Velodrome Finance
- VELO, an ERC-20 token, powers Velodrome Finance on Optimism, enabling low-fee swaps and liquidity provision, with value unlocked by converting to veVELO via locking.
- Locking VELO into its vote-escrowed (governance) version; veVELO (an ERC-721 NFT), grants voting rights over emission distribution, requiring active participation or delegation to capture governance influence and associated rewards (e.g. bribes).
- veVELO holders receive dual yield stream benefits, rebases for passive ownership proportional to locked supply, and trading fees plus incentives for active voting, maximizing value through full engagement.
Mechanism map
- Vote-escrow (Velodrome version)
- Ungrouped value drivers
Token functions
Vote-escrow (Velodrome version)
Velodrome created this value-capturing mechanism as a version of original Curve vote-escrow. The differences with Curve's veCRV are: (1) dilution protection, offsetting inflation to all veVELO lockers (via rebase) (2) protocol fees are obtainable only for active governance participants (3) all LP fees are distributed to veVELO stakers, accordingly to particular pools they voted for emissions; in turn, LPs receive new VELO token emissions
VELO has a single Value-Capturing Mechanism composed of two OoVs (Future Cashflow and Governance) conditioned on Risk Exposure-activated Conditional Action and one OoV (Future Cashflow) conditioned only on Risk Exposure (veVELO lock-up).
The value-capturing mechanism operates through a dual-track value capture system:
- First, users lock VELO to veVELO (the lock-up condition)
- Then, the VELO->veVELO lock-up unlocks two distinct value streams
The first stream requires active participation through voting or delegation to capture both governance benefits over emission distribution and associated rewards from fees and incentives. The second stream automatically generates value through rebases based solely on the locked position, creating a baseline reward for lock-up commitment.
This architecture creates a balanced system that rewards both passive commitment and active protocol participation, while ensuring that maximum value capture requires full engagement with protocol governance.
Yield-Incentivized Governance
The primary function of the VELO token is yield-incentivized governance:
- The governance rights are only activated after the VELO -> veVELO lock-up.
- Locked veAERO position enables participation in governance decisions regarding emission distribution and other matters.
- Active participation in governance is rewarded with protocol fees
This means that token holders can obtain protocol fees under two conditions: (1) locking VELO in veVELO and (2) participating in voting using the veAERO position.
Please note, that veVELO holders receive all trading fees generated by LPs. In turn, LPs receive newly minted VELO tokens according to governance decisions.
Value drivers
Value capture investment profile

Superchain deployment addresses are available here. Optimism deployment addresses, in particular, are available here.
1. THE VOTE-ESCROWED GOVERNANCE (VELODROME IMPLEMENTATION)
The VELO token's value capture implementation follows a structured flow where users interact with multiple protocol components.
- The process begins when a user locks their VELO tokens to receive veVELO through the voting escrow contract (in addition to position management and delegation functions), with the ability to redeem these tokens upon lock expiry. Users can then participate in protocol governance by voting through the Voter contract, which interfaces with both gauge and reward systems. These gauges are created by interaction with the corresponding function of the Voter, and the VotingRewardsFactory creates the reward pools for the gauge (one for fees, the other for bribes).
- These pools receive fees from gauges and additional incentives from gauge owners. Once the epoch concludes, rewards become claimable via Voter functions ; where the Minter contract notifies reward amounts and mints new VELO tokens as needed, while the RewardsDistributor handles the distribution of rebase rewards to veVELO holders. This creates a comprehensive system that handles both active participation rewards (voting/gauge rewards) and passive benefits (rebases).
- As can be observed, mints go to rebases (and LPs of pools based on the voting results), and all fees are distributed to veVELO holders based on their vote allocations. It means that for which pools veVELO position voted, from those pools fees are received.