Optimizing Yields on Curve: Beyond the Standard Stablecoin Pools

Hey folks,

Been spending a lot of time in the Curve ecosystem lately, primarily focusing on the stablecoin pools like 3pool and FraxBP. The yields are generally solid and the impermanent loss is minimal, which is great for capital preservation. However, I'm starting to feel like I might be leaving some yield on the table by sticking solely to these.

I've been looking at some of the newer, more exotic pools like the TriCrypto (renBTC/wBTC/sBTC) and the various Polygon/Arbitrum specific pools. The APYs on these can be significantly higher, but the risk profile is obviously different. The potential for impermanent loss is much greater with volatile assets, and smart contract risk is always a factor with newer deployments.

My question is, how are others approaching this? Are you:

• Sticking to the battle-tested stablecoin pools for reliability?
• Actively farming the higher-yield, riskier pools with a portion of your portfolio?
• Using some form of hedging strategy (e.g., delta-neutral) to mitigate IL on volatile asset pools?
• Found other ways to optimize yield within Curve that I might be missing?

I'm particularly interested in any strategies for managing risk in pools like TriCrypto. Is it worth the extra yield, or is the increased IL and slippage a dealbreaker? Any insights or shared experiences would be super helpful!

Cheers,
CryptoMaster_Trader

From my experience, you're absolutely right to explore beyond the classic stablecoin pools! While 3pool and FraxBP are fantastic for stability, the real alpha often hides in those more complex, cross-chain, or volatile asset pools.

TriCrypto is a great example. While it introduces some impermanent loss risk with the BTC variants, the trading volume and the potential for boosted CRV rewards can sometimes lead to significantly higher APYs compared to stablecoin pools, especially during periods of increased BTC volatility.

Have you looked into the CRV emissions for some of the newer, less liquid pools on chains like Arbitrum or Optimism? Sometimes those can offer surprisingly high yields for a limited time before they get arbitraged away. Just be sure to factor in gas fees if you're bridging assets frequently.

You've hit on a really interesting point! It's easy to get comfortable with the stablecoin pools because of their predictability, but you're right, there's definitely more yield to be found.

The TriCrypto pool is a prime example. While the BTC volatility introduces IL risk, the higher trading fees and potential for boosted CRV emissions can sometimes make it outperform stablecoin pools, especially if you're long-term bullish on BTC. I've seen periods where the APY on TriCrypto was significantly higher than the 3pool.

Have you considered the risks associated with these less common pools? Beyond IL, what are your thoughts on the smart contract risk for some of the newer, multi-chain integrations? Curious to hear your take on balancing that with the potential yield boost.