For most ordinary users, putting Curve LP into Convex is more worthwhile than locking CRV yourself. The core reason is that Convex aggregates a large amount of veCRV, which can give your CRV rewards a boost of nearly 2.5x, and you do not need to lock any CRV yourself. The cost is a 17% performance fee on CRV rewards, plus giving control of your assets to Convex's smart contracts.
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What Convex Actually Does for You
Curve's boost mechanism requires LPs to lock CRV themselves in exchange for veCRV. The longer you lock and the more you lock, the higher your boost, up to a maximum of 2.5x. Ordinary users who want a high boost need to lock a large amount of CRV for four years, which is a very high barrier.
Convex aggregates this CRV and locks it together. All users who stake Curve LP on Convex share the boost weight of this veCRV. You deposit LP tokens, and Convex uses the aggregated veCRV to raise your CRV rewards to nearly the highest level. At the same time, it gives you extra CVX tokens and third-party incentive tokens as rewards.
The CRV rewards received from Curve are not reinvested or swapped into other assets. They are sent directly to you when you claim, but Convex takes a portion as platform revenue.
Fees: How the 17% Performance Fee Is Split
Convex charges a total fee of 17% on the CRV income generated by Curve LP. This fee is deducted from the CRV rewards you receive and does not affect third-party incentive tokens such as LDO or SNX, nor trading fees.
The 17% is distributed as follows: 10% goes to cvxCRV stakers in the form of CRV, 4.5% goes to CVX stakers in the form of cvxCRV, 2% goes to the treasury, and 0.5% goes to the caller who triggers the harvest as gas compensation. These ratios have hardcoded ranges. The cvxCRV staker share can be adjusted between 10% and 15%, the CVX staker share between 3% and 6%, and the total fee cap is 20%.
Convex does not charge a withdrawal fee. Depositing and withdrawing LP tokens have no extra fees. You only need to pay on-chain gas.
How to Deposit and Exit
The Lido Help Center has a Convex tutorial for the stETH pool, and the process applies to most Curve pools.
Before depositing: You need to provide liquidity on Curve to get LP tokens, but do not stake the LP tokens into Curve's own gauge. Convex requires you to deposit the LP tokens directly into its contract.
Depositing: On the Convex interface, find the corresponding Curve pool, enter the amount of LP tokens, click Approve first to authorize, then click Deposit & Stake to confirm. After that, your LP tokens are staked on Convex and start earning CRV, CVX, and other rewards.
Claiming rewards: The Convex interface has a Claim button. You can claim accumulated rewards at any time.
Exiting: Select Withdraw, enter the amount you want to take back, and click Unstake & Withdraw to confirm. The LP tokens return to your wallet, and then you can decide whether to keep them on Curve or move them elsewhere.
When Convex Is Not Worth It
You already hold a large amount of veCRV. If you have already locked enough CRV, you can get the full boost and protocol revenue share when operating Curve LP yourself. You do not need to go through Convex and pay the 17% CRV fee.
You only want to deposit short-term and enter and exit frequently. Although Convex does not charge a withdrawal fee, every deposit and withdrawal has gas costs. For small amounts or very short holding periods, gas and the 17% performance fee together may eat up most of the yield.
You want direct voting power over Curve governance. Convex aggregates veCRV, so voting power is concentrated in Convex's governance process. After you deposit as an LP, you no longer directly control the corresponding veCRV voting power.
Risks to Watch
Convex's smart contracts have been audited, but it is a protocol layer built on top of Curve, which adds complexity to contract interactions. Convex itself does not create new yield. It only redistributes Curve's incentive structure. If Curve's CRV emission policy changes significantly, or if the veCRV weight aggregated by Convex drops, your actual boost effect will be affected.
Also, the fact that Convex charges a 17% fee on CRV income means the CRV rewards you receive are less than if you got the full boost on Curve yourself. For most users without veCRV, this cost is worth the boost improvement. But for users who already have veCRV, they need to do their own math.
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References
- Curve Resources·Boosting CRV Rewards, page published or updated: 2026-08-26; checked: 2026-10-08.
- Gate Learn·Convex Finance (CVX): оптимизация доходности Curve через veCRV, page published or updated: 2026-05-11; checked: 2026-10-08.
- Convex Docs·Fees, page has no update date; checked: 2026-10-08.
- Convex Docs·Convex for Curve Liquidity Providers, page published or updated: 2022-06-29; checked: 2026-10-08.
- Lido Help·Convex Finance Tutorial, page has no update date; checked: 2026-10-08.
