VeChain’s Next Chapter: How One Blockchain Is Powering Real-World Apps for the Next Wave of Mass Adoption

VeChain is already proving what blockchain can do in the hands of everyday users and the brands that reach them.

Every morning, millions of people grab their reusable coffee mugs, hit the gym or choose organic groceries at the supermarket. Small, everyday actions like these shape our communities and our planet. But what if each of these choices could be verified, tokenized and rewarded on-chain? What if the path to blockchain mass adoption wasn’t through complex DeFi protocols or speculative trading, but through something as simple as bringing your own mug?

While much of crypto debates whether mass adoption will ever arrive, VeChain has quietly built something that makes that question feel outdated. Through its VeBetter platform, over 20 million real-world actions have already been recorded. These aren't trades or token swaps, but actual behaviors. Blockchain-powered coffee runs. On-chain workouts. Verified sustainable shopping.

In other words: crypto in action, not abstraction.

This isn’t theory or pilot-stage promise. It’s an emerging model for how crypto can work in the real world, all happening in real time.

From supply chains to real people

If you’ve been around crypto long enough, you'll remember VeChain as a pioneering first-wave blockchain play, famous for supply chain partnerships with giants like PwC, Walmart China and DNV. Those partnerships are still live and delivering value. But the spotlight has expanded significantly.

In 2025, VeChain’s focus has evolved into something more comprehensive: building infrastructure for consumer-facing apps that reward behavior and connect brands directly with end users. Not just a pivot, it’s a recognition that the next chapter of blockchain adoption will be driven not by enterprises but by ecosystems that know how to scale with people.

By blending blockchain, AI, IoT and mobile tech into seamless, frictionless apps, VeChain is making good on a long-standing promise in Web3: Take away the complexity and build experiences people actually want.

A network of apps, a treasury of incentives

At the heart of this new phase is VeBetter: a gamified, incentive-driven platform that allows anyone to build or participate in apps that reward “Real World Actions” (a nuanced take on RWAs as an established category for Blockchain adoption). These aren’t speculative tokens or governance votes. They’re cryptographic proofs of activity, like reusing a mug or completing a workout, that can be tokenized, funded and integrated into loyalty systems, ESG reports,or even brand balance sheets.

The real trick? VeBetter wraps all of this in a DAO structure with a shared treasury. That means brands and developers don’t have to bootstrap everything from scratch. Instead, they can tap into a growing pool of funding and infrastructure to build apps with built-in users, rewards and trust mechanisms.

Think of it as a public goods layer for consumer behavior. A foundation on which brands, communities and users can co-create incentives that scale beyond any one company’s budget.

What ‘X-to-Earn’ looks like in 2025

We’ve seen “move-to-earn,” “learn-to-earn” and other catchy models before. But too often, they’ve been built on hype and collapsed under the weight of unsustainable tokenomics. VeBetter’s approach is different. The actions being rewarded have real value for people and for the brands that support them.

For example, Mugshot is an app that rewards users for bringing reusable mugs when they grab their coffee and, after its first year in operation, shows exactly what traction looks like. As founder Piero Bassa puts it: “Mugshot just hit 1 million users and 14 million transactions in our first year – none of it possible without VeBetterDAO. This is what happens when the real community backs big ideas, not just big money. At VeBetterDAO, good ideas actually get a shot.”

Then there’s Build Your Body (BYB), a new fitness app built in partnership with the UFC and Dana White. Verified by AI and powered by VeChain, it rewards users for their training sessions. Rosa Simeoli, Product Manager at BYB, explains the synergy: “Launching BYB on VeBetter was a natural fit for us. The platform mirrors our guiding philosophy: rewarding people for positive habits drives long-lasting behavioural benefits. By tokenizing workouts on VeChain’s blockchain, we’re using Web3 to build new communities through exercise, while forging a healthier, happier world.”

Other prominent apps include Greencart, which also recently hit the 1 million user milestone and rewards healthy grocery shopping, and a growing list of others (35 and counting) ranging from “eat-to-earn” and “green commuter” to wellness, education and sustainability.

This is not a one-off experiment. It’s a model. And it’s working.

An invisible but essential technology stack

What makes VeBetter work is the invisible but critical integration of blockchain, AI and real-world sensors. Smartwatches, smartphone sensors and image recognition tech all feed into a secure verification layer that confirms user activity while preventing fraud.

For users, the experience is seamless. There’s no need to understand token mechanics or interact with clunky wallets. The blockchain fades into the background, just as it should. What’s left is the thing that matters: a product that rewards users for showing up and doing something good.

This is where VeChain distinguishes itself. It isn’t betting that everyone will become a crypto expert. It’s betting that people will want to get rewarded for real actions, and that brands will want to fund those actions in a transparent, verifiable and cross-platform way.

That’s a bet worth paying attention to.

A new model for brand engagement

VeBetter’s sustainability focus and design aren’t just optics. They are core to how the platform functions. Every tokenized action improves something: personal health, environmental impact, community outcomes. That alignment opens the door for brands to plug into VeBetter as part of their own sustainability strategies, including creating loyalty programs that do more than hand out points.

Instead of buying attention, brands get to reward values-aligned behavior. And users gain something more meaningful than discounts – proof that what they do matters.

This model – transparent, rewarding and values-based – offers a roadmap for how blockchain and brand engagement can intersect in the real world. It’s not loyalty 2.0. It’s something entirely new.

Traction you can actually count

While many blockchain platforms are still fighting for adoption, VeBetter has quietly hit metrics that most Web3 projects can only dream of:

• Over 2.7 million users across live apps
• More than 20 million tokenized real-world actions
• Global footprint spanning fitness, wellness, sustainability and lifestyle apps

This is what product-market fit looks like not just in crypto terms, but in human ones.

Looking forward: A call to builders

VeChain isn’t stopping here. The newly launched StarGate program offers enhanced staking rewards for VET holders and incentivizes new validators through the end of the year. But the real opportunity lies in what comes next.

If you’re a developer, VeBetter is your launchpad of choice for real-world apps that tap into a fast-growing ecosystem. And if you’re a brand, it’s a chance to connect with users on a deeper level, aligning incentives with values while building engagement and loyalty.

The infrastructure is there. The user base is growing. And the ecosystem is proving that blockchain can create real value without asking anyone to read a whitepaper first.

Mass adoption was never going to look like DeFi

Crypto never needed a “killer app.” It needed useful ones. Ones that make life a little better, a little healthier, a little more connected. With VeBetter, VeChain has built a platform that shows mass adoption isn’t some distant horizon. It’s already here.

One mug, one workout, one action at a time.

Ready to get started?

• Try the apps on VeBetter and see how rewarding the real world can be.
• Developers and brands can explore the VeChain developer portal to build their own real-world rewards app.
• Token holders can check out VeChain’s StarGate program for boosted VET staking rewards.