Curve’s CRV Token May Generate Returns Similar to Stocks—Community to Choose Its Direction

The Curve Finance community is preparing to vote on a $60 million plan that would transform its governance token,

, into an asset that generates yield. Called Yield Basis, this proposal is intended to boost returns for CRV holders by redirecting part of the protocol’s revenue to those who stake tokens and to the broader ecosystem. Launched by Curve’s founder Michael Egorov, the initiative has already received 97% support in preliminary voting.

According to the plan, those who stake CRV will obtain veCRV (vote-escrowed CRV), which provides governance privileges as well as a share of the protocol’s earnings. Yield Basis will allocate 35% to 65% of its value to veCRV holders, while an additional 25% will support the wider Curve ecosystem. This marks a shift away from Curve’s previous reliance on airdrops and token emissions, offering a more reliable method to reward token participants.

The $60 million line of credit will be used to mint crvUSD, Curve’s over-collateralized stablecoin, which will be distributed to three Bitcoin-centric liquidity pools:

, cbBTC, and tBTC, each with a $10 million maximum. These pools are structured to help address impermanent loss — a frequent challenge in automated market (AMM) systems, where the value of pooled assets can vary from directly held assets. The protocol uses compounding leverage and supply sinks to lessen these risks, aiming to allow the system to grow without jeopardizing the stability of crvUSD.

This development arrives at a crucial moment for Curve, as it navigates an increasingly competitive and dynamic DeFi landscape. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi has rebounded in 2025, climbing to $163.2 billion by April from $115.8 billion at the start of the year — a surge of 40.9% in just nine months. Platforms such as

, with $42.5 billion in TVL, and , which generated over $500 million in revenue in August 2025, are also fueling industry growth.

Curve’s TVL, though still far from its all-time high of $24.2 billion reached in early 2022, has reached $2.4 billion as of April 2025. The Yield Basis proposal is viewed as a tactical effort to stabilize and potentially grow this metric, especially after domain name system (DNS) attacks and fraudulent apps have damaged the protocol’s image.

Egorov has previously encountered difficulties supporting CRV’s price through leveraged positions, resulting in significant losses for Curve. In 2024, he suffered over $10 million in bad debt following a major liquidation. Another incident in December 2024 led to the liquidation of 918,830 CRV tokens, worth about $882,000. Despite these setbacks, CRV’s price has climbed 1% in the last 24 hours, reflecting renewed market confidence in the planned changes.

If approved, the Yield Basis model could reshape CRV’s role, evolving it from a governance-centric token into one that also generates yield. This adjustment could lessen Curve’s reliance on inflation-based rewards and entice institutional and professional investors by providing clear and sustainable

returns.

The proposal is currently open for voting until September 24, and its outcome is anticipated to set the direction for one of DeFi’s most influential protocols. As DeFi continues to recover and grow throughout 2025, the progress of projects like Yield Basis may prove pivotal in shaping the sector’s future.