$CRV is the utility and governance token of Curve Finance, a decentralized exchange (DEX) protocol optimized for trading stablecoins on the Ethereum blockchain. Launched in August 2020, Curve Finance has become a significant player in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem .
Curve Finance's whitepaper explains that the protocol is designed to provide a low-slippage, high-efficiency stablecoin exchange. Using the Automated Market Maker (AMM) model, Curve enables the exchange of similar assets with low fees and high efficiency. The $CRV token is used for governance, liquidity provider incentives, and staking. Holders of $CRV can lock their tokens to earn veCRV, which provides voting rights and increased rewards in the protocol.
Curve Finance was founded by Michael Egorov, a physicist and software developer. The core team consists of six members, including two developers (Angel Angelov and Ben Hauser) and three community managers known by the pseudonyms "Charlie", "Old Kendrick", and "Chris".
Stablecoin-specific Automated Market Maker (AMM)
Curve is designed to exchange stablecoins (such as USDC, USDT, DAI) and similarly priced assets (such as wBTC with renBTC) with low fees and minimal slippage.
Liquidity PoolsUsers can deposit assets into Curve's liquidity pools and earn yield farming from trading fees and rewards.
High Capital EfficiencyCompared to other AMMs (such as Uniswap), Curve uses a special algorithm (StableSwap) that makes it more efficient for assets with similar values.