Convex Finance

What is Convex Finance?

Convex Finance is a yield-boost protocol built on top of Curve. The pitch is simple: deposit your Curve LP tokens or your CRV through Convex, skip the chore of locking CRV yourself, and still capture the boosted CRV emissions, trading fees, and CVX rewards on top. Under the hood Convex pools user CRV into a single permanently locked veCRV position, then redistributes the boost across every depositor. The protocol launched in May 2021 and rapidly accumulated the largest veCRV stake in DeFi, which is exactly what made it the dominant force in the so-called Curve Wars.

CVX is the governance and incentive token. Maximum supply is capped at 100,000,000 CVX, distributed primarily through the early curveLP-deposit reward program. Locking CVX for sixteen weeks produces vlCVX (vote-locked CVX), which is where most of the protocol’s real meta-governance happens. Convex runs primarily on Ethereum, with deployments and integrations spanning Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and other Curve-supported chains. For the underlying Curve context, see our Curve DAO Token page.

CVX price today

CVX trades on most major spot venues. The deepest pairs are CVX/USDT, CVX/USD, and CVX/ETH, with significant on-chain depth in CVX pools on Curve and Uniswap. Live data on this page comes from a multi-venue feed and refreshes every 60 seconds. The reference quote is volume-weighted across the most liquid order books.

What actually moves CVX on a typical week:

• Curve activity. Convex revenue scales with CRV emissions, Curve trading fees, and bribe inflows. When stablecoin volume on Curve runs hot, CVX usually catches a bid alongside CRV.
• vlCVX bribe market. Bribes paid to vlCVX voters on Votium and Hidden Hand are a real cash flow stream. A higher $/vlCVX bribe rate tightens the link between CVX price and meta-governance demand.
• CRV/CVX ratio. Traders watch the CVX-to-CRV ratio closely because each CVX controls a fixed share of locked veCRV. When that ratio compresses, CVX looks cheap relative to the veCRV it commands.
• Lock-up cycles. The 16-week vlCVX lock means supply unlocks in waves. A heavy unlock window can soften CVX into the event; relocking flushes that supply back off the market.
• Broader DeFi rotation. CVX is a high-beta DeFi token. When traders rotate into DeFi (Aave, Lido, Pendle, Curve), CVX usually rallies alongside. Rotations out hit it equally hard.

The numbers in the price card above are live. For multi-year scenarios, see our Convex price forecast.

How Convex works under the hood

Convex sits between Curve users and Curve’s own veCRV mechanics. Instead of asking every LP to lock their own CRV for four years to get the maximum 2.5x boost, Convex locks CRV permanently into a single protocol-owned veCRV position. Anyone who deposits CRV or Curve LP tokens through Convex piggybacks on that boost.

• cvxCRV is the liquid wrapper for CRV. Deposit CRV into Convex and you receive cvxCRV. The original CRV is locked into veCRV forever; the cvxCRV token is tradable and earns the CRV admin fees, 3CRV stable rewards, and CVX emissions that the underlying veCRV position generates.
• Curve LP deposits earn boosted CRV. Stake your Curve LP tokens through Convex and you earn the same CRV emissions you would on Curve directly, but at the maximum 2.5x boost without locking any CRV yourself. You also earn CVX rewards on top.
• Convex takes a small fee. A protocol fee is taken from CRV rewards. Part flows to vlCVX lockers as cvxCRV, part to the Convex treasury, and part funds CVX incentives for cvxCRV liquidity.
• No early exit on veCRV. Because the underlying CRV is locked permanently, cvxCRV cannot be redeemed back into CRV one-for-one inside the protocol. Holders exit through the cvxCRV/CRV pool on Curve, which usually trades at a discount.

The trade-off is the standard liquid-staking pattern. You give up the option of ever unlocking your CRV in exchange for liquidity, the protocol-wide boost, and CVX rewards. For LPs who would have locked CRV for four years anyway, Convex is mostly upside.

vlCVX and the Curve Wars

vlCVX is what you get when you lock CVX for sixteen weeks. The lock auto-renews unless you explicitly opt out, in which case CVX becomes withdrawable when the current epoch ends. vlCVX holders vote every two weeks on how Convex’s massive veCRV position should allocate Curve gauge weight.

• Vote on Curve gauge weight. Convex is the single largest veCRV holder, so vlCVX votes effectively decide where a huge chunk of CRV emissions go on any given epoch.
• Earn bribes through Votium and Hidden Hand. Protocols that want emissions on their Curve pools pay vlCVX voters in stablecoins and their own tokens. Bribes have repeatedly traded above the equivalent rate for veCRV, which is why so many treasuries hold vlCVX rather than locking CRV directly.
• Earn protocol fees in cvxCRV. A share of Convex’s CRV admin-fee revenue is paid to vlCVX lockers as cvxCRV. That cvxCRV itself earns 3CRV admin fees, so the cash flow compounds.
• Sixteen-week lock with auto-relock. Lock cycles are predictable rather than four years deep. That makes vlCVX cheaper to manage for treasuries and DAOs that cannot model a four-year illiquidity window.

The "Curve Wars" is the ongoing competition for veCRV-controlled vote weight. Convex’s position as the largest veCRV holder turned vlCVX into a meta-governance asset: Frax, Mim, Lido, Stake DAO, and many other protocols hold vlCVX or pay bribes to vlCVX voters specifically because that is the cheapest way to direct CRV emissions toward pools that hold their assets. Most of the bribe activity in DeFi for several years has flowed through Convex rather than directly through Curve.

