Compound is a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform that enables users to earn interest on their crypto assets by placing them in designated pools available on the platform.
If you're interested in diving deeper into this project, be sure to explore our comprehensive analysis of Compound.
When you deposit tokens into a Compound pool, you receive cTokens as a return. These cTokens signify your share in the pool and can be used to reclaim the original cryptocurrency you deposited anytime. For instance, depositing ETH in a pool gives you cETH. As time goes on, the rate of exchange between these cTokens and the original asset rises, allowing you to redeem them for more than what you initially deposited—this is the method through which interest is distributed.
Conversely, borrowers can secure a loan from any Compound pool by supplying collateral. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio differs depending on the asset used as collateral but is generally between 50 and 75%. The interest rate also varies by borrowed asset, and automatic liquidation can occur if the borrower's collateral dips below a certain maintenance threshold.
Since its mainnet launch in September 2018, Compound has seen a surge in its user base, recently surpassing $800 million in total value locked.
Who Are the Founders of Compound?
Compound was established in 2017 by Robert Leshner and Geoffrey Hayes, both of whom held prominent roles at Postmates, the food delivery company. Both continue to serve as executives at Compound Labs, Inc, the software development company behind Compound, with Leshner as CEO and Hayes as CTO.
While both founders are seasoned entrepreneurs, Robert Leshner stands out for his active role in advancing the blockchain sector, investing in well-known crypto platforms like Argent Wallet, Opyn, and Blockfolio.
The team behind Compound consists of over a dozen professionals, nearly half of whom are engineers.
What Makes Compound Unique?
Compound addresses the issue of idle cryptocurrencies sitting on exchanges by providing an open lending platform that lets users earn interest on supported Ethereum tokens or take out loans in a trustless environment.
What distinguishes Compound is its community-driven governance. Holders of its native governance token, COMP, can propose and vote on protocol changes, debate them, and decide whether to adopt such changes—all without the Compound team's intervention. This governance can involve decisions on adding new cryptocurrencies, adjusting collateralization rates, and altering how COMP tokens are distributed.
You can acquire COMP tokens either through purchase on third-party exchanges or by participating in Compound protocol activities, like depositing assets or obtaining a loan.
How Many Compound (COMP) Coins Are There in Circulation?
Similar to many cryptocurrencies, COMP has a capped total supply—10 million tokens will ever be created. As of now, less than a third of these, around 3.3 million, are in circulation.
Of the total, more than 4.2 million COMP tokens are to be distributed to users over a four-year period. Almost 2.4 million tokens are allocated to shareholders of Compound Labs, Inc, while 2.2 million are reserved for the founders and current team, subject to a four-year vesting schedule.
Additionally, 775,000 COMP tokens are set aside for community governance incentives, with the remaining 332,000 earmarked for future team members.
The emission rate of COMP tokens is adjustable, as the community can vote to change it through governance proposals.
How Is the Compound Network Secured?
Compound relies on smart contracts to automatically manage operations. These contracts mint cTokens when Ethereum and ERC20 assets are deposited and allow users to reclaim their stake with cTokens.
To ensure the security of the pools, the protocol mandates a collateralization factor, ensuring that all assets are overcollateralized. Should collateral drop below the required maintenance level, it is sold at a 5% discount to liquidators, which repays part of the loan and restores collateralization to the acceptable level.
This structure ensures that borrowers maintain adequate collateral, safeguards lenders, and offers profitable opportunities for liquidators.
Where Can You Buy Compound (COMP)?
COMP is widely available for trading on many cryptocurrency exchanges, including well-known platforms like Coinbase Pro, Binance, and Huobi Global. It's tradeable against other major cryptocurrencies and several fiat currencies, like the U.S. dollar (USD), Indian rupee (INR), and Australian dollar (AUD).
Need guidance on converting fiat to cryptocurrencies like COMP? Learn more here.
Bitcoin Risk of a Major Fall: Plunge to $60K May Be Imminent
Another lower high and lower low means that Bitcoin is on the verge of a fall to lower levels. $60K is the target. The next potential dip would take the $BTC price beneath the bull market trendline. Could this be the beginning of one final capitulation phase for Bitcoin?
