Curve Finance Slashes CRV Emissions by 15.9% on 5th Anniversary

Curve Finance has reached a significant milestone. Its fifth anniversary on August 12, 2025, coincides with the start of Epoch 5, the next stage in its hardcoded emission schedule. This transition brings a 15.9% cut in annual CRV issuance, reinforcing a scarcity dynamic that has become central to CRV’s long-term economic design.

Curve and Its Role in DeFi

Curve Finance is one of the leading decentralized exchanges (DEXs) in the crypto ecosystem and specializes in stablecoin swaps and the exchange of assets with similar values such as stablecoins like USDC, USDT, and DAI, or wrapped versions of Bitcoin.
Its automated market maker (AMM) design is optimized for minimal slippage and extremely low fees, making it a key liquidity hub for the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) network.

Other DeFi protocols heavily rely on Curve for deep, efficient liquidity. Lending markets, yield aggregators, and cross-chain projects often route transactions through Curve because of its specialized, cost-efficient pools.

The CRV Token and Its Purpose

CRV is the governance and incentive token of the Curve ecosystem. Holders can:

• Vote on key governance proposals, including which liquidity pools receive higher rewards.

• Earn CRV tokens as liquidity incentives by depositing assets into Curve pools.

• Lock CRV over long periods (up to four years) to receive “vote-escrowed CRV” (veCRV), which increases voting influence and boosts reward multipliers.

This governance structure has made CRV not just a reward token, but a central economic and decision-making tool in Curve’s protocol.

What Is the Emission Reduction ?

Since its launch on August 12, 2020, CRV has followed an immutable emission schedule coded into its smart contract. The schedule is divided into one-year “epochs.” At the start of each new epoch:

• The rate of new CRV distribution decreases by a fixed factor (~15.9% annually).

• The change is permissionless — anyone can trigger the update by calling the update_mining_parameters( ) function on the token contract, after exactly one year from the last change.

For Epoch 5, annual emissions have dropped from approximately 137.4 million CRV/year (~4.36 CRV/second) to 115.5 million CRV/year (~3.66 CRV/second).

This reduction aligns with Curve’s vision of progressively lowering inflation and making CRV scarcer over time. Importantly, the schedule is fully automated and cannot be altered by any team or multisig.

Historical Emission Cuts at a Glance

Each August since launch has seen a reduction:

Tokenomics and Market

• Max Supply: 3.03 billion CRV (fixed at launch)

• Circulating Supply: ~1.37 billion CRV (~45% of max)

• Distribution: 100% of allocated vesting is complete; only liquidity incentives remain

• Governance: veCRV locking boosts rewards and governance influence

Source: CoinMarketCap

In recent weeks, CRV has seen heightened demand. Over the past month, its price climbed nearly 50%, driven by stronger on-chain activity, increased staking, and anticipation of the emission cut. Exchange outflows indicate more holders are locking CRV, often as veCRV, which constrains liquid supply. Analysts forecast near-term trading in the $0.94–$1.10 range, with potential higher targets if the broader DeFi market continues to build momentum.

Why Scarcity Is Seen as Bullish for CRV

Reducing annual emissions decreases the number of new tokens entering the market, lowering potential sell pressure. In traditional finance, this is similar to a controlled reduction in money supply growth. If demand remains steady or increases while supply growth slows, it can create upward price pressure over time.

The combination of fixed supply, transparent governance, and predictable emission decreases makes CRV’s design appealing to long-term-oriented market participants.

Looking Ahead

Curve DAO enters Year 5 as a mature fixture in DeFi. Its stability-focused infrastructure, combined with its governance-driven reward distribution, continues to attract both users and capital. The Epoch 5 emission cut starts a new phase in CRV’s lifecycle — one with less inflation and more value potentially accruing to long-term holders.

While market conditions will ultimately dictate short-term price movements, the underlying tokenomics and consistent execution of the emission schedule strengthen Curve’s position as a leading protocol with one of the clearest and most enforceable monetary policies in DeFi.