Voting & Governance
VIRTUS Protocol governance operates through the ve(3,3) model: locked VRT becomes veVRT, which grants voting power over emission allocation and access to trading fee distributions. The protocol has no admin key over emissions and no protocol fee switch — governance decisions are made entirely by veVRT holders on-chain.
Governance Overview
| Mechanism | Description |
|---|---|
| Governance token | veVRT — created by locking VRT |
| Epoch duration | 1 week (Thursday 00:00 UTC → Wednesday 23:59 UTC) |
| Core governance action | Allocating veVRT voting power across liquidity pool gauges |
| Protocol distributions for voting | Fee distributions from voted pools (10% when pool LP is unstaked; up to 100% when staked) + any voting incentives deposited by third parties |
| Rebase eligibility | All locked veVRT holders (conditional on total VRT / locked VRT ratio) |
| Emission decisions | Controlled by gauge vote weight; VRT Fed activates at ~epoch 100–110 |
veVRT — The Governance Position
Creating a Position
To participate in governance, a user must lock VRT:
- Choose a lock amount and duration (1 week minimum, 4 years maximum)
- Deposit VRT — tokens are locked in the VotingEscrow contract
- Receive a veVRT NFT (ERC-721) representing the position
The veVRT NFT is unique — it carries the locked amount, remaining duration, and current voting power. Multiple separate positions can exist in the same wallet.
Voting Power Formula
Voting Power = Locked VRT × (Remaining Lock Duration / Maximum Lock Duration)
Maximum lock duration: 4 years = full voting power multiplier (1.0×)
| Lock Amount | Lock Duration | Voting Power |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 VRT | 4 years | 1,000 veVRT |
| 1,000 VRT | 2 years | 500 veVRT |
| 1,000 VRT | 1 year | 250 veVRT |
| 4,000 VRT | 1 year | 1,000 veVRT |
A 1,000 VRT lock for 4 years has identical starting voting power to a 4,000 VRT lock for 1 year.
Voting Power Decay
Voting power decreases linearly every second as the lock approaches its expiry date. At expiry, voting power reaches zero and VRT becomes withdrawable.
Day 0 (4-year lock): ████████████████ 100% voting power
Day 365: ████████████░░░░ 75% voting power
Day 730: ████████░░░░░░░░ 50% voting power
Day 1095: ████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 25% voting power
Day 1460 (expiry): ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0% voting power
To restore full voting power, extend the lock duration back to 4 years at any time.
Position Management
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Lock | Deposit VRT, choose duration (1 week – 4 years), receive veVRT NFT |
| Increase amount | Add more VRT to an existing lock position |
| Extend | Increase remaining lock duration (up to 4 years from today) |
| Vote across multiple pools | One veNFT position can allocate voting power across any number of gauges with custom percentage weights — effectively splitting influence without splitting the NFT |
| Lock permanent | Convert a timed lock to a permanent lock — no expiry date, voting power stays at maximum indefinitely |
| Unlock permanent | Convert a permanent lock back to a timed lock — sets an expiry date; tokens still cannot be withdrawn until that expiry passes |
| Withdraw | Reclaim VRT after lock expiry — no early exit exists |
There is no early exit mechanism. VRT locked in a veVRT position cannot be withdrawn before the lock expiry date under any circumstances.
Epoch Cycle
Each epoch runs from Thursday 00:00 UTC to Wednesday 23:59 UTC.
| Step | Timing | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Voting opens | Thursday 00:00 UTC | veVRT holders may allocate or update vote weight |
| Voting window | Thursday → Wednesday | Votes can be updated at any point during the week |
| Epoch snapshot | Wednesday 23:59 UTC | Final vote tally recorded |
| Epoch transition | Thursday 00:00 UTC | New VRT minted; distributed to gauges by vote weight |
| Fee snapshot | Wednesday 23:59 UTC | Trading fees accumulated during the epoch are captured |
| Distributions claimable | After epoch transition | Voters claim fee distributions and voting incentives; staked LPs claim emission distributions |
Vote carryover: Votes persist to the next epoch by default. A veVRT holder who votes once and does not update will continue directing emissions to the same gauges in subsequent epochs — no action required each week.
