Curve DAO rises 16% as DeFi demand returns

CRV rose more than 16% to trade above $0.36 on Sept. 1 as renewed demand for DeFi protocols drove capital into Curve's stablecoin liquidity pools on Ethereum.

DefiLlama data shows Curve Finance's total value locked climbed to $1.70 billion, up more than $300 million from July's $1.43 billion, confirming the inflow of capital into the protocol.

Daily trading volume jumped 174% to about $122 million, while active addresses averaged over 6,000 and transactions reached roughly 30,000 for two consecutive days, according to on-chain data. The market cap of crvUSD, Curve's native stablecoin, stands at over $283 million.

CRV sits 25% below its year-to-date peak of $0.44, with resistance at $0.3851 and $0.3976 from moving-average crosses. Bulls need to hold price above $0.345 to sustain the rally, as the broader DeFi sector — including Uniswap's UNI, up 10.7%, and Arbitrum's ARB, up 27.2% — rotates back into decentralized finance.

Curve Finance operates as a decentralized exchange on Ethereum specializing in stablecoin swaps, providing deep liquidity for trading between pegged assets. The protocol's role as a liquidity hub makes it a bellwether for capital flows across the broader DeFi ecosystem.

The synchronized gains across CRV, UNI, and ARB point to a sector-level shift rather than coin-specific catalysts alone. UNI's 10.7% advance was driven by a short-liquidation sweep around the $5 level, while ARB's 27.2% gain was supported by Robinhood Chain activity built on Arbitrum Orbit infrastructure and real-world asset capital inflows. DeFi tokens frequently move in clusters when liquidity sweeps clear leveraged short positions.

CRV's market structure confirms a trend shift, with the token sitting above its most recent higher high. The upper resistance of the range at $0.2877 has been reinforced as a key zone, with CRV bouncing from the 20-day moving average. The token trades above both the 20-day and 50-day moving averages, with corrections for each leg-up ending at the 50% Fibonacci retracement level.

The Bull Bear Power indicator confirmed buying activity, with bar sizes returning to pre-breakout levels, indicating demand was present and expanding alongside that of Uniswap. However, traders should watch for a correction if bulls fail to hold price above $0.345.

CRV remains 97.69% below its all-time high, meaning even this recovery represents a fraction of prior peak valuations. The sustainability of the move depends on whether TVL growth into Curve continues over the coming days, and whether daily volume can stay above $100 million — a sign of structural demand rather than a one-day liquidity event. If sector momentum continues, further upside remains possible; a reversal in BTC or ETH could quickly reclaim these gains.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.