veBTC Overview
veBTC is the tokenized (NFT) representation of BTC locked on Mezo Network. Locking BTC gives you governance power and a share of protocol fees.
What is veBTC?
When you lock BTC on Mezo, you receive a veBTC NFT that represents your locked position. This NFT gives you:
- Voting power to direct mats emissions across the ecosystem
- Protocol fees from chain activity and bridging
- Governance rights to shape Mezo’s economic future
How Voting Power Works
Your veBTC weight depends on two factors: the amount of BTC locked (more BTC = more voting power) and your lock duration (longer locks = higher sustained weight).
Your voting power decays linearly over time. A user who locks 1 BTC for 28 days starts with 1 veBTC, which decays to 0.5 after 14 days, and reaches 0 at expiration. You can extend your lock at any time to maintain full voting power.
Lock Parameters
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum lock | 1 day |
| Maximum lock | 28 days |
| Lock decay | Linear — weight decreases continuously until reaching zero |
What You Earn
Passive Earnings (All veBTC Holders)
All veBTC holders automatically receive a share of chain and bridging fees proportional to their voting weight. This is passive yield that accrues simply by holding veBTC — no voting required.
Active Earnings (Requires Voting)
By voting for gauges, you earn additional rewards based on your vote allocation:
- Swap fees from pools you vote for (when LPs stake in those gauges)
- MUSD interest/fee revenue if you vote for the MUSD Savings Rate gauge
- Incentives that protocols or users post to attract votes to specific gauges
The more voting weight you allocate to a gauge, the larger your share of that gauge’s fees and incentives.
Important: You must vote each epoch to earn active rewards. See Epochs below.
Epochs
Mezo Earn operates in 7-day cycles called epochs. Each epoch begins on Thursday at 00:00 UTC.
Why Epochs Matter
- Votes do not persist. You must vote every epoch to earn fees and mats emissions. If you don’t vote in an epoch, you forfeit active earnings for that period.
- Votes cast in epoch N determine mats emission allocation for epoch N+1
- Fees generated in epoch N are distributed based on votes cast in epoch N
Lock Duration and Epoch Alignment
Lock durations are aligned to epoch boundaries, not calendar days. When you create a lock, your lock time is rounded down to the nearest full week.
This means:
- A 28-day lock created mid-epoch will have an effective duration of approximately 21–28 days, depending on when you lock
- Locks always expire at epoch transitions (Thursday 00:00 UTC)
Example: If you select a 28-day max lock mid-epoch, your effective lock duration will be reduced based on the remaining time in the week — resulting in a lock of approximately 21–28 days, depending on when you lock.
This normalization ensures all locks expire cleanly at epoch boundaries and simplifies voting weight calculations across the system.
| Epoch Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Duration | 7 days |
| Start time | Thursday 00:00 UTC |
| Lock alignment | Rounded down to full weeks |