Compound was founded in 2017 and is a protocol that hosts lending pools in order for users to earn interest on various cryptocurrencies. Its protocol is operated automatically through smart contracts on the network Ethereum, as such, COMP is an ERC-20 token.

What are Compound’s key features and how does it work?

Compound uses smart contracts running on Ethereum that connect lenders and borrowers, the two principal users of the platform. In simple terms, pools on Compound allow token holders to supply tokens to others who borrow those tokens at interest rates determined by supply and demand.

Lenders are those who lend a cryptocurrency on Compound. They can send tokens to an Ethereum address that is controlled by Compound in order to earn interest. A lender is rewarded with a new cryptocurrency in return for depositing into a pool. The new token is a cToken, examples of which include cETH and cDAI.

Borrowers are those who post collateral on Compound. This is in the form of a cryptocurrency. Borrowers are allowed to borrow any of the cryptocurrencies supported by Compound at a percentage of the value they post as collateral.

Compound also rewards lenders with COMP tokens based on the number of cTokens held in their wallets. The amount of reward is also dependent on interest rates, which themselves are dependent on the available supply of a particular asset. The more liquidity in a market, the lower the interest rate. 

Also worth mentioning is that users who lend assets to the protocol have the option to take out a loan in any other cryptocurrency that Compound offers, up to the amount of collateral posted. Additionally, borrowers may get liquidated if the asset that they borrow increases in value and surpasses the posted collateral. 

Finally, COMP token-holders can debate, propose, and vote on all changes to the protocol.

By placing COMP directly into the hands of users and applications, an increasingly large ecosystem will be able to upgrade the protocol and will be incentivized to collectively steward the protocol into the future with good governance.