Convexfinance
Convexfinance boosted staking, rewards, and withdrawals
Convexfinance pools voting power to boost liquidity rewards and provides separate staking paths for liquidity-pool tokens and governance tokens. A liquidity-pool token represents a deposit in an underlying pool. Depositing it, converting CRV into cvxCRV, and locking CVX create different positions, with different reward rights and withdrawal conditions.
The position opened determines the exit: LP withdrawals, cvxCRV sales, and CVX lock expiry follow different rules.
Depositing LP tokens into an earning position
For a mainnet Curve LP deposit, the matching Convex receipt token must be staked in the reward contract to earn staking rewards. Token approval gives a contract spending permission; it does not complete the deposit. Before signing, match the wallet network and token to the selected pool, then review the allowance and estimated transaction cost.
For a deposit through the mainnet Booster, depositing and staking can happen together. A deposit without staking instead returns a receipt token. The following stages describe that deposit path; other deployments can combine these operations differently.
| Deposit stage | Token or position affected |
|---|---|
| Authorize spending | The selected pool's supported LP token remains in the wallet until deposited. |
| Deposit and stake | The LP deposit is represented by a receipt that enters the matching reward contract. |
| Confirm the position | Check the wallet's recorded staked balance in the reward contract. |
After a successful combined transaction, reconcile the LP tokens spent with the increase in the staked balance. If only approval succeeded, the deposit remains outstanding. If a deposit succeeded without staking, the receipt balance identifies the unfinished step: stake that receipt instead of submitting another LP deposit. A pending transaction needs its status resolved before another attempt.
Which deposits can be reversed?
Ordinary Curve LP deposits can be withdrawn, while converting CRV into cvxCRV permanently commits the underlying CRV to the platform's locking mechanism. The conversion mints cvxCRV at a 1:1 ratio. That issuance ratio does not fix its market price.
Converting CRV into cvxCRV through the platform is irreversible. Unstaking returns cvxCRV, and a secondary-market exchange provides a possible route back to CRV when liquidity exists. The available exchange rate determines the amount received.
CVX staking and vote locking
Staking for platform rewards
CVX is the platform's native token. Staking it provides access to a share of platform rewards through its staking contract. Holding CVX, staking CVX, and holding cvxCRV are separate positions; their balances and reward entitlements are not interchangeable.
Locking for voting power
Vote locking lets CVX holders vote on Convex's gauge allocations and governance proposals. It commits CVX for 16 weeks plus the interval until the next weekly epoch begins. Epochs start on Thursday at 00:00 UTC. A new lock does not immediately carry active voting weight. Its recorded unlock time determines withdrawal eligibility, and separate deposits can have different expiry dates.
How are rewards and transaction costs calculated?
Net proceeds depend on the position's reward allocation, applicable performance fees, transaction costs, and any exchange needed to obtain the desired asset. Each cost has a different basis. A performance fee reduces the relevant earnings; network gas pays for transaction execution.
The Curve LP performance fee applies to CRV reward revenue. It does not apply to the deposited LP principal. The same fee treatment excludes additional incentive tokens and veCRV administration fees. Fee parameters can change within contract limits, so the applicable setting belongs to the selected position's calculation.
Reward estimates also move with token prices, emissions, pool deposits, and the available boost. Mainnet Curve reward displays distinguish the rate associated with rewards already being distributed from a projected rate based on pool conditions. Those conditions can change before the projection becomes realized income. Where the display already deducts performance fees, subtracting them again understates the estimate.
Claim frequency affects the total gas spent over a holding period. Converting claimed rewards introduces a separate exchange cost and possible slippage. Comparing these costs requires values in the same denomination, especially when the reward token differs from the deposited asset.
Claiming rewards and reconciling balances
Claimable rewards and deposited capital occupy separate balances. A reward claim transfers earned tokens without automatically withdrawing the underlying position. The claiming interface separates LP, cvxCRV, CVX staking, and vote-locking rewards, so a balance associated with one category does not establish an entitlement in another.
