Convex Finance: Pre-Launch Announcement

Convex Finance
4 min readApr 15, 2021

Overview

Introducing Convex Finance, a platform built to boost rewards for CRV stakers and liquidity providers alike, all in a simple and easy to use interface. Convex aims to simplify staking on Curve, as well as the CRV-locking system with the help of its native fee-earning token: CVX.

If you’ve ever been a Curve LP, you know it is somewhat non-trivial to maximize your boost by depositing/maintaining your veCRV balance. If you’ve never been a Curve LP, it may be intimidating to do so without being a DeFi power user. Convex aims to make this process easy and bring the CRV boost ecosystem to everyone.

Liquidity providers earn trading fees and claim boosted CRV without locking CRV themselves.

Convex has no deposit or withdrawal fees, and a low performance fee, which is distributed to CRV stakers and CVX token holders.

Convex is currently undergoing an audit by Mixbytes and is supported by the Curve team. Convex is expected to launch at the end of April or early May.

Here’s what you can do with Convex Finance:

If you are a Curve liquidity provider:

  • Deposit Curve LP tokens to the Convex system; they are automatically staked in the curve gauge with boosted reward rates.
  • Gain CRV rewards, as well as extra incentive tokens (ex. SNX, PNT, BOR, LDO, etc)
  • Rewards are periodically claimed from the gauge and moved to a synthetix inspired reward contract, with rewards tail emission of seven days.
  • Receive the Convex platform’s native token(CVX) pro rata for each CRV you receive.
  • Add or remove liquidity at any time with no deposit or withdrawal fees.

If you are a CRV staker:

  • Deposit CRV in the platform. This CRV is locked forever. Receive cvxCRV token.
  • Deposit cvxCRV in the reward contract. (can be withdrawn at anytime)
  • Receive a share of boosted CRV.
  • All normal veCRV rewards (trading fees on Curve) are also distributed.
  • Can exchange cvxCRV for CRV at any time using the incentivized cvxCRV/CRV liquidity pool.
  • Receive the Convex platform’s native token (CVX) pro rata for each CRV you receive.

If you are a CVX staker:

  • Deposit CVX on the platform. (can be withdrawn at anytime)
  • Receive a portion of the platform fees in cvxCRV

Convex Finance Launch Airdrop

Convex Finance will airdrop a portion of CVX tokens to all current veCRV holders. Additionally, all addresses that vote to whitelist Convex in a subsequent Curve.fi governance vote will receive additional CVX tokens.

Incentivized Liquidity Mining

In order to bootstrap liquidity for both CVX and cxvCRV tokens, liquidity providers for the following Sushiswap pools will be able to deposit their LP tokens on Convex, and receive CVX tokens as rewards.

  • cvxCRV/CRV
  • CVX/ETH

Motivations and Goals

As DeFi farmers ourselves we saw a need for a platform that allowed users to receive the max boost possible from CRV in a simplified manner and allow users to collect their actual rewards directly without auto-selling. We also believe CRV stakers should be rewarded more as they are, in effect, mining together with Liquidity Providers. We intend to change that with Convex by charging a lower performance fee, returning fees back to the CRV stakers and CVX token holders, and distributing rewards directly.

Platform Fees

There will be a 16% total platform fee with 10% going to cvxCRV stakers, 5% going to CVX stakers, and 1% going to harvest caller. The 1% to harvest caller is to reimburse gas for calling contract functions to gather and distribute rewards to rewards contracts.

  • 10% to cvxCRV stakers, given as CRV
  • 5% to CVX stakers, given as cvxCRV
  • 1% to harvest caller, given as CRV

(Updated: 5/20/2021)

Tokenomics

cvxCRV (Tokenized veCRV)

  • Tokenized deposits, minted 1:1 for each CRV locked in the platform.
  • Stake to receive platform fees(CRV), CVX, and veCRV rewards(3Crv).

Convex Token (CVX)

Distribution

  • Max Supply: 100 million
  • 50% Curve LP rewards
    Rewarded pro-rata for CRV received on Convex
  • 25% Liquidity mining
    Distributed over 4 years. Incentives for CVX/ETH and cvxCRV/CRV pools
  • 9.7% Treasury
    Vested over 1 year. Used for future incentives or other community driven activities
  • 1% VeCrv holders
    Instantly claimable airdrop
  • 1% VeCrv holders who vote to whitelist Convex
    Instantly claimable airdrop
  • 3.3% Investors
    Vested over 1 year. 100% of investment funds used to pre-seed boost and locked forever(no cvxCRV minted).
  • 10% Convex Team
    Vested over 1 year

Other Information

  • Treasury will be held by a multisig and used for future incentives and/or rewards for community driven activities.
  • Curve LP Farming rewards are minted for each CRV claimed at a determined ratio. This ratio decreases as total supply increases.
  • Stake CVX in a reward contract to receive platform fees in cvxCRV.
  • Starting Liquidity Mining pools will be cvxCRV/CRV and CVX/ETH.

Updated: 4/23/2021 with performance fees

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