Ep623: @yieldbasis - Disrupting Defi & Bitcoin Yield In this episode, @crainbf reunites with @newmichwill, the solo founder of @CurveFinance, four years after its 2020 launch. Michael outlines Curve's origins: Frustrated by inefficient $DAI to $USDC swaps following $ETH borrows on MakerDAO, he developed a DeFi AMM tailored for stablecoins and early LSTs like stETH. It quickly reached $1M TVL through a bonding curve that concentrates liquidity around 1:1 prices, more effective than Uniswap's later concentrated liquidity model for pegged assets. Subsequent features include BTC wrappers, stETH pairs, crvUSD (a CDP-style stablecoin with peg-keeper for reliable stability and reversible liquidations to avoid forced sales at lows), and lending protocols. Governance relies on veCRV: Locking CRV tokens grants veCRV voting power proportional to lock duration, a mechanism widely adopted in DeFi and now refined in Yield Basis. @yieldbasis addresses impermanent loss in volatile pools such as BTC/crvUSD: Users deposit BTC to receive a ybBTC receipt token; the protocol borrows an equivalent crvUSD value, pairs it in a Curve pool at 2x leverage (50% debt, 50% equity), and uses LP tokens as loan collateral. This eliminates two-sided exposure, allowing 1:1 tracking of the deposited asset without drag, while fees accrue from auto-rebalances arbitrageurs employ flash loans in the Rebalancing-AMM and VirtualPool to maintain leverage. Simulations indicate 20%+ APY, which may decline with reduced BTC volatility, under a $50B TVL cap to ensure controlled growth. It complements Curve by directing veCRV incentives to crvUSD pools (with a vote concluding soon), enhancing liquidity, trading fees, borrowing demand, and DAO revenues to levels comparable to YB DAO's from peg arbitrage. Key considerations include manual liquidity migrations due to non-upgradable contracts, the complexity of deterring forks, and the need for developer support to scale. Topics discussed in this episode: 00:00 Introduction to Curve Finance and YieldBases 02:24 Understanding Curve's Unique Mechanisms 07:58 The Concept of veTokenomics 15:27 Lessons Learned from Building Curve 22:20 Exploring YieldBasis and Its Innovations 29:47 Understanding Yield Basis and Collateralization 32:25 Navigating Market Volatility and Liquidation Events 35:32 Metrics and Performance Insights of Yield Basis 38:35 Scaling Yield Basis: Future Directions 40:33 Yield Expectations and Market Dynamics 43:12 Potential Growth and Liquidity Challenges 46:18 Expanding to Other Chains and Governance Tokens 49:35 The Symbiotic Relationship with Curve 54:31 Upcoming Milestones and Future Developments Sponsors: Gnosis: Gnosis has been building core decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem since 2015. With the launch of Gnosis Pay last year, we introduced the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Start leveraging its power today at

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