Gomining grants governance voting weight that declines as token locks approach expiry

What Makes My veGOMINING Balance Shrink?

An unchanged lock loses veGOMINING as its remaining duration shortens, even though the locked GOMINING quantity stays the same. Its vote balance reaches zero at expiry. The token amount records the assets committed to the lock, while veGOMINING represents the voting weight that those assets currently generate.

Casting a governance vote doesn't spend veGOMINING.

My lock shows the vote chart and remaining time alongside reward and upgrade histories. Reward history records distributions, while upgrade history records changes to the commitment.

Token Amount and Remaining Time

Voting weight depends on the locked token quantity and remaining term, so the same token amount can generate different vote balances. The lock model calculates veGOMINING as locked GOMINING multiplied by the fraction of four years remaining before unlock. Time and quantity therefore affect different parts of the calculation. More tokens increase the amount that carries weight; a later end date increases the time fraction. As the remaining time approaches zero, the existing commitment contributes progressively less weight.

A lock's age alone doesn't establish its owner's percentage of a governance vote. That percentage also depends on the other votes cast.

Adding Tokens or Extending the End Date

Lock upgrades increase voting weight through additional GOMINING or a longer remaining commitment, with different consequences for the tokens you commit.

A Larger Locked Amount

An amount upgrade adds GOMINING to the existing lock. The preview shows the additional votes and prospective voting power before confirmation. A short remaining term gives each added token less weight than a longer term would. Increasing the quantity can raise the vote balance, while the approaching end date continues to reduce its time weighting.

A Later Unlock Date

A period upgrade raises voting weight by moving the end date later. The maximum remaining period is four years from the extension date, so elapsed time creates room to extend an originally maximum-length lock. The available dates follow the system's weekly lock periods. New locks currently range from one week to four years; an extension still needs to fit the permitted calendar.

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Reward Share and the Weekly Pool

Weekly lock rewards depend on your share of total veGOMINING and the number of GOMINING tokens available in that cycle's pool.

The Vote-Holder Allocation

Under the current Burn & Mint allocation, veGOMINING holders share 20% of each cycle's newly minted GOMINING. That percentage describes the reward pool's allocation, not an annual return on a token lock. Your portion follows your votes relative to total votes in the system. The rewards use GOMINING, which separates them from the BTC rewards that digital miners generate.

Estimates That Change

The lock calculator displays estimated annual returns and weekly rewards. Those estimates can change with total voting power, epoch parameters and governance decisions. Preserving your own vote balance doesn't fix your percentage if other holders add votes. A changing pool can also change the distribution while your percentage stays similar. Increasing veGOMINING supports a larger share when other inputs stay unchanged, without fixing future reward amounts or their market value.

Wallet Choice and Lock Management

Ethereum-wallet locks and virtual-wallet locks use the same time-weighted principle, while their authorization, custody and network-fee requirements differ.

Ethereum-Wallet Locks

An Ethereum-wallet lock requires authorization to transfer GOMINING into the veGOMINING smart contract. ETH covers network fees. Keeping tokens in an external wallet doesn't itself create votes; the lock creates the commitment. The selected lock term restricts access to the committed tokens.

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Virtual-Wallet Locks

The virtual wallet is custodial and supports locking within the account without blockchain confirmations or network fees. Its locks can have separate end dates, allowing the account to hold commitments with different remaining terms. Each lock's aging contributes to the overall vote balance. A new lock or upgrade can increase that balance while other locks continue toward expiry.

Governance Weight in Burn & Mint Decisions

veGOMINING gives holders influence over permanent token burning and the allocation of a separate ecosystem reward category during weekly governance. The permanent-burn vote affects how much of the burned GOMINING returns through minting. The current epoch supplies the mint coefficient, while the voting outcome affects the mint amount. Greater support for permanent burning reduces the reminted quantity at a given coefficient. When all cast votes oppose permanent burning, the formula produces a minted amount equal to the burned amount.

The allocation vote directs a separate 10% category of newly minted tokens. Its destinations include the Extra Mining mode maintenance discount, Miner Wars prize funding and power increases for The Greedy Machines collection. This allocation differs from the vote-holder reward pool. Governance weight influences collective outcomes; the vote itself doesn't represent a personal payout.

VIP Thresholds as Votes Decline

A vote-based VIP tier can fall when veGOMINING drops below its threshold, unless another qualifying route supports that tier. The VIP program uses the route that earns the highest qualifying tier: eligible permanent mining power, veGOMINING votes or referral activity. Secondary-market miner purchases after August 15, 2025, transferred miners and Bonus Miner power don't count; earlier secondary-market purchases and power upgrades remain eligible. It doesn't add these different measures into one score. Votes from Ethereum wallets and the virtual wallet count toward VIP qualification, although governance voting applies wallet-specific rules. A drop in votes can leave the account's tier unchanged when another route still qualifies.

Vote-based status changes apply in real time. Benefits follow the current tier, so a decline can suspend privileges associated with the higher level. The VIP status area shows the account's tier and active benefits. A lock extension matters here through the votes it adds; a larger token commitment only supports a particular tier while the resulting balance meets its requirement.

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Expiry, Liquidity and Leaving the Lock Unchanged

An unchanged lock runs toward zero voting weight while retaining its existing end date, which differs from extending the commitment.

Locked GOMINING tokens can't unlock before the lock period ends. Extending postpones that boundary. Token prices can change during the extra commitment, so a later end date affects how long those tokens remain unavailable for other uses.

Locked GOMINING can contribute to maintenance-discount calculations, although the committed tokens can't pay maintenance charges during the term. The token discount also requires enabled GOMINING maintenance payments and enough spendable GOMINING in the virtual wallet. Fees that the balance can't cover are deducted in BTC without that discount. Planned miner upgrades also need funds outside the lock.

Leaving the lock unchanged accepts declining voting weight as the original commitment runs down. Extending increases remaining time and continues the restriction on the locked amount. Keeping additional tokens unlocked preserves their availability for other uses, while adding them to a lock creates extra time-weighted votes.