From Orion to LUMIA – A New Era of Governance Begins

From Orion to LUMIA – A New Era of Governance Begins

What began life as Orion is now LUMIA – a full-scale transformation from a decentralized exchange protocol into a hyper-liquid, enterprise-grade zkEVM Layer purpose-built for Real World Assets. And with that shift comes a long-overdue evolution in governance.

For those who’ve been with us since the Orion days, you’ll remember veORN – a voting escrow system that aimed to reward long-term commitment with protocol governance. While veORN had the right intentions, it was a product of its time. It leaned heavily on ORN token emissions to drive participation and, over time, became more about collecting rewards than building a meaningful, decentralized future.

As LUMIA continues to evolve, we’re designing a new system built for community and fairness that aligns incentives – a governance model that doesn’t just reward participation but ensures that participation matters.

Orion Governance: Where It Started, and Why It Had to Change

veORN was built during a different era of DeFi – when protocols rewarded stakers with their native tokens. It was a way to bootstrap activity and enhance user engagement. It worked in the short term, but over time, the cracks became clear.

Misaligned Incentives

Users locked ORN, not for governance participation but for passive rewards. On-chain voting was sparse, and proposals lacked depth. As a result, real governance never took off.

Sell Pressure and Emissions Drag

Treasury-funded ORN rewards were paid out continuously, and many stakers opted to sell rather than HODL. This put pressure on the price and undermined the token’s long-term viability.

Stakers Left in Limbo

When rewards stopped, users were left with locked tokens and no clear path forward. This led to a feeling of being left in the dark, with no value being created for those who committed early.

Launchpad Sunset

Solarflare, Orion’s early-stage launchpad, had strong initial momentum but was eventually wound down with no replacement. Many who staked ORN in anticipation of access to new token launches within the Orion ecosystem were left waiting for opportunities that never came.

From veORN to LUMIA Power: The Evolution Begins

LUMIA isn’t just a new name. It’s a new architecture, a new product, and a new mission – to power the real world token economy. That calls for a governance model capable of scaling with an ecosystem of institutional-grade RWA projects, high-performance DeFi apps, a liquidity engine that spans CeFi and DeFi through Lumia Stream, and more. 

Lumia is building an entire universe, and our new governance system is in the middle of it. 

Enter LUMIA Power (LUMIAp) – the governance mechanism designed from the ground up to support this vision.

What’s Different Now?

No More Constant Sell Pressure

LUMIA governance doesn’t rely on token emissions. Instead of rewarding participants in $LUMIA that will likely be sold, we’re building a smarter, more exciting system with long-term sustainability at its core.

Introducing EcoDrops

Rather than pushing $LUMIA as rewards, governance participants will receive EcoDrops – curated airdrops from projects launching within the LUMIA ecosystem. This changes the entire dynamic. Now, governance participation earns exposure to an expanding portfolio of projects, creating a diversified upside for participants.

Think of EcoDrops as the rebirth of Solarflare, but instead of burning ORN for new project allocations, all you need to do is lock $LUMIA within governance. Your LUMIAp will decide the weight of your airdrop of new project tokens. 

Real Alignment with Ecosystem Growth

As the LUMIA ecosystem grows, so does the value of participating in governance. From each participating project, LUMIA commits to acquire a portion of its total token supply to be distributed exclusively to LUMIAp holders. EcoDrops will be used not just as incentives but also as a way to bootstrap users, liquidity, and momentum for new projects in the Lumia ecosystem. Governance stakers become first adopters – and often, first beneficiaries – of every project that enters the ecosystem.

Elevated Governance

We are taking governance several steps further with our new governance model. Lumia will be introducing fun, high-energy, and inclusive ecosystem initiatives that will transcend the archaic governance models of yesteryears. 

Legacy Benefits

While LUMIA Power is a new initiative that is irrespective of veORN holders, we believe in recognizing those who showed belief early. That’s why former veORN participants will be the only participants included in the first EcoDrop campaign, giving them exclusive access to the first EcoDrop and the next phase of our growth. 

Building a Future That Actually Works

Solving the Emissions Dilemma

Where most governance systems fall apart is emissions. Rewards create sell pressure, which hurts the token price, reduces token appeal, and negatively impacts participation. LUMIA solves this by decoupling governance from token dilution. EcoDrops ensure that $LUMIA isn’t diluted while also giving people access to a wide variety of new and exciting projects. It’s a multi-token game now.

Sustainable Tokenomics

$LUMIA becomes stronger the more that the ecosystem grows. Every EcoDrop increases utility and awareness without increasing the circulating supply. We’re creating a positive feedback loop between governance, utility, market strength, and most of all- rewarding our loyal community with new project tokens. 

One Last “Thank you” to veORN Holders

LUMIA delivers a new path forward – one that’s more open, fairer, and anchored in ecosystem growth. It’s a signal that early supporters matter and that participation will be rewarded meaningfully.

Next Steps: All Eyes on LUMIA Power

The rollout of LUMIA Power is just beginning. A breakdown of the mechanics, staking flows, and EcoDrop model Is coming in our next article.

Stay tuned to learn more about LUMIAp and how we are changing the game with EcoDrops and elevated governance.

A New Chapter, A Brighter Future

The transition from Orion to LUMIA isn’t just a rebrand – it’s a complete overhaul of how governance and incentives are structured. Whereas veORN depended on short-term emissions, causing long-term struggle for the ORN token, LUMIA Power is tied directly to long-term ecosystem value.

We’re not patching old systems; we’re creating a better one, purpose-built for the next generation of DeFi, RWAs, and tokenized real-world economies.

To those who’ve stayed with us, thank you. You helped us reach this pivotal moment – now it’s time to unlock what comes next.

The future of governance isn’t passive; it’s participatory, scalable, and hyper-aligned with the growth of a decentralized financial world – that future is LUMIA