Glossary · B
Boosted APY
A higher yield rate earned by users who lock governance tokens (typically in a vote-escrow system) to boost their liquidity mining rewards. On Curve Finance, CRV holders who lock as veCRV can boost their LP farming rewards by up to 2.5×. The boost reduces the effective token inflation rate for non-boosted participants and rewards long-term aligned holders.
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How Boosted APY works in practice
A boosted APY is a base rate multiplied by holding or locking the protocol's governance token. It rewards committed holders and means the advertised maximum is available to almost nobody — most depositors earn the unboosted base.
Worked example
A pool pays 5% base, boosted up to 2.5× for maximum lockers, so the interface shows 'up to 12.5%'. A depositor with no locked tokens earns 5%. Reaching the full boost may require locking six figures of the governance token for years.
Figures are illustrative and chosen to be checkable, not live market data.
The mistake that costs people money
Sizing a position on the headline boosted rate. Check what boost your holdings actually qualify for before depositing, and price the capital locked to obtain it — that capital has its own risk and opportunity cost.
Boosted APY: common questions
- What is Boosted APY?
- A higher yield rate earned by users who lock governance tokens (typically in a vote-escrow system) to boost their liquidity mining rewards. On Curve Finance, CRV holders who lock as veCRV can boost their LP farming rewards by up to 2.5×. The boost reduces the effective token inflation rate for non-boosted participants and rewards long-term aligned holders.
- How does Boosted APY work in practice?
- A boosted APY is a base rate multiplied by holding or locking the protocol's governance token. It rewards committed holders and means the advertised maximum is available to almost nobody — most depositors earn the unboosted base.
- Can you give an example of Boosted APY?
- A pool pays 5% base, boosted up to 2.5× for maximum lockers, so the interface shows 'up to 12.5%'. A depositor with no locked tokens earns 5%. Reaching the full boost may require locking six figures of the governance token for years.
- What do people get wrong about Boosted APY?
- Sizing a position on the headline boosted rate. Check what boost your holdings actually qualify for before depositing, and price the capital locked to obtain it — that capital has its own risk and opportunity cost.