Vote-Escrowed NEON
Vote-Escrowed NEON - The ve(3,3) governance system for AURA DEX
What is veNEON?
veNEON (vote-escrowed NEON) is a governance token you receive when you lock NEON tokens. It's based on the ve(3,3) model pioneered by Solidly and refined by Velodrome, combining vote-escrow mechanics with (3,3) game theory to align incentives between token holders, liquidity providers, and the protocol.
When you lock NEON, you receive a veNEON NFT representing your voting power. The longer you lock, the more voting power you receive — up to 4 years for maximum boost.
Why ve(3,3)?
The ve(3,3) model solves a fundamental problem in DeFi: how do you align the interests of token holders, liquidity providers, and the protocol itself?
Traditional DEXs: Emissions go to LPs, token holders get nothing, protocol has no sustainable revenue.
ve(3,3) DEXs: Token holders lock tokens to vote on emissions, earning trading fees from pools they vote for. This creates:
Token holders become active participants, not passive speculators
LPs receive emissions based on real demand (votes)
Protocol generates sustainable fee revenue
Everyone wins when volume grows
Reward Types
veNEON holders can earn four different types of rewards:
1. Trading Fees
Receive 80% of all AURA DEX trading fees from the pools you vote for. More votes = more fees. You must vote each epoch to earn trading fees.
2. Bribes
Protocols and projects pay bribes to veNEON voters to direct emissions to their pools. Vote for bribed gauges to earn extra rewards on top of fees. Bribes can be any token.
3. Rebases (Anti-Dilution)
30% of weekly NEON emissions are distributed to ALL veNEON holders as rebases. This is automatic — you don't need to vote to receive rebases. Rebases protect your voting power from dilution as new NEON enters circulation.
4. Protocol Revenue
The protocol shares revenue with ALL veNEON lockers via the RewardsInjector contract. This includes revenue from various protocol operations and is distributed proportionally to all veNEON holders regardless of voting activity.
Key Benefits
Vote on Emissions
Direct NEON rewards to your favorite liquidity pools by voting on gauge weights each epoch. Your votes determine which pools receive emissions.
Earn Passive Rewards
Rebases and protocol revenue are distributed to all veNEON holders automatically — no voting required. Lock and earn.
Collect Active Rewards
Trading fees and bribes require active voting each epoch. Strategic voters can maximize returns by targeting high-fee and high-bribe pools.
Governance Power
Participate in protocol governance decisions with voting power proportional to your lock duration and amount.
How to Get veNEON
Get NEON tokens — Buy NEON on AURA DEX or PulseX
Choose lock duration — 1 week minimum, 4 years maximum
Lock NEON — Confirm the transaction to create your veNEON position
Receive veNEON NFT — Your position is represented as a transferable NFT
Start voting — Vote on gauges each epoch to earn fees & bribes
Voting Power Calculation
Your voting power depends on two factors: how much NEON you lock and for how long.
1 Week
~0.5% of NEON amount
1 Year
25% of NEON amount
2 Years
50% of NEON amount
4 Years
100% of NEON amount
Example: Lock 10,000 NEON for 4 years = 10,000 veNEON voting power
Voting Power Decay
Your voting power decays linearly as your lock approaches expiry. A 4-year lock starts at 100% power and decreases to 0% at expiry. You can extend your lock anytime to maintain maximum power.
Epochs & Voting
The ve(3,3) system operates in weekly epochs (Thursday to Thursday UTC).
Each Epoch:
Vote — Allocate your voting power to gauges (pools) you want to support
Emissions distributed — Someone calls
distribute()on the Voter contract, which pushes NEON rewards to gauges based on vote weights. Until distribute is called, gauge APR will show 0%.Fees collected — Trading fees from voted pools become claimable
Bribes claimable — Any bribes for your voted pools become claimable
Important
You must vote each epoch to earn fees and bribes. Votes don't carry over automatically — if you don't vote, you don't earn.
If you see 0% APR on farms, it likely means
distribute()hasn't been called yet this epoch. Anyone can call it — there's no special permission required.