For the mainnet reward contract, the recorded staked balance measures the position, while the earned balance measures claimable rewards. Additional incentives can use separate reward contracts. A transaction receipt and the actual token transfers explain a completed claim more precisely than its changing dollar valuation. Small rewards may also disappear in a rounded display while the underlying token amount remains nonzero.
The boost behind Curve, Frax, and f(x) positions
Curve reward boosting uses veCRV, the voting power associated with locked CRV. Pooling that position lets Convexfinance provide boosted rewards to supported LP deposits without requiring each depositor to establish an individual CRV lock. The boost affects reward allocation; it does not increase the quantity of underlying assets represented by an LP token.
Frax and f(x) staking conditions
Frax and f(x) Protocol provide additional liquidity and token-staking paths. Their accepted assets, fee arrangements, and withdrawal restrictions belong to their respective integrations. In particular, Frax LP arrangements can include time locks. The withdrawal flexibility of an ordinary Curve LP position therefore cannot establish another position's availability.
The Frax staking interface uses wFRAX on Fraxtal for conversion into cvxFXS. FRAX replaced the FXS name on Fraxtal, while cvxFXS retained its name. This conversion is irreversible. For f(x) Protocol, FXN converts into cvxFXN under a separate irreversible conversion. Both staking paths distinguish withdrawing the derivative token from exchanging it for the original asset.
What does a completed withdrawal return?
A Curve LP withdrawal returns either the underlying LP token or a Convex deposit receipt, depending on the contract operation selected. On mainnet, withdrawing and unwrapping returns the underlying LP token. An ordinary reward-contract withdrawal can return the deposit receipt instead. Neither operation, by itself, removes liquidity from the underlying Curve pool.
The withdrawal amount therefore needs a token identity as well as a quantity. LP tokens still represent exposure to the pool's assets and its liquidity-removal conditions.
Contract failures can affect access to funds, and losses in an underlying protocol can affect the deposited position. A completed deposit or claim does not remove those dependencies. After withdrawal, the next decision is whether to retain the LP exposure or remove the underlying liquidity, using the pool's available outputs and withdrawal terms.
Convexfinance: common questions
Do I need CVX before depositing Curve LP tokens?
CVX ownership is not a prerequisite for the ordinary Curve LP deposit path. That path uses the supported LP token and the relevant deposit and reward contracts. CVX staking and vote locking are separate activities, so buying CVX does not complete or authorize an LP deposit.
Does disconnecting my wallet stop staking rewards?
Disconnecting a wallet from the interface does not withdraw its onchain staking position. Reward entitlement follows the contract's recorded balance and distribution rules. Reconnecting provides access to that position again; it does not create a new deposit or restart the reward schedule.
Can multiple Curve pool rewards be claimed together?
The claiming interface provides a Claim All option for multiple Curve LP positions. Its scope is the positions included in that operation, rather than every staking product associated with the wallet. Other reward categories may require separate claims. Combining claims also does not make transaction execution free.
Are cvxCRV reward preferences percentages of dollar income?
cvxCRV reward preferences are not fixed percentages of dollar income. They influence participation in the governance-token and crvUSD reward distributions. The preferences of other stakers also affect those allocations, so the resulting market values need not match the selected ratio.
How does APR differ from APY when comparing staking returns?
APR expresses an annualized rate without incorporating compound growth, while APY incorporates a compounding assumption. A quoted APY therefore needs a reinvestment frequency and cost treatment to be meaningful. Claiming tokens alone does not compound a position; reinvestment must actually occur, and transaction costs reduce the amount available.
What happens to CVX left in the locker after expiry?
Expired CVX remains in the locker until withdrawn or processed under its rules. Expiry alone does not transfer it to the wallet. After the grace period, another caller can return idle CVX to its owner's wallet and deduct a bounty from that balance.