In 2024, Curve Finance decided to reduce the inflation rate on the fourth anniversary of the $CRV token. As of August 13th, the platform cut the annual inflation rate of $CRV from 20% to 6% based on the Bitcoin ($BTC) halving model. This reduction, along with the end of all vesting schedules, means that liquidity providers will only use future $CRV emissions.
The inflation adjustment reflects the move from high emission levels to a more reasonable level. With annual reductions of 16%, $CRV emissions will be cut in half every four years, which will help maintain the long-term stability of the tokens’ value and also encourage more participation from the DeFi community. This is the end of an inflationary period and opens up a new chapter in the growth of $CRV.
Growth in User Engagement and Ecosystem Expansion
Concerning Curve Finance, the number of unique users doubled from 30,000 in 2023 to 60,000 in 2024, representing a yearly growth rate of 105%. This growth can be attributed to the solutions’ higher utilization and enhanced market presence. However, the platform’s total value locked (TVL) was relatively high at $2.4 billion, with liquidity pools still providing most of the volume.
The platform also introduced LlamaLend in March, providing an innovative lending mechanism with liquidation protection. This feature is used by users who want to borrow funds with low risk and high returns thus boosting crvUSD usage and earnings in the ecosystem. By the end of the year, LlamaLend added multiple chains such as Arbitrum and Optimism, thus reflecting the protocol’s versatility and increasing adoption.
Launch of Savings crvUSD and Strategic Integrations
October saw the launch of Savings crvUSD (scrvUSD), a yield-bearing stablecoin designed to scale Curve’s stablecoin ecosystem. In its first month, scrvUSD attracted over $20 million in deposits and increased its market cap by 30% to $78 million. The Savings Vault system transfers between 50% of profits back to the scrvUSD holders increasing its versatility and value.
Pendle and Spectra integration has further diversified yield farming prospects for scrvUSD within the DeFi products. The token is also included in debit and credit card products that facilitate easy spending in the real world, thus connecting DeFi with traditional finance.
Looking Ahead to 2025
New features will include using Curve LP tokens as collateral for the crvUSD and the introduction of Forex pools for decentralized currency market trading. All these, together with more enhancements to the UI/UX, are intended to strengthen Curve’s market presence as one of the main contenders in the sphere of decentralized finance (DeFi).
