Compound Labs has stated that the company will not sell or reserve any COMP tokens. Instead, all tokens are allocated to shareholders and team members, with over half distributed to the protocol's actual users.
Compound announced the introduction of its governance token COMP earlier this year and has now revealed the distribution method for 42% of these tokens: "Lending as Mining."
Out of the total 10 million COMP tokens, 4.23 million will be distributed freely to Compound users. The platform emphasizes that all protocol users and applications built on Compound will continuously and automatically gain governance rights.
COMP tokens enable community governance for Compound, allowing holders to propose changes to the protocol or vote on proposals. While COMP is a critical component of Compound's shift from "admin governance" to "community governance," the team clarifies that COMP is not a fundraising tool or investment opportunity.
The 4.23 million COMP tokens will be distributed via a smart contract, currently live on the testnet and audited for security. The official launch is expected in June.
How Are the 4.23 Million COMP Tokens Distributed?
The tokens will be distributed freely to users based on their borrowing and lending activity on the protocol. The more users transact, the more COMP they earn—akin to a "lending as mining" mechanism.
Key details:
- Distribution Mechanism: 4,229,949 COMP tokens are held in a "Reservoir" smart contract, releasing 0.5 COMP per Ethereum block (~2,880 COMP daily). The process will take approximately 4 years to complete.
- Market Allocation: COMP is allocated across lending markets (ETH, USDC, DAI, etc.), proportional to the interest generated in each market. This ratio fluctuates dynamically.
Split Between Users:
- 50% of COMP goes to liquidity providers (lenders).
- 50% goes to borrowers.
- Users receive COMP based on their share of the market.
- Claiming Tokens: Addresses accumulate COMP once they reach 0.001 COMP, which is transferred automatically during transactions. Smaller amounts can be claimed manually.
Full Allocation of 10 Million COMP Tokens
Compound Labs has clarified that the company will not retain any COMP tokens. The distribution breaks down as follows:
- 23.96%: Allocated to Compound Labs shareholders.
- 22.26%: Reserved for founders and team members (vesting over 4 years).
- 3.73%: Set aside for future team members.
- 50.05%: Reserved for protocol users (42.3% already has a defined distribution method; 7.75% remains unallocