Vote-escrowed $EDM (veEDM) is EDMA's DeFi-grade staking infrastructure. Holders lock $EDM for 1 week to 4 years, receiving veEDM proportional to amount × duration. veEDM carries voting weight on all governance proposals and earns pro-rata share of the Stakers bucket from each weekly epoch's protocol fee split (5 percent of treasury half, equivalent to 2.5 percent of total fees). Distinct from the simple tiered staking on /tokenomics/ which targets end-user yield.
veEDM is EDMA's vote-escrowed staking layer for governance participation and protocol-level reward distribution. Holders lock $EDM for a chosen duration (1 week to 4 years) and receive veEDM proportional to amount × duration. veEDM carries voting weight on all governance proposals and earns pro-rata share of the Stakers bucket from each weekly epoch's protocol fee split. This page covers the four core mechanics, the five reward sources, and the integration with the broader governance and treasury architecture.
This is distinct from the tiered staking on /tokenomics/, which targets end-user yield with fixed $EDM yield rates (2-15 percent across 3-24 month tiers) and capped $CLE rewards. Tiered staking is the consumer product; veEDM is the governance and protocol-economic infrastructure. Both can run in parallel; institutional stakers often maintain both positions for different purposes.
VOTE-ESCROWED $EDM, FOUR MECHANICS
DeFi-grade staking on EDMA uses a vote-escrowed model (veEDM) that ties governance weight and epoch rewards to lock duration. This is distinct from the simple tiered staking on /tokenomics/ which is end-user-facing; veEDM is the protocol-level staking infrastructure that governance proposals and parameter changes flow through. Longer locks earn more weight and a larger share of the Stakers bucket from each epoch's protocol fees.
V1
Lock $EDM for veEDM1 week to 4 years
Holders lock $EDM in the VotingEscrow contract for a chosen duration (1 week minimum, 4 years maximum). The lock is non-transferable and non-revocable; early exit is not supported. veEDM mints proportional to amount × duration, with longer locks producing more veEDM per $EDM. A holder locking 1,000 $EDM for 4 years receives 1,000 veEDM; locking 1,000 $EDM for 1 year receives 250 veEDM.
V2
Voting weight1 veEDM = 1 vote on governance
veEDM balance equals voting weight on all governance proposals: parameter changes within bounds (fee schedule constants, bucket weights, LTV ratios), Builders bucket allocations, Ecosystem grant proposals, attestor SLA standards. Voting weight decays linearly as the lock unwinds toward expiry, naturally weighting decisions toward holders most committed to the protocol's long-term outcome.
V3
Epoch rewards from Stakers bucket5% of treasury half (2.5% of total fees)
veEDM holders receive a pro-rata share of the Stakers bucket from each weekly epoch's protocol fee split. With the bucket at default 5 percent of the treasury half (equivalent to 2.5 percent of total fees), and bucket bounds governance-set between 0-15 percent, the staker share scales with overall protocol fee volume. Rewards distribute in $EDSD; holders can claim weekly or compound by re-locking.
V4
Decay and re-lockLinear decay, optional extend
veEDM balance decays linearly from initial mint to zero at lock expiry. A 4-year lock decays from 1.0 to 0.0 over 208 weeks. Holders can extend their lock at any time (resetting the decay clock to the new expiry) or add more $EDM to an existing lock (refreshing the duration). At expiry, $EDM unlocks and can be withdrawn; re-locking is a fresh position with new duration.
The veEDM model is distinct from the simple tiered staking visible on the tokenomics page. Tiered staking targets end-user yield (2-15 percent $EDM yield + capped $CLE rewards across 3-24 month tiers); veEDM targets governance participation and protocol-level reward distribution. Both can run in parallel; many institutional stakers maintain both positions for different purposes.
veEDM staking is built on four mechanics: lock $EDM in the VotingEscrow contract (V1), veEDM mints proportional to amount × duration; voting weight equals veEDM balance (V2) on all governance proposals; epoch rewards distribute weekly from the Stakers bucket (V3); the lock decays linearly toward expiry and can be extended at any time (V4).
Lock mechanics and weight curve
The lock is non-transferable and non-revocable. Holders commit $EDM to a duration choice between 1 week and 4 years; the system does not support early exit. veEDM minting is amount × duration / max_duration: locking 1,000 $EDM for 4 years yields 1,000 veEDM; locking 1,000 $EDM for 1 year yields 250 veEDM. The linear scaling is intentional — it rewards long-term commitment proportionally and prevents short-term lock games.
Decay is linear toward expiry. A 4-year lock starts at 1.0 weight and decays to 0.0 over 208 weeks. Holders can extend the lock at any time (resetting the decay clock to the new expiry) or add more $EDM to the existing lock (refreshing duration). At expiry, $EDM unlocks and can be withdrawn or re-locked as a fresh position. The decay structure naturally weights governance decisions toward holders most committed to the protocol's long-term outcome rather than tactical short-term participants.
FIVE REWARD SOURCES BEYOND EPOCH SHARE
veEDM holders earn from more than the standard weekly fee share. Active participation in governance, dispute panels, and attestor cohort decisions accrues additional rewards from dedicated reward pools. The compound effect is that engaged stakers can substantially out-earn passive holders even at the same lock duration.