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/bi…
Stablecoin Yield Now Funds Daily SUI Buybacks
Stablecoin yield now funds daily SUI buybacks as Sui posts a 6.09M TPS test and over $1T in stablecoin volume. We map mechanics, risks, and market impact.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/st…
India Changes the Closing Bell With a New Auction Session
SEBI’s new Closing Auction Session reshapes India’s close from Aug 3, 2026, as NSE extends F&O trading to 3:40pm. Index hedges, closing prints, and ops all shift.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/in…
Palantir Earnings Put Its AI Premium to a Reality Check
Options markets price a 9.6% PLTR move for Aug. 3 earnings while the stock sits near a 78.9x forward P/E and is down about 22.6% year over year. What must show up.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/pa…
After Zapper: Where DeFi Users Can Track Their Positions
Zapper’s August 3, 2026 shutdown leaves DeFi users seeking dashboards. We compare DeBank, Zerion, DeFiLlama Portfolio, Rotki and CoinStats with privacy tips.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/af…
One Balance, Several Strategies: Inside 1inch Aqua
1inch Aqua debuts on 13 EVM chains with a shared balance and 10M 1INCH rewards. Dune found 85% of CL capital underused in H1 2026. The fix may be here.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/in…
Crypto Address Poisoning: How Fake Histories Trick Users
arXiv study finds 53% of state-invariant tx on Ethereum are address-poisoning spam. What users miss, how attackers plant fake histories, and fixes that work
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/cr…
McDonald's Earnings Preview: Value, Traffic and Margins
McDonald’s Q2 consensus: $7.155B revenue, $3.35 EPS, with margins guided mid to high 40s. Value deals and app promos could sway traffic and check size.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/mc…
IRS Fake Crypto Tax Letters: How to Spot the Scam
IRS mail-first rule: fake crypto tax letters are surging amid AI deepfakes and new DOJ seizures. Red flags, verification steps, and reporting paths.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/ir…
Threshold Signatures vs Multisig: Which Is Safer?
CertiK reports $1.32B lost in H1 2026, led by wallet compromises. Spark shows ~80% fee cuts with FROST vs multisig. We weigh TSS security, costs, and failure modes.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/th…
Kalshi vs New York: Are Prediction Markets Gambling?
New York court denial of Kalshi’s injunction and fresh state actions put prediction markets in a legal squeeze. Here’s how traders can navigate the gray.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/ka…
AMD Earnings Preview: MI450 Demand and AI Margins
Anthropic partnership commits up to 2 GW of AMD MI450 GPUs as Helios racks ship in H2 2026. What that could mean for demand, pricing, and AI margins.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/08/am…
Blockchain State Expiry: Why Networks Cannot Store Everything
116 GiB/year of new Ethereum state after gas limit hikes is pushing clients to state expiry, tiering, and UTXO-like designs. Here’s what changes and why.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/07/bl…
Validator Client Diversity: Why One Bug Can Threaten a Network
Ethereum finality gaps in 2023 and Solana’s 2024 outage show why client monoculture is a systemic risk. Practical steps for operators and stakers.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/07/va…
Samsung Wallet Stablecoin Roadmap: What Payments Could Change
Samsung Wallet roadmap adds stablecoin support after Galaxy Unpacked 2026, with a base:0x833589fcd6edb6e08f4c7c32d4f71b54bda02913 mockup and a new Galaxy Card combo. Fees and custody could shift.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/07/sa…
KOSPI Circuit Breakers: How Korea Handles Extreme Volatility
Three KOSPI circuit breakers in July 2026 spotlight Korea’s 8%/15%/20% halt rules, 20‑minute freezes, and sidecar curbs on program selling. Here’s how it works.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/07/ko…
Bitcoin Low Timeframe Downtrend: Sweep to $62K Next?
Since almost hitting $67K ten days ago, the $BTC price has entered into a short-term timeframe downtrend, making consecutive lower highs and lower lows. Is this downtrend going to continue, bringing the price down to the $62K area?
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/07/bi…
Cboe Earnings: Why Volatility Is Profitable for Exchanges
Cboe options volume hit records in June 2026, with 23.0M ADV and strong SPX 0DTE flow. Volatile sessions can raise RPC and fees, feeding into exchange earnings.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/07/cb…
AbbVie Earnings: Can Skyrizi and Rinvoq Replace Humira?
AbbVie earnings hinge on Skyrizi and Rinvoq growth as Humira wanes after U.S. biosimilars. We map the path, risks, and catalysts that could close the gap.
cryptodaily.co.uk/2026/07/ab…
Filecoin (FIL) And The Graph (GRT): As LLM Dataset Partnerships And L2 Indexing Demand Increase, Do FIL And GRT Become The Core “AI Data + Query” Infra Or Keep Lagging Higher‑Beta AI Tokens? financepolice.com/filecoin-f…
Avalanche (AVAX) And Aave (AAVE): After New Subnets And Cross‑Chain Money Markets Go Live, Do AVAX And AAVE Re‑Center Blue‑Chip DeFi Or Remain In The Shadow Of L2 Governance Tokens? financepolice.com/avalanche-…
