Convex Finance is an Ethereum protocol that pools CRV tokens and liquidity-provider (LP) tokens from a stablecoin-focused decentralised exchange. It locks the pooled CRV as veCRV, which earns boosted CRV rewards that most individual users could not get alone. CVX is the protocol's governance token. Holders who lock it (vlCVX) receive a share of protocol fees and direct how Convex's large veCRV position votes. The latest change came on 30 July 2026, when all Convex governance moved on-chain, including DAO proposals and gauge-weight votes.
The latest change: on-chain voting (July 2026)
On 24 July 2026 Convex announced "On-chain voting is here." It said that from the following Thursday at 00:00 UTC, all governance would run fully on-chain, "including DAO proposals and gauge votes." That Thursday was 30 July 2026. Convex's documentation now says the new system uses on-chain Convex voting contracts for DAO proposals and gauge weights. It notes that "previously, many Convex voting flows were handled through Snapshot." Votes are cast at convexfinance.com/vote.
What this means for holders:
- Voting power is based on epochs. Convex lock epochs begin every Thursday at 00:00 UTC, and each proposal records the epoch in which it was created.
- To count toward a vote, CVX must be locked in a completed epoch before the vote starts.
- After the vote, Convex submits the final gauge weights to the external gauge-voting system.
The change affects how votes are recorded and checked. It does not by itself change who holds voting power or how many holders take part.
How Convex works
For liquidity providers
LPs deposit their LP tokens into Convex, and Convex stakes them in the exchange's reward gauges. According to Convex's documentation, LPs:
- earn claimable CRV "with a high boost without locking any CRV"
- earn CVX on top
- pay no deposit or withdrawal fees, and no fees on extra incentive tokens (the docs give SNX as an example)
For CRV holders: cvxCRV
CRV holders can deposit CRV and receive cvxCRV at a 1:1 rate. Convex locks the underlying CRV as veCRV. The documentation is explicit that "cvxCRV conversion is 1-way": Convex does not offer a way to convert cvxCRV back into CRV. The docs say only that "liquidity pools may exist" for swapping cvxCRV back to CRV. The rate on such a swap depends on the market, so cvxCRV can trade below 1:1.
People who stake cvxCRV can choose how they are paid: "100% crvUSD, 100% CRV/CVX, or any ratio in-between."
For CVX holders: vote-locking (vlCVX)
- Lock length: at least 16 weeks. If you lock in the middle of an epoch, the time left until the next epoch is added.
- Unlock: tokens unlock automatically after 16 full epochs. They stay in the locker contract until you withdraw them, and you can relock them from there.
- Idle-token penalty: after a 4-epoch grace period, other users can "kick" unlocked tokens that are left idle out of the locker and take a 0.25% bounty per epoch. The docs give an example: 400 CVX left idle for 5 weeks loses 1 CVX to the person who kicks it.
- Rights: locked CVX earns a share of protocol fees and is required to vote on any Convex proposal.
- Third-party airdrops: Convex's FAQ says airdrops that other platforms direct "to Convex" go to vlCVX holders, weighted by their vlCVX balance at the snapshot. In October 2025 Convex said the YB airdrop would be sent directly to the addresses of vlCVX voters, with no claim needed.
Fees
Convex charges a 17% total fee on the CRV earned by LPs on the platform. It is split as follows:
| Recipient | Share | Paid in |
|---|---|---|
| cvxCRV stakers | 10% | CRV |
| CVX stakers | 4.5% | cvxCRV |
| Treasury | 2% | CRV |
| Harvest caller | 0.5% | CRV |
The multisig can adjust these shares within hard-coded ranges, up to an absolute ceiling of 20%. Convex also runs integrations for Frax Finance and FX Protocol, each with its own fee schedule:
- Frax Finance: a 20% total fee on FXS earned by LPs.
- FX Protocol: a 17% fee on boosted-LP revenue.
Which Convex route matches what you hold?
Answer a few questions about your tokens to see which Convex rules apply to you.
Which token do you hold that Convex works with?
- LP tokens from the stablecoin-focused exchange's pools → The liquidity-provider rules apply
- CRV → next question
- CVX → next question
Do you need to be able to turn your position back into CRV at a 1:1 rate?
- Yes → cvxCRV conversion cannot be undone
- No, a market-rate exit is acceptable to me → The cvxCRV rules apply
Can you leave your CVX locked for at least 16 weeks?
Do you want your locked CVX to count in a Convex vote?