NEON Emissions (V3 System)
Total Allocation
100,000 NEON
Weekly Emission
~1,923 NEON
Duration
52 weeks
How Emissions Are Split
The MinterV3 contract releases ~1,923 NEON per week, split as follows:
LP Gauges (Voters)
70%
~1,346 NEON
Rebases (All veNEON)
30%
~577 NEON
70% to LP Gauges: Distributed to liquidity providers based on veNEON vote weights. Pools with more votes receive more NEON rewards.
30% to Rebases: Automatically distributed to ALL veNEON holders proportionally. No voting required — just lock and earn.
Boosted Emissions
Anyone can donate additional NEON to boost weekly emissions beyond the base rate. Donated NEON is distributed through the same 70/30 split, benefiting both LPs and veNEON holders.
Protocol Revenue Sharing
The RewardsInjector contract allows protocol revenue to be shared with all veNEON lockers. Revenue from various protocol operations flows to veNEON holders automatically, creating an additional passive income stream independent of voting.
Bribes
Bribes are incentives paid by protocols/projects to veNEON voters. By voting for a gauge, you earn any bribes deposited for that gauge.
Why do projects bribe? Projects want their pools to receive NEON emissions because:
Higher emissions attract more liquidity
More liquidity means better trading (lower slippage)
Better trading attracts more volume and users
How bribing works:
Project deposits bribe tokens for a specific gauge
veNEON holders vote for that gauge
Voters claim their proportional share of bribes after the epoch
Bribes can be any token — NEON, PLS, project tokens, stablecoins, etc.
veNEON NFT
Your veNEON position is represented as an NFT, which means:
Transferable — You can sell or transfer your locked position
Composable — Can be used in other DeFi protocols that support veNEON
Unique — Each NFT has its own lock amount, duration, and voting power
Warning: Transferring your veNEON NFT resets any unclaimed rewards. Always claim before transferring!
Contract Addresses
VotingEscrow
0x15Fc4C8df3ED16049E11134054C40c1E6D9107e3
Voter
0x3002b50BA6cE1c39A4b7447A4451adfF773e54dE
MinterV3
0xD9c5cA4De80e2A122EA891402DD11f22F3D35974
RebaseDistributor
0xbe4dE6eb579D8631eC1d8b0bFf0D8993b4e858c1
RewardsInjector
0x75eF0f2380b5B37335A85Ea98D160FA8d89f095A
GaugeZap
0xb6F049831E46533C4Ef6d61ECE6DC1919BC1e245
FeeSplitter
0x65C7F246Fcce3E86F4AC18D950572A8a04980B4B
FAQ
Q: Can I unlock my NEON early? A: No. Once locked, NEON cannot be withdrawn until the lock expires. This is by design to ensure long-term alignment. Choose your lock duration carefully.
Q: What happens when my lock expires? A: You can withdraw your NEON anytime after expiry. Your voting power will have decayed to zero by then. You can also extend your lock before expiry to maintain voting power.
Q: Can I add more NEON to an existing lock? A: Yes, you can increase your locked amount at any time. You can also extend your lock duration.
Q: How are trading fees distributed? A: 80% of trading fees go to veNEON voters (proportional to votes for each pool), 20% goes to protocol development.
Q: What if I forget to vote? A: You won't earn trading fees or bribes for that epoch. However, you will still receive rebases and protocol revenue automatically — those don't require voting. Set a reminder for Thursdays to maximize your earnings!
Q: Can I vote for multiple pools? A: Yes, you can split your voting power across multiple gauges however you like.
Q: What are rebases and why do they matter? A: Rebases are anti-dilution rewards (30% of weekly emissions) distributed to ALL veNEON holders. As new NEON is minted, rebases help maintain your proportional voting power without requiring any action from you.
Q: Do I need to vote to receive rebases? A: No. Rebases and protocol revenue are distributed to all veNEON holders automatically. Voting is only required to earn trading fees and bribes.
Q: What is the RewardsInjector? A: The RewardsInjector is a contract that distributes protocol revenue to all veNEON lockers. Revenue from various protocol operations flows through this contract and is shared proportionally among all veNEON holders.
Q: What's the difference between veNEON and staking NEON in HoloVault? A: HoloVault V2 is for passive staking — deposit NEON, earn rewards automatically. veNEON offers both passive rewards (rebases, protocol revenue) and active rewards (trading fees, bribes) for voters. veNEON also gives you governance power and potentially higher returns if you vote strategically.
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