How Does Concentrator Work?
Concentrator by AladdinDAO is a yield optimizer that makes Curve and Convex farming simpler and more profitable. Instead of earning scattered reward tokens from various Curve liquidity pools, Concentrator harvests all rewards and automatically compounds them into aCRV (a wrapped version of cvxCRV that auto-compounds). Users deposit their Curve LP tokens, and the protocol handles all the harvesting, swapping, and compounding automatically, claiming up to 50% more yield than manual farming. Depositors can withdraw their gains in CRV, CVX, or ETH at their preferred time.
TVL
$38M
Sector
Yield
Risk Grade
B-
Value Grade
C
Core Mechanisms
3.3.3
Auto-compounding vaults that harvest Convex/Curve rewards and compound them into aCRV (auto-compounding cvxCRV) and aFXS
Standard auto-compounding vault pattern. Concentrator aggregates rewards across multiple Convex vaults into concentrated tokens. Well-established yield optimization approach.
2.2.4
Harvested rewards swapped to CRV/FXS tokens and deposited into auto-compounding wrapper tokens (aCRV/aFXS)
Split model where all vault yields are concentrated into a small number of high-quality DeFi tokens rather than distributed as heterogeneous rewards.
2.1.2
Protocol takes a percentage of harvested yield as a performance fee
Standard yield aggregator fee model. Performance fees taken at harvest time.
6.4.1
DEX price feeds for reward token swapping during harvest operations
Oracle dependency during harvest swap operations. Large harvest amounts can face slippage or sandwich attack risk.
5.4.1
AladdinDAO multisig governance managing vault parameters, whitelisted strategies, and protocol upgrades
Standard multisig governance model. AladdinDAO team controls vault additions and parameter changes.
7.1.2
Integration with Curve gauge system for boosted rewards through Convex vote delegation
Leverages Convex's veCRV holdings for boosted Curve gauge rewards across all vaults.
How the Pieces Interact
Concentrator deposits flow through 3 layers of smart contracts: Concentrator vaults -> Convex contracts -> Curve contracts. A bug in any layer can result in total fund loss. The July 2023 Curve exploit demonstrated this risk is real.
All yield is denominated in CRV or FXS tokens. A sustained decline in these tokens means depositors earn yield in a depreciating asset. The CRV price dropped 50%+ during the July 2023 exploit, directly impacting aCRV value.
When Concentrator harvests and swaps rewards from many vaults simultaneously, the large trade sizes create MEV opportunities. Sandwich attackers can extract value from harvest transactions, reducing effective yield.
The AladdinDAO multisig can modify vault strategies and parameters. A compromised or malicious multisig could redirect vault funds or introduce harmful strategy changes.
What Could Go Wrong
- Concentrator is built entirely on top of Curve and Convex. A smart contract exploit in either underlying protocol would directly impact all Concentrator vaults and could result in total loss of deposited funds.
- Auto-compounding concentrates rewards into aCRV (cvxCRV) and aFXS (cvxFXS), creating single-asset concentration risk. If CRV or FXS tokens lose significant value, all concentrated yield is denominated in a declining asset.
- The protocol relies on periodic harvesting and reward swapping. If swap routes become inefficient or are manipulated (sandwich attacks on large harvest transactions), the effective yield for depositors decreases.
Cascading Exploit Through Dependency Stack
TailTrigger: Smart contract exploit in Curve or Convex contracts that are upstream of Concentrator vaults
- 1.Exploit discovered in Curve pool contracts or Convex staking contracts — Funds deposited through Concentrator into these contracts are at risk
- 2.Attacker drains funds from exploited contracts before governance can respond — Concentrator vault share values drop to reflect lost underlying funds
- 3.Panic withdrawal from all Concentrator vaults, even those not directly affected — Withdrawal surge may face delays or slippage as underlying Curve LP positions are unwound
- 4.aCRV/aFXS tokens depeg from their underlying value during the chaos — Users who hold aCRV/aFXS in other DeFi positions face compounded losses
Risk Profile at a Glance
Overall: B- (32/100)
Lower score = safer