we’re building.”
As of now, VET is trading at $0.0279, down 2.79% in the past 24 hours, with a market cap hovering around $2 billion.