Voting on Gauges
What Is a Gauge
A gauge is a smart contract associated with a liquidity pool. It receives a weekly VRT allocation proportional to the vote weight directed at it and distributes those tokens to LPs who have staked their LP positions in the gauge.
Only pools with whitelisted tokens can have an active gauge. The token whitelist is managed by the Governor address to prevent spam or malicious tokens from entering the voting system.
How to Vote
- Navigate to the Governance section of the VIRTUS app
- Select gauges to allocate voting weight to
- Assign percentage weights across chosen gauges (must total 100%)
- Submit — vote is recorded on-chain and takes effect for the current epoch
A single veVRT position can split its voting power across multiple gauges in any proportion. For example: 50% to WETH/USDC, 30% to cbBTC/USDC, 20% to a third pool.
What Happens After Voting
- The gauge(s) you voted for receive a proportional share of that epoch's VRT emission
- At epoch end, you may receive fee distributions from each voted pool proportional to your share of that gauge's total vote weight — 10% of fees from unstaked LP positions in that pool, up to 100% of fees from staked LP positions
- Any voting incentives deposited by third parties for the gauge are also distributed to its voters
Changing Votes
Votes can be updated at any point during the voting window (Thursday → Wednesday). Updated allocations take effect immediately and apply to the current epoch's fee accumulation. After updating, votes carry forward to subsequent epochs until changed again.
Restriction: A veVRT position that has voted in the current epoch cannot be transferred to another wallet until the epoch concludes.
What Voters May Receive
Fee Distributions
Eligible voters may receive fee distributions from every pool they voted for. The share depends on whether the LP positions in that pool are staked:
| LP status in voted pool | Voter receives |
|---|---|
| LP staked in gauge | 100% of that pool's trading fees |
| LP not staked, gauge has votes | 10% of that pool's trading fees |
| No gauge or no votes for gauge | 0% — LP holders keep 100% |
Fee distributions are split among all voters proportional to their share of that gauge's total vote weight. Fee distributions are claimable after each epoch closes.
Example: Pool X generates 10,000 USDC in fees during an epoch, all from staked LP positions. A voter contributed 20% of that gauge's vote weight → may receive 2,000 USDC.
External Bribes (Voting Incentives)
Any third party can deposit tokens into a gauge's bribe contract to incentivize veVRT voters to direct voting power to that gauge.
| Property | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who deposits bribes | External projects seeking deeper liquidity in a specific pool |
| What you may receive | Incentive tokens, distributed pro-rata to voters of that gauge |
| When claimable | After the epoch in which the vote occurred |
| Guaranteed? | No — bribes are optional and set by external parties |
Bribes create an additional incentive layer: projects that want VRT emissions directed to their pool pay voters to attract that vote weight.
Rebases — All Locked veVRT Holders
All locked veVRT holders — both voters and non-voters — may receive rebases each epoch. Rebases are conditional: the protocol checks the ratio of total VRT supply to locked VRT against a hardcoded threshold in the Minter contract.
- Ratio below threshold → rebase minted and distributed to all locked veVRT holders, proportional to lock share
- Ratio above threshold → no rebase paid that epoch
Rebases are anti-dilution protection, not a source of returns. If total supply increases by 10% and a locked position grows by 10%, proportional claim on future fees is unchanged.
See Emissions Schedule — Rebases section for full mechanics.
Participant Summary
| Participant | Fee Distributions | Voting Incentives | VRT Emissions | Rebases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| veVRT voter | May receive (from voted pools) | May receive (if deposited) | No | May receive (if ratio condition met) |
| veVRT locker (non-voter) | No | No | No | May receive (if ratio condition met) |
| LP (unstaked) | May receive (from own pool) | No | No | No |
| LP (staked in gauge) | No | No | May receive | No |
Eligible voters may receive fee distributions and voting incentives in addition to rebases. All amounts are variable, depend on protocol activity and market conditions, and are not guaranteed.