Convex tokenomics and emissions

CVX has a hard cap of 100,000,000 tokens. The supply schedule was front-loaded during the early curveLP-deposit reward program, which paid CVX to LPs who staked their Curve LP tokens through Convex. Emissions decay as more CRV is collected by Convex, and the schedule is fully on-chain and verifiable.

• Treasury and team allocations. A defined slice of CVX went to the team, treasury, and investors with vesting that has largely concluded. New unlocks from these tranches are minimal at this point.
• curveLP reward emissions. The bulk of CVX supply was distributed to liquidity providers who staked Curve LP tokens through Convex. The rate decays per CRV claimed, so emissions slow as Convex captures more CRV.
• No inflation tail. Once the cap is reached, no new CVX is minted. Long-term holders are not diluted by an open-ended emissions schedule, which contrasts sharply with CRV itself.
• Locking pressure. A meaningful share of circulating CVX is locked as vlCVX at any given time. Heavy locking thins float and amplifies the effect of bribe demand on price.

The combination of a hard supply cap, ongoing locking pressure, and bribe-driven cash flows is what makes CVX read more like a DeFi infrastructure equity than a typical inflationary governance token. Whether the market prices it that way at any given time is a separate question.

Convex vs Curve: which token to hold?

CVX and CRV are tightly linked but they are not the same trade. Holding CVX is a leveraged bet on Curve activity plus the bribe market. Holding CRV is a direct bet on Curve revenue with the option to lock for veCRV yourself.

• Cash flow profile. veCRV pays admin fees in 3CRV directly. vlCVX pays cvxCRV (which earns 3CRV) plus bribes in stablecoins and partner tokens. Bribes have generally pushed vlCVX yields above veCRV yields for sustained periods.
• Supply schedule. CRV inflates forever on a decaying curve. CVX is hard-capped at 100M. Long-horizon holders often prefer the capped asset; high-beta traders sometimes prefer CRV during emissions-driven rallies.
• Lock length. veCRV requires up to four years for the maximum boost. vlCVX locks for sixteen weeks. The shorter cycle makes vlCVX easier for treasuries to manage but reduces the long-term skin-in-the-game story.
• Concentration risk. CVX is exposed to Convex-specific governance and smart-contract risk on top of Curve risk. CRV is exposed only to Curve. Holding both diversifies inside the Curve stack rather than concentrating it.

Many DeFi treasuries hold both. CRV gets locked for direct veCRV control on strategic pools; CVX gets locked for vlCVX to capture bribe yield and to vote on the marginal pools where vlCVX swings the most weight.

How to buy and lock Convex (CVX)

CVX is widely listed and easy to buy. The more interesting question is whether you plan to hold it passively, lock it as vlCVX for bribe income, or use it as collateral elsewhere in DeFi. The path looks like this.

1. Pick a venue. Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit, OKX, and most other major spot exchanges list CVX with USD, USDT, and ETH pairs. Our exchange ratings compare the leading platforms on fees, security audits, and supported networks.
2. Or buy CVX on-chain. If you already hold ETH or a stablecoin on Ethereum, you can swap directly to CVX on Curve, Uniswap, or any DEX aggregator. You will need a wallet, gas, and basic self-custody know-how first.
3. Verify identity if you went the centralized route. Regulated exchanges ask for a government ID and a selfie. KYC usually clears in under 10 minutes.
4. Fund the account or wallet. Bank transfers (ACH, SEPA, Faster Payments) are cheapest but take 1 to 3 business days. Cards are instant and pricey. Stablecoin deposits settle in minutes.
5. Lock for vlCVX on the Convex app if you plan to vote and earn bribes. The lock runs for sixteen weeks with auto-relock. Each epoch you allocate vote weight on Votium or Hidden Hand and claim bribes plus cvxCRV rewards. If you prefer flexibility, hold CVX liquid or stake it without locking.

Send a small test transfer the first time you move CVX to a new wallet or bridge to a new chain. A $1 test beats a misrouted five-figure transfer.

Risks of holding Convex

CVX carries a specific set of risks because of how the protocol is built and how tightly it is coupled to Curve. The list below is specific to CVX rather than generic crypto-volatility boilerplate.

• Curve dependency. Convex is a layer on top of Curve. Anything that hits Curve hits Convex first. The 2023 Vyper compiler bug that drained roughly $70M from several Curve pools also rattled CVX. A future Curve incident, crvUSD peg break, or LLAMMA edge case would land on CVX directly.
• Smart-contract risk. Convex contracts have been audited and have run live for years, but the protocol custodies a very large veCRV position and a great deal of LP deposits. A critical bug would be catastrophic, and the codebase keeps adding surface area as new Curve products integrate.
• cvxCRV peg drift. cvxCRV trades against CRV in a Curve pool and has historically traded at a persistent discount to CRV. Holders who want to exit their veCRV exposure pay that discount. The discount can widen during stress events.
• Bribe-market dependence. A meaningful share of vlCVX value comes from bribe income. If protocols stop paying for emissions (because their tokens collapse, because Curve loses share to other DEXs, or because the bribe model itself changes), vlCVX yields fall and CVX rerates lower.
• Governance concentration risk. The same veCRV concentration that gives Convex its power also makes it a target. A governance attack on Convex, or a coordinated unlock of large vlCVX positions, would ripple through Curve emissions and hit both tokens.
• Lock irreversibility. Once CRV is wrapped into cvxCRV, it cannot be redeemed back into CRV inside the protocol. The exit is the cvxCRV/CRV pool at whatever discount the market sets. Plan for that before you wrap.
• Custody. CVX on a centralized exchange depends on the exchange’s solvency. Long-term holdings belong in self-custody. Locking vlCVX requires self-custody by design.

This page is information, not financial advice. Talk to a licensed advisor before allocating real capital.