What is Curve DAO (CRV)?
RANK #108The governance token of Curve, a leading DEX for stablecoins and pegged assets.
Curve DAO market stats
Curve DAO at a glance
- Ticker
- CRV
- Launched
- 2020
- Category
- DeFi · Stablecoin DEX
- Network
- Ethereum & L2s (ERC-20)
- Model
- veCRV vote-escrow
- Protocol
- Curve Finance
Categories: Decentralized Exchange (DEX) · Exchange-based Tokens · Decentralized Finance (DeFi) · Yield Farming · Automated Market Maker (AMM) · Polygon Ecosystem
How Curve DAO works
Curve DAO Token (CRV) is the governance token of Curve Finance, a decentralised exchange optimised for swapping stablecoins and similarly-priced assets with very low slippage. Curve is core infrastructure for stablecoin liquidity in DeFi.
CRV can be locked as veCRV to direct liquidity incentives and earn a share of fees, a model widely copied across DeFi.
Curve’s pools use a specialised formula to trade assets that should hold similar values — like different stablecoins — with minimal slippage and low fees. Liquidity providers earn trading fees and CRV rewards.
Locking CRV into veCRV gives holders voting power over which pools receive CRV emissions, plus boosted rewards and fee share.
What moves the Curve price?
- Stablecoin and DeFi trading volume on Curve.
- The veCRV “gauge wars” and incentive demand.
- CRV emissions and tokenomics.
- DeFi regulation and the market cycle.
What CRV is used for
- Governing Curve and directing liquidity incentives.
- Earning fees and boosted rewards via veCRV.
- Voting on protocol parameters.
Curve DAO FAQ
What is Curve (CRV)?
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Curve is a decentralised exchange specialised in low-slippage stablecoin swaps. CRV is its governance token, central to directing liquidity incentives.
What is veCRV?
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veCRV is vote-escrowed CRV: locking CRV grants voting power over CRV emissions, plus boosted rewards and a share of fees.
What is CRV used for?
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CRV is used to govern Curve, direct liquidity incentives and earn fees through the veCRV model.
How do I buy Curve?
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CRV is an ERC-20 token available on most exchanges and on Curve itself.
This page is information, not financial advice. Prices come from CoinGecko; the text is written and checked by our desk. See our editorial policy.