Compound
Compound, originally created in 2018 by Robert Leshner and Geoffrey Hayes in San Francisco and developed by Compound Labs, pioneered algorithmic, autonomous money markets in decentralized finance. Its protocol enables users to supply crypto assets to earn floating interest and borrow against collateral dynamically through smart contracts without intermediaries, governed on-chain by COMP token holders. Compound v3 (Comet) introduced a streamlined, single-borrowable asset model that optimizes capital efficiency and mitigates risk. Headquartered with distributed governance and engineering contributors worldwide, Compound emphasizes formal verification, audited risk parameters and building timeless, permissionless financial infrastructure for global DeFi. Compound v3 (Comet) optimizes capital efficiency and risk management in decentralized finance, providing audited smart contract money markets where users can supply, borrow, and earn yield on digital assets.