- Yes, in an upcoming vote → Lock timing decides whether you can vote
- No, I am mainly interested in the fee share → The vlCVX rules apply
Convex stakes deposited LP tokens in the exchange's reward gauges. Its docs say LPs earn claimable CRV with a boost without locking any CRV, earn CVX on top, and pay no deposit or withdrawal fees. Convex takes a 17% total fee on the CRV earned by LPs on the platform.
CRV deposited into Convex becomes cvxCRV at a 1:1 rate, but the docs say conversion is one-way and Convex offers no way back to CRV. Any exit goes through secondary liquidity pools, where cvxCRV can trade below 1:1.
CRV converts to cvxCRV at a 1:1 rate and Convex locks the underlying CRV as veCRV. cvxCRV stakers receive 10% of the CRV earned by LPs, in CRV, and can choose to be paid 100% crvUSD, 100% CRV/CVX, or any ratio in between. Leaving later depends on the price in secondary pools.
Locking (vlCVX) is what earns a share of protocol fees, and locked CVX is required to vote on any Convex proposal. The minimum lock is 16 weeks.
Since 30 July 2026 all Convex governance runs on-chain. Lock epochs begin every Thursday at 00:00 UTC, and CVX must be locked in a completed epoch before a vote starts to count toward it. Locking mid-epoch adds the time left until the next epoch to the 16-week lock.
CVX stakers receive 4.5% of the CRV earned by LPs, paid in cvxCRV. Tokens unlock after 16 full epochs but stay in the locker until withdrawn; after a 4-epoch grace period, idle unlocked tokens can be kicked for a 0.25% bounty per epoch. Airdrops that other platforms direct to Convex go to vlCVX holders by balance.
This shows which Convex rules apply to the token you hold, not whether depositing or locking is worthwhile; it leaves out smart-contract and dependency risks, market prices and tax.
CVX tokenomics
- Maximum supply: 100 million CVX.
- Circulating supply: about 93.19 million, according to CoinGecko data checked on 25 October 2026.
- How new CVX is created: CVX is minted pro-rata for each CRV that LPs claim on Convex. The number of CVX minted per CRV falls every 100,000 CVX.
The original distribution:
| Allocation | Share | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| LP rewards | 50% | pro-rata to CRV received on Convex |
| Liquidity mining | 25% | over 4 years |
| Team | 10% | vested over 1 year |
| Treasury | 9.7% | vested over 1 year |
| Investors | 3.3% | vested over 1 year |
| veCRV holder airdrops | 2% (two airdrops of 1%) | claimable immediately |
History in brief
- Spring 2021: launch on Ethereum by a pseudonymous team. Its founder is publicly known only as "C2tP". Sources give April or May 2021 as the launch date. MixBytes audited the general contracts in April 2021.
- 2021–2022: Convex gathered a large share of veCRV. That gave it a central role in the contest among protocols to direct CRV reward emissions.
- Around 2 January 2022: total value locked (TVL) passed $20 billion, according to CoinDesk on 3 January 2022.
- 1 January 2022: CVX reached its all-time high of $60.09, according to CoinGecko.
- 25 October 2026: TVL was about $567 million, according to DefiLlama.
- 30 July 2026: governance moved fully on-chain.
Security and admin controls
Convex lists these audits:
- MixBytes: general contracts, April 2021
- PeckShield: Frax integration (April 2022), wrapper (September 2022), sidechain (November 2022)
- Nomoi: wrapper and sidechain, January 2023
- ChainSecurity: wrapper, April 2023
A 3-of-5 multisig controls the admin functions. It can:
- adjust fees within the hard-coded ranges
- pause or shut down new deposits
- manage vlCVX parameters
- vote the treasury's position
According to the docs, the multisig "does NOT have direct access to user deposits."
Risks
- Smart contracts: Convex's own risk page says the possibility of losing some or all funds "is non-zero," even with audits.
- Dependence on other protocols: users carry every risk of the exchange that Convex is built on, and of Frax Finance. Convex's value depends on CRV emissions and the veCRV system continuing to work.
- cvxCRV exit: conversion cannot be undone, and leaving depends on the price in secondary liquidity pools.
- Locked CVX: CVX is locked for at least 16 weeks, and unlocked tokens left idle can be kicked for a bounty.
- Concentration: a large share of veCRV voting power sits with Convex. If Convex governance were compromised or captured, a large share of CRV emissions could be redirected.
Limitations: protocol details come mainly from Convex's own documentation, and figures from CoinGecko and DefiLlama are snapshots from 25 October 2026 that change daily.
