TL;DR
- Pendle will phase out vePENDLE for sPENDLE, with staking live January 20 and new vePENDLE locks paused January 29 after a snapshot required.
- Pendle says eligible sPENDLE will receive over 80% of revenue via buybacks and airdrops, addressing concentration seen despite $37M earned in 2025 overall.
- sPENDLE offers 5% redemption or 14 day unstaking; missing votes during an active PPP forfeits rewards for 14 days, while vePENDLE boosts reach 4x.
Pendle is overhauling its tokenomics by phasing out vePENDLE and introducing sPENDLE, a liquid staking token built around a 14 day withdrawal period rather than multi year locks. sPENDLE staking is set to go live on January 20, while vePENDLE locks will be paused on January 29, when the new PENDLE incentive structure also takes effect. Pendle asks users to snapshot vePENDLE balances and lock durations as of January 29 for virtual sPENDLE calculations. Protocol revenue will be distributed to eligible sPENDLE holders. Pendle is prioritizing adoption by making governance easier to enter and exit.
— Pendle (@pendle_fi) January 20, 2026
Why Pendle Is Swapping Locks for Liquid Governance
sPENDLE will replace vePENDLE as Pendle’s main governance and reward token, and new vePENDLE locks pause during the transition. Pendle says eligible sPENDLE holders will receive over 80% of protocol revenue through PENDLE buybacks and fee funded airdrops. Internal analysis argues the vePENDLE model created adoption barriers: tokens were non transferable, composability was limited, and vote to earn demanded expertise. Even with more than $37 million generated in 2025, rewards concentrated among a small slice of holders. It discouraged many casual users and newcomers. Pendle wants governance incentives to feel accessible, not engineered for specialists.
Pendle frames sPENDLE as liquid, composable, and fungible, aiming for easier integration with other dApps while still earning rewards. Holders can redeem instantly for a 5% fee, or queue unstaking with a 14 day withdrawal, removing the usual trade off between liquidity and participation. Governance is simplified around Pendle Protocol Proposals (PPPs): users stay eligible for yield even if they do not vote, but missing a vote during an active PPP forfeits rewards for 14 days. sPENDLE in eligible DeFi integrations is always active. The model tries to keep engagement lightweight until a critical decision appears.
Existing vePENDLE holders are not ignored: Pendle says they will receive exclusive boosted sPENDLE, up to 4x, based on remaining lock time, with the multiplier decaying linearly from 4x to 1x by the end of each lock period. Pendle also says the special boost and virtual sPENDLE fully expire after two years. During queued withdrawals, sPENDLE holders do not earn rewards or vote. An upcoming algorithmic emissions model aims to cut emissions by about 30% and allocate rewards using data driven KPIs. The overhaul is positioning incentives to be more liquid, capital efficient, and sustainable.
