DeFi
Curve Finance Users Lock Record Amounts of CRV Tokens into DEX
Users locked 51 million CRV last week, surpassing the previous record of 24 million from October 2022.
Curve Financing Users are locking more CRV tokens into the decentralized exchange than ever before.
Curve Finance attracted 51 million CRV tokens, or $14.7 million, into the protocol in the seven days ending July 8, according to crvhub.com, which tracks the data. Last week’s inflows bring the total deposited to 796 million CRV, or $230 million, according to Dune.
This figure is significant as it is more than double the previous all-time high of 24 million CRV locked in October 2022. Additionally, the lock rate is 100 times higher than in previous periods, signifying potentially renewed intensity in protocols aiming to exert more influence on Curve, said Michael Egorov, founder of Curve Finance.
According to Egorov, the data suggests that investors are increasingly placing importance on governance and fee distribution. This could prove to be a “tectonic shift” in the general attitude of users in an ecosystem that is too focused on financial gains, Egorov said.
In addition to the surge in locked tokens, Curve also had its best week in terms of fee revenue since April 2024. Last week, the protocol’s fee revenue jumped to $951,000, up from $548,000 in the previous seven days.
Egorov explained that by locking CRV tokens to obtain veCRV, users have the opportunity to earn fees in the Curve system and gain voting rights for platform governance. However, users must commit to a lock-up period of up to four years to maximize their voting power and earning potential.
TVL offsets
However, the increase in the number of locked CRV tokens did not result in an increase in TVL.
Curve’s TVL hits $2 billion, up from $1.8 billion in early 2024, but more than half of last year’s peak of $4.3 billion, according to DefiLlama.
However, this still puts him in second place among all decentralized exchanges on DefiLlama, only trailing UniswapThe fact that Curve has been in a general downtrend while maintaining the second-place spot for DEXs may be more of an indictment on the industry than the protocol itself. The TVL of all DEXs stands at $18 billion, up 80% from its 2023 low of $10 billion.
The almost vertical rise in CRV blockades has not had any impact on the protocol’s finances either.
Curve Finance’s market cap stands at $346 million, the lowest level since December 2022, according to CoinGeckoThe token recently hit an all-time low amid a widespread cryptocurrency liquidateCRV hit its all-time low on July 4, when it traded at $0.22 on July 4, but has since jumped 33% and is now trading at $0.29. It is down 98% from its all-time high of $15 in December 2020.
CRV Course – Coingecko
Nevertheless, according to the Curve Finance team, the spike in CRV locks could indicate renewed intensity in the competition for the protocol dubbed “Curve Wars“In 2021, various protocols attempted to lock up more CRV tokens to gain greater influence and rewards within the Curve Finance ecosystem.