VeChain

DeFi

Million

<ul>
 <li>VeChain’s first quarter focused on expanding the network’s presence in the AI agents economy and pushing enterprise adoption.</li>
 <li>The network’s user numbers plunged in Q1, with DeFi TVL down 48% as daily active addresses dropped over 70%.</li>
</ul>
The first quarter of the year was a mixed bag for VeChain, with an expansion into agentic AI and a new roadmap landing, while user numbers and daily activity plunged, a new <a href="https://messari.io/report/state-of-vechain-q1-2026" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">report</a> by Messari has revealed.
In the first quarter, VeChain was focused on expanding VeChainThor for AI agents and the VeBetter ecosystem for sustainability. An overview of the ecosystem shows that VeBetter ended the first quarter with 5.5 million wallets, 48 million verified on-chain actions, and over 50 live apps.
<a href="https://ethnews.com/guides/what-is-vechain-understanding-how-blockchain-became-enterprise-infrastructure/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Vechain</a> kicked off the year with the VeBetter Whitepaper 2.0, which formalized the platform’s agentic positioning. It further revealed VeChain’s 2026 roadmap that included an agent indexer, a new explorer, SDK v3, and MCP On-Chain for AI-driven Web3 workflows.
The VeChain team has been fully focused on building, repeatedly stating that in 2026, the network will concentrate on AI agents, Interstellar, StarGate staking, and easier access for developers.
During the period, the network went into some key partnerships. One notable deal is with Rekord and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) for a production-scale Digital Product Passport infrastructure for the EU. The Messari report notes that over 300,000 events have already been processed on VeChainThor.
Other notable partnerships include a technical partnership with Decent and new listings on Coinbase, Revolut, and Bullish exchanges.
<h2 id="strong-vechain-s-user-numbers-plunge-vet-dips-35-in-q1-strong">VeChain’s User Numbers Plunge, VET Dips 35% in Q1</h2>
VeChain’s on-chain activity dipped, with average daily active addresses dropping 71.5% and daily clauses falling by 27.7%. But the network continued adding users, with total addresses climbing 2.6% to 14.8 million. DeFi activity also fell, with total value locked across the ecosystem dropping 47.6%.
<figure class="wp-caption alignnone"><img src="https://ethnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/vechain.avif" alt="Vechain" width="2048" height="1111">
 <figcaption>
 DeFi TVL on VeChainThor Dropped 47.6%. Source: <a href="https://messari.io/report/state-of-vechain-q1-2026" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Messari</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Average daily decentralized exchange volume fell 65%. Total VET staked on StarGate rose from 2.5 billion VET at the end of 2025 to 13 billion VET.
This network activity is undermining the network’s progress and has affected the VET prices. The Messari report notes that VET fell 35% during the first quarter of the year. At the time of writing, VET is trading for $0.006730 after a 2% increase in the last 24 hours.
<div class="cryptoboxes" id="mcw-12332">
 <div class="mcw-chart mcw-chart-light"></div>
</div>
Looking ahead, VeChain is optimistic about greater network progress and wider adoption. One of the key areas of focus for VeChain, as with most major blockchain networks, is agentic AI. The Messari report notes that the Agent Marketplace is the network’s centerpiece for on-chain AI agents. VeChain is expected to keep building around this concept and ultimately become a platform for AI agents.
The team is also preparing for a technical upgrade with Interstellar. The goal is interoperability with the wider crypto sector, with bridging to Ethereum topping the list. The network will also continue to support sustainable actions and build for the projected $16 trillion tokenization market.
The post <a href="https://ethnews.com/vechain-q1-2026-ai-agents-eu-compliance-and-48-million-onchain-actions-drive-growth/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">VeChain Q1 2026: AI Agents, EU Compliance, and 48 Million Onchain Actions Drive Growth</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ethnews.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ETHNews</a>.

VeChain Q1 2026: AI Agents, EU Compliance, and 48 Million Onchain Actions Drive Growth

Table of Contents

ETHNews

Other articles published on May 22, 2026

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!