Curve Q1 Update

• Curve executed $32.9B of swap volume on Ethereum in the first quarter of 2023, ranking second to Uniswap.
• Jumping 77% during Q1, the CRV token has shown strength and outperformed both ETH and its peers.
• In addition to creating a new source of revenue for the Curve DAO, crvUSD could become a feeless transfer mechanism between various types of pools on Curve as it develops, positioning the protocol to profit amid the inevitable race to zero trading fees.
• The upgraded tricrypto contracts will bolster the existing DEX business via improved gas costs and the inclusion of ETH<>USDC pools, DeFi’s most popular trade route.
• The Curve DAO should look to incentivize liquidity on leading L2s, with Arbitrum as the most likely candidate.

Curve is currently the largest DEX by TVL and ranks second in daily trading volume. It achieved its strong market positioning by pioneering the stableswap AMM, which improved the efficiency of stablecoin swaps. The deepest source of onchain stablecoin liquidity is often Curve’s 3pool. It is comprised of DAI/USDC/USDT, currently holds $435M of liquidity, and has facilitated 60% of Curve’s volume in 2023. The release of Curve’s V2 concentrated liquidity AMM enabled the DEX to pair multiple volatile assets within a single pool. The deepest Curve pool using this AMM is tricrypto2. It is comprised of ETH/WBTC/USDT, currently holds $210M of liquidity, and has facilitated 12% of Curve’s volume in 2023.

The DEX had a strong opening quarter, outperforming most of its peers across critical metrics. Curve sits in an advantageous position, especially considering its upcoming upgrades that bolster the protocol’s ability to generate revenue.