veCRV

veCRV is Curve Finance’s vote-escrowed CRV token, used to govern the Curve protocol and to influence incentive distributions. It represents CRV tokens that have been locked in the Curve Vote Escrow contract for a period up to four years. The amount of veCRV a user receives is proportional to the quantity of CRV locked and the length of the lock, with the maximum veCRV earned by locking for the full four years. veCRV is non-transferable and cannot be traded; it exists solely to confer governance rights and potential reward boosts tied to the holder’s locked CRV.

Locks can be increased by adding more CRV or extending the unlock time; the underlying CRV tokens are returned when the lock ends, and the corresponding veCRV balance is burned. While locked, veCRV holders participate in Curve’s governance, voting on proposals that influence gauge weights and the distribution of CRV rewards across pools. In addition, veCRV can enable a boosting mechanism (veBoost) that can increase a liquidity provider’s share of CRV rewards for pools supported by the holder’s veCRV.

The system is designed to align long-term incentives: longer and larger locks yield greater voting power and potential yield enhancements, while veCRV itself remains non-transferable to discourage short-term trading of influence. Users should consider the trade-off between liquidity and governance influence, as well as potential changes to Curve’s emission and governance parameters over time.