Savings-crvUSD: A Month in Review

Launched on October 31, 2024, Curve’s yield-bearing version of crvUSD—Savings-crvUSD—has now been live for just over one month.

If you are unfamiliar with Savings-crvUSD, we recommend starting with this introductory article. In short: Savings-crvUSD was designed to sustainably expand the scaling of crvUSD and increase long-term revenues for veCRV holders.

This article provides an overview of how Savings-crvUSD performed during its first month and how it positively influenced the scaling and adoption of Curve’s stablecoin, crvUSD.

Governance Recap

Savings-crvUSD debuted alongside a governance vote that transferred Savings-Vault ownership to the Curve DAO and allocated up to 10% of total crvUSD fees to Savings-crvUSD, with its first full rewards distribution on November 9. Within a week, deposits surpassed 7 million crvUSD.

Building on this momentum, a second governance vote was conducted roughly a week later. This vote increased the share of crvUSD fees allocated to Savings-crvUSD from 10% to 20%, driving deposits to nearly 20 million crvUSD.

On December 14, CurveDAO approved raising the maximum allocation to 50% in a third governance vote. This decision was made after the system demonstrated stability and security at the 20% cap. Increasing the allocation to 50% aligns with the DAO’s goal of sustainable scaling and long-term ecosystem growth.

Impact

The Savings-Vault has proven to be a successful supply sink for crvUSD, creating additional demand for the stablecoin as users now have the option to earn low-risk yield. The increased demand has had a stabilizing effect on borrow rates. In general, the borrow rate for crvUSD is designed to increase when the price of crvUSD falls below $1. With the Savings-Vault driving demand and supporting the crvUSD price, the borrow rates have gradually stabilized and even slightly decreased over time, reflecting the positive impact of this new addition.

This is also reflected in the total supply of crvUSD. Since the introduction of scrvUSD, the supply of crvUSD has increased by approximately 30%, growing from 60 million to around 78 million.

Integrations

Since the launch of Savings-crvUSD, multiple external integrations have broadened its utility and appeal. The first integration came from the fixed-yields platform Spectra, which introduced a yield market for scrvUSD, followed closely by Pendle who also launched its own scrvUSD yield market, offering another avenue for yield-seekers. For more information, check out this article.

Additionally, SOFA integrated scrvUSD into its suite of innovative financial products. SOFA’s offerings cater to a wide range of risk profiles, from providing downside protection to enabling more aggressive, high-yield strategies. With scrvUSD now included, users can access these products using Savings-crvUSD as the underlying asset, expanding their options for both conservative and high-risk yield strategies.

Metrics

Since launch, the scrvUSD Savings Vault has attracted more than 20m crvUSD.

An analysis of the projected APY over time indicates that the scrvUSD system scales effectively. Since the weight allocated to scrvUSD is dynamic and directly proportional to the percentage of supply staked (to simplify: 12% staked equals 12% weight, capped at a maximum value), the system is designed to scale without the yield being significantly diluted by a few large deposits.

An examination of the projected annual percentage yield (APY) for scrvUSD over time suggests that the system can scale efficiently. Yields are not easily diminished by large individual deposits, as the allocation weight assigned to scrvUSD adjusts dynamically and is directly tied to the percentage of the total supply staked (for example, a 12% stake corresponds to a 12% weight, up to a defined cap); as more participants join, the system remains fair, stable, and resistant to yield dilution.

Order Flow into the scrvUSD Vault

Examining the source of crvUSD deposits into the Savings Vault confirms an anticipated pattern: most users so far purchase crvUSD with the specific intent to deposit it into the Vault.

Order Flow out of the scrvUSD Vault

The second chart illustrates scrvUSD outflows from the Savings Vault, highlighting how users manage their scrvUSD after acquisition. While a majority—approximately 81%—of scrvUSD remains in externally owned addresses (EOAs), a notable portion flows into liquidity pools on Curve, such as DOLA/scrvUSD or sUSDe/scrvUSD. Additionally, smaller amounts are directed into yield-generating platforms like Pendle and Spectra. This distribution pattern demonstrates the diverse ways users choose to employ their scrvUSD holdings across various DeFi applications.

Conclusion

Over the past few weeks, the introduction of Savings-crvUSD, along with its successful governance votes and integrations into multiple DeFi platforms, has significantly reshaped the crvUSD landscape. Beyond reversing the downward trend in crvUSD supply—leading to roughly a 20% increase—it has contributed to more stable and even lower borrowing rates over time. With external platforms like Spectra, Pendle, and SOFA adopting scrvUSD, and the system’s dynamic scaling mechanism preventing yield dilution, Savings-crvUSD stands as a key factor in ensuring sustainable growth and resilience for the Curve ecosystem.