R1
Epoch fee shareWeekly, pro-rata veEDM
Each Friday 00:00 UTC, the Stakers bucket from the prior week's treasury split distributes pro-rata to all veEDM holders. With default 5 percent treasury allocation (2.5 percent of total fees), a holder with 1 percent of total veEDM receives 1 percent of the bucket. Rewards arrive in $EDSD; auto-compounding to re-locked $EDM is available through the staking dashboard.
R2
Governance proposal rewardsPer vote, fixed reward
Voting on governance proposals earns a fixed reward per vote weighted by veEDM balance. Proposals on parameter changes (LTV ratios, bucket weights, fee caps within their bounds), Builders grants, and ecosystem proposals all generate voting events. The reward exists to incentivize participation; vote-buying is mitigated by the proposal-evaluation lag and reputation tracking.
R3
Dispute panel participationCounter-escrow share
When attestation disputes escalate from cohort to panel review, veEDM holders can serve on dispute panels. Panel members earn a share of the counter-escrow deposited on the disputed tranche. Frivolous claim forfeitures also accrue to the panel as compensation. Active panel participants typically earn 20-40 percent above passive stakers at equivalent veEDM weight.
R4
Attestor cohort decisionsSLA evaluation votes
veEDM holders vote on attestor cohort SLA performance (latency, accuracy, uptime targets), suspensions for repeated mis-attestations, and reinstatement decisions. These votes carry small per-vote rewards plus reputation building. Stakers active in attestor cohort governance often graduate to running their own attestor cohorts as the protocol scales.
R5
Ecosystem grant returnsFrom successful grant outcomes
A small share of revenues generated by successful Ecosystem and Builders bucket grants routes back to the veEDM holders who voted to approve those grants. This creates a long-horizon incentive: stakers who pick winning grant recipients build a reputation reward stream that compounds over years. Reputation is tracked on-chain and visible per address.
The five-source structure rewards active stakers over passive ones. A maximally engaged veEDM holder (votes on all proposals, serves on dispute panels, votes on attestor cohort decisions, picks winning grants) can earn 1.5-2x the baseline epoch share rate. This is by design: the protocol's governance quality depends on engaged participants.
veEDM holders earn from five distinct sources beyond the baseline epoch share. R1 weekly epoch fee share (pro-rata to veEDM), R2 governance proposal rewards (per-vote), R3 dispute panel participation (counter-escrow share), R4 attestor cohort decisions (SLA evaluation votes), R5 ecosystem grant returns (long-horizon reputation reward). Active stakers earn 1.5-2x passive rate.
Reward distribution and compounding
The weekly epoch is the baseline cadence. Each Friday at 00:00 UTC, the Stakers bucket from the prior week's protocol fees distributes pro-rata to all current veEDM holders. With the bucket at default 5 percent of the treasury half (equivalent to 2.5 percent of total fees), and bounds 0-15 percent governance-set, the staker share scales with both protocol fee volume and the bucket's governance-determined allocation. A holder with 1 percent of total veEDM receives 1 percent of the bucket.
Active participation multiplies the rate. The four additional reward sources (R2-R5) compound for stakers who engage actively: voting on every governance proposal (R2), serving on dispute panels when called (R3), voting on attestor cohort SLA decisions (R4), and voting on Builders/Ecosystem grant proposals that subsequently generate revenue (R5). A maximally engaged staker can earn 1.5-2x the baseline epoch share rate at the same veEDM weight. This is by design — the protocol's governance quality depends on engaged participants, and the reward structure aligns incentives accordingly.
Rewards distribute in $EDSD; auto-compounding to re-locked $EDM is available through the staking dashboard. Holders can also withdraw to $EDSD and use the proceeds elsewhere on the rail (purchases on the marketplace, lending pool deposits, off-ramp to fiat) without un-locking the underlying $EDM position.
Integration with the broader protocol
veEDM is the governance layer of the EDMA protocol. Every parameter change (fee bucket weights, LTV ratios on lending collateral, attestor cohort SLA standards, ecosystem grant allocations) flows through a veEDM-weighted vote with a 72-hour timelock and rate-limited per-vote adjustments. The fee schedule constants (0.5 percent trade fee, 4 percent token fee, 50 percent burn split) are non-votable protocol constants; veEDM governance operates within published bounds rather than able to alter the fundamental economic structure.
Operationally, veEDM staking complements the other DeFi layers. Stakers earn from the treasury half of every protocol fee, which is funded by the lending fees, marketplace trades, certificate retirements, supplier sends, and trade milestone releases. Higher protocol use means larger Stakers bucket means higher veEDM rewards — a direct alignment between platform success and individual staker returns. For the broader treasury split mechanics, see Split.
Continue exploring EDMA DeFi
For the lending layer that uses verified RWAs as collateral (Energy NFTs, Carbon NFTs, $ETT, $CLE, EMT receivables), see Lending. For tokenized green bonds and structured products built on PoV-gated cash flows, see Structured finance. For market-making rewards and the insurance pool, see Liquidity / insurance. For the end-user-facing tiered staking that targets simple yield rather than governance, see Tokenomics. For the underlying $EDM token, see $EDM.
