Possible Yearn rival Convex Finance passes $1 billion in total value locked

While much of the market reels from a devastating pullback that has dragged DeFi’s closely-watched total value locked (TVL) figure down from all time highs, one protocol is shrugging off the macro weight and surging up the TVL leaderboard. 

Ethereum-based Convex Finance cracked one billion dollars in TVL earlier today, rising as high as $1.14 billion and briefly entering the top-20 rank by size, per DeFiLlama.

2 weeks, 3 commas. $1,000,000,000+ TVL pic.twitter.com/NDOVabZB11

— Convex Finance (@ConvexFinance) June 1, 2021

Pseudonymous Convex team lead "C2tp" told Cointelegraph in an interview that the team has been overwhelmed by the support.

“We are blown away with the amount of support our platform has received. We're very grateful for everyone who shares our vision. The community getting the word out has been the major contributing factor, as well as a show of support from the Curve team,” they said.

Convex is designed to be an optimizer for the Curve protocol, a platform that enables swaps of similar assets such as between different stablecoins, or Ether (ETH) and Lido’s-staked ETH. Its native token CRV has a time-lock functionality, where users stake CRV for four years in exchange for veCRV — voting escrow CRV — which allows users to “boost” the rewards for staking in Curve pools.

“We want to extrapolate the complex things away, like how much veCrv is needed to boost how much liquidity. But we also want to be open enough to show everyone what's going on behind the scenes and the benefits we provide,” said C2tp of Convex’s services. “On top of veCrv to liquidity balance, locking a token for four years can be a big step for most people. We hope our system gives confidence in the value of our tokens so that you can join the ecosystem, while still remaining liquid.”

The launch has not been without drama, however. Some observers have claimed that because Convex optimizes Curve positions the project is a threat to Yearn Finance, whose yield vaults rely heavily on Curve.

So @ConvexFinance entered the arena to compete with @iearnfinance and @StakeDAOHQ, fighting to perpetually lock your $CRV into #veCRVThey do by providing huge farming incentives ( $SUSHI, $CVX, $SDT )This fight only has one big winner: pic.twitter.com/Fl8bG6bd80

— SEM (@0xSEM) May 18, 2021

However, C2tp rejected this notion, saying that Yearn and Convex compliment each other in what is ultimately a positive-sum DeFi ecosystem:

“We don’t really see it as direct competition. There are different platforms with different goals. There is also a lot to gain when platforms integrate with each as part of the larger DeFi system. We encourage anyone to use what we have to offer, as well as build on top. DeFi is not a winner takes all, but something that becomes stronger as all the pieces fit together.”

Likewise, a Yearn representative dismissed the notion of the protocols engaging in battle with one another, noting that a large portion of Convex’s TVL is delegated by Yearn. 

“We love to see it,” said Weaver, a member of Yearn’s growth team of Convex’s success. “Many in crypto spend their time looking for ways to pit tribes against each other, but zoom out today and you see 19 M additional veCRV boosting Yearn vaults, thanks to Convex. You asked if this was a vampire attack on Yearn. I don't know what the opposite of that is, but this new lego is pumping boosties into Yearn.”