Curve Finance

Curve Finance is a decentralized exchange on Ethereum and compatible chains, optimized for low-slippage swaps of stablecoins and wrapped assets using bonding curve algorithms.

What is Curve Finance?

Curve Finance, launched in January 2020, is an automated market maker (AMM) protocol that facilitates efficient trading of digital assets like stablecoins (e.g., USDC, DAI, USDT) and liquid staking tokens (e.g., stETH) through liquidity pools governed by a specialized bonding curve. This design minimizes slippage and fees—typically 0.04% for stablecoin trades—making it ideal for large-volume swaps compared to general-purpose DEXs like Uniswap. Liquidity providers deposit assets into pools, earning trading fees and CRV token emissions as incentives; for instance, the 3pool (DAI/USDC/USDT) has historically generated 2-5% APY from fees alone, with veCRV lockers boosting yields up to 20% via vote-escrowed governance.

As of September 2025, Curve’s total value locked (TVL) stands at approximately $2.2 billion, distributed across over 20 chains including Ethereum ($1.1B), Arbitrum ($450M), and Optimism ($300M), per DeFiLlama aggregates. Weekly trading volume averages $1.5 billion, driven by stablecoin pairs and crvUSD integrations, with Q1 2025 marking a record $35 billion quarterly volume amid 5.5 million transactions—a 13% YoY increase despite market downturns. The protocol’s native CRV token ($0.35, $450M market cap) enables governance via the Curve DAO, where locking CRV as veCRR directs emissions and fees; recent upgrades include the Llamalend lending UI rollout in June 2025, FXSwap for cross-asset trades, and the Curve Block Oracle for multichain messaging, pushing crvUSD supply to $150M and TAC deployments to $30M TVL.

Curve has weathered exploits, like the $70M liquidity drain in July 2023 tied to Vyper compiler flaws, but recovered via insurance and audits, maintaining 1.9 million active users in Q2 2025. Innovations such as the Peg Stabilization Reserve for frxUSD/crvUSD pools and YieldBasis to mitigate impermanent loss underscore its evolution, with projections for $3B TVL by year-end amid RWA integrations like BlackRock’s BUIDL fund.