The community members of Vega Protocol VEGA
-14.48%
, a Layer 1 blockchain focused on derivatives trading, have voted to retire the Vega blockchain and its associated token.
As a result, the Vega chain no longer supports trading on any markets — an action that was automatically enacted following the unanimous governance vote. Vega launched its first on-chain markets following the release of its alpha mainnet in 2023.
The team noted that the governance decision to shut down the network was taken because the network did not see much traction in its current form as an application-specific blockchain (app chain) focused on derivatives trading. “While we’re proud of the software we’ve built, the chain and token have not seen the interest and growth that would make them sustainable and allow the project to continue in its current form,” said Barney Mannerings, co-founder of Vega Protocol.
In addition to the ongoing transition, the Vega core developers will support a decentralized exchange called Nebula. Nebula is an independent project that uses Vega's core software. This will have its own NEB token, which is planned to be offered to Vega holders at a 1:1 rate.
“We believe the future of the software will be as an open-source protocol for others to build upon. Nebula is poised to do just that, and they are also offering NEB tokens to VEGA token holders, giving them some utility despite being an independent project,” Mannerings added.
Users asked to withdraw assets from Vega
The change also transitions the chain into a “ramp down” period during which validators are asked to keep nodes operational to allow funds to be withdrawn from the network. The core team noted in a blog post that the validators have indicated that the Vega chain will stay operational until at least Oct. 27, providing a window for users to withdraw their assets.
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"Please look out for further updates or announcements and remember that if and when the chain halts, assets may become stuck on the bridge. If this happens, the team will not be able to retrieve them for you," the team cautioned users.
The price of the Vega token has fallen 30% over the past week, from $0.1 to $0.068 at the time of writing, according to The Block's price page. The token has declined over 90% year-to-date.
Vega's core team published its whitepaper in 2018, outlining a performance-optimized, application-specific blockchain built on the Tendermint proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
In 2019, the team raised a $5 million seed round led by Pantera Capital. Then, in 2021, the team conducted a community token sale on CoinList, raising $43 million.
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