Gauge Emission Allocation
VRT emission is directed to gauges entirely by vote weight — there is no admin allocation or team-controlled distribution.
Total weekly VRT emission
│
├── Gauge A received 40% of total vote weight → 40% of emission
├── Gauge B received 35% of total vote weight → 35% of emission
├── Gauge C received 15% of total vote weight → 15% of emission
└── Gauge D received 10% of total vote weight → 10% of emission
Within each gauge, emission is distributed to staked LPs proportional to their share of staked liquidity in that pool.
Blue Fish Pools
VIRTUS Protocol deploys initial liquidity into three core pools (Blue Fish Pools) which serve as the protocol's primary liquidity backbone:
| Pool | Type | Role |
|---|---|---|
| WETH / USDC | Volatile (CL) | Primary ETH-stable pair |
| cbBTC / USDC | Volatile (CL) | BTC-stable pair |
| WETH / cbBTC | Volatile (CL) | ETH-BTC cross pair |
The team's veVRT positions (100M VRT locked at maximum duration) vote on gauges — including these core pools — receiving fee distributions and voting incentives as any other participant. This aligns team incentives with protocol liquidity health.
VRT Fed — Democratic Monetary Policy
At approximately epoch 100–110 (when weekly emission reaches ~9,000,000 VRT), the VRT Fed activates and replaces the hardcoded 0.99× emission coefficient with periodic democratic governance.
VRT Fed Voting
Each VRT Fed period, veVRT holders vote on one of three outcomes:
| Option | Effect on Weekly Emission |
|---|---|
| Increase | Emission rate increases by a predefined step |
| Maintain | Emission rate unchanged |
| Decrease | Emission rate decreases by a predefined step |
The option with the majority of veVRT voting power wins and takes effect for the following emission period.
What Changes at VRT Fed Activation
| Before VRT Fed | After VRT Fed |
|---|---|
| Emission follows 0.99× hardcoded coefficient | Emission rate set by veVRT holder vote |
| No governance input on monetary policy | Community controls inflation rate |
| Predictable, mechanical deflation | Adaptive, demand-responsive supply |
After VRT Fed activation, the founding team holds no privileged role in emission decisions. Control belongs entirely to active veVRT holders.
Emergency Council
The Emergency Council is a multisig of trusted contributors with a strictly limited circuit-breaker role.
| Power | Held? |
|---|---|
| Pause protocol functions during a critical vulnerability | Yes |
| Modify emission logic or coefficients | No |
| Redirect user funds | No |
| Override governance votes | No |
| Whitelist / delist tokens | Yes (spam prevention only) |
The Emergency Council cannot alter the economic design of the protocol. Its role is limited to emergency response — it holds no ongoing governance authority.
| Contract | Address |
|---|---|
| Emergency Council | 0xC9C0608F551aDe53f911ceC50F565dB55c5bAFd1 |
Governance Contracts
| Contract | Address |
|---|---|
| VRT Token (ERC-20) | 0x1CEFF1D2e0F0f0E27417C5600758EEc1606575CA |
| veVRT — VotingEscrow (ERC-721) | 0x6Be687DF2ab94fBD7Eeb4dAc32118110967FF0ef |
| Minter | 0xDc1dE416DdaD4c9e8328F30aE88E2392d5b551f7 |
| Emergency Council | 0xC9C0608F551aDe53f911ceC50F565dB55c5bAFd1 |
All contracts are immutable, publicly verifiable on BaseScan.
Legal
Participation in VIRTUS Protocol governance does not constitute membership in any legal entity, does not confer equity rights, and does not guarantee any financial return. veVRT voting power represents protocol governance participation only. See Legal Disclaimer for the full risk disclosure.
Last updated: May 2026 — Version 1.1
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