Curve DAO Votes Down $6.2M Swiss Stake Funding Proposal - Crypto Economy

TL;DR:

• Curve DAO rejected a grant of 17.4 million CRV, about $6.2 million, for Swiss Stake AG, the core development firm managed by Michael Egorov.
• The vote ended 54.46% against and 45.54% in favor, with Yearn Finance and Convex Finance-linked addresses accounting for nearly 90% of votes cast against.
• Commenters cited centralization concerns, urged installment-based funding, and noted CRV’s tape: up 1.5% on the day, down nearly 50% over three months.

Curve DAO tokenholders have rejected a governance proposal to allocate 17.4 million CRV, valued around $6.2 million, to Swiss Stake AG, the core development firm behind the decentralized exchange. The request, submitted by founder Michael Egorov, sparked forum debate over how the protocol should finance builders and how concentrated voting power has become. In the final tally, a narrow majority voted no, and voting data highlighted the influence of large DeFi-aligned addresses. The decision reframed funding as a governance stress test, setting up new questions about transparency and next steps for Curve’s roadmap in 2026.

Why tokenholders rejected the grant

The rejected proposal sought to allocate 17.4 million CRV tokens, worth about $6.2 million, to Swiss Stake, the firm overseeing Curve’s development and managed by Egorov. The request was presented as a grant for the DEX team. Supporters positioned the grant as runway for software development, infrastructure, security work, and ecosystem support for Swiss Stake’s roughly 25-person team. In the report’s context, Curve remains a heavyweight venue, with scale that raises the stakes of maintenance work, sitting as the third-largest DEX in DeFi and holding more than $2.1 billion in total value locked, per DeFiLlama.


When the ballot closed, the DAO rejected the proposal with 54.46% voting against and 45.54% voting in favor. That margin mattered, but so did who provided it. Voting data showed addresses linked to Yearn Finance and Convex Finance accounted for nearly 90% of the votes cast against the grant. For many observers, the concentration of decisive voting power amplified existing concerns about how influence is distributed among major DeFi actors, even when decisions are technically open to all active participants. Commenters flagged centralization risks and asked whether Curve’s governance leans heavily on a small group.

Beyond the tally, tokenholders emphasized process. Forum comments said Swiss Stake should explain how prior funds were spent before seeking more, and others suggested breaking grants into installments to limit pressure on CRV’s price. The report said the Curve team did not respond to a request for comment. For context, in August 2024 Egorov sought over 21 million CRV, around $6.3 million then, and the DAO approved it with nearly 91% support. DAO expectations are tightening, with parallels drawn to Aave’s fee debate. CRV was up 1.5% but still down nearly 50% in three months.