Compound was established in 2017 by Robert Leshner and Geoffrey Hayes, who previously held prominent positions at Postmates, an online food delivery service. Both individuals continue to occupy executive roles at Compound Labs, Inc., the software development company responsible for the Compound protocol, with Leshner currently serving as CEO and Hayes as the CTO. Both founders have a history of creating successful companies, with Robert Leshner being notably active in the expansion of the blockchain sector. He has publicly invested in popular cryptocurrency platforms, including Argent Wallet, Opyn, and Blockfolio. The Compound team now consists of over a dozen members, nearly half of whom are engineers.

According to Compound, a significant portion of cryptocurrencies remains inactive on exchange platforms, providing no benefits to their holders. Compound aims to change this through its open lending platform, which enables anyone who deposits supported Ethereum tokens to effortlessly earn interest on their balance or take out a secured loan — all in a completely trustless manner. Compound distinguishes itself from other similar protocols through its community governance model. Holders of the platform's native governance token, COMP, have the ability to propose protocol changes, engage in discussions, and vote on whether to implement changes suggested by others, all without any involvement from the Compound team. This governance process can encompass decisions such as selecting new cryptocurrencies to support, modifying collateralization factors, and adjusting the distribution of COMP tokens. These COMP tokens can be acquired from third-party exchanges or earned by interacting with the Compound protocol, for instance, by depositing assets or taking out a loan.

As with many digital assets, the issuance of COMP tokens is limited and finite, with the total supply capped at 10 million COMP. Currently, less than a third of these tokens are in circulation, approximately 3.3 million. Of the total 10 million tokens, over 4.2 million will be distributed to Compound users over a span of four years. The second largest allocation, nearly 2.4 million COMP, is designated for the shareholders of Compound Labs, Inc. Additionally, 2.2 million tokens are set aside for the founders and current team members of Compound, subject to a four-year vesting schedule. Moreover, 775,000 COMP tokens are allocated for community governance incentives, while the remaining 332,000 tokens are reserved for future team members. The exact rate at which COMP tokens are emitted can be adjusted over time. This is determined by the community governance, where voters have the ability to propose and approve changes to increase or decrease the emission rate. You can view more details on Eulerpool.

All operations on Compound are managed automatically by smart contracts. These contracts are responsible for minting cTokens once Ethereum and ERC20 assets are deposited, and they enable Compound users to redeem their stake using cTokens. The protocol maintains a collateralization factor for every asset supported on the platform, ensuring that each pool remains overcollateralized at all times. Should the collateral drop below the required maintenance level, it is sold to liquidators at a 5% discount to reduce the loan amount and restore the collateralization factor to an acceptable level. This mechanism ensures borrowers maintain their collateral levels, provides a safety net for lenders, and offers earning opportunities for liquidators.

COMP is presently available for trading on numerous cryptocurrency exchange platforms, including Coinbase Pro, Binance, and Huobi Global. It can be traded against most other popular cryptocurrencies, as well as various fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar (USD), Indian rupee (INR), and Australian dollar (AUD). Unsure about how to convert fiat currencies to cryptocurrencies like COMP? Discover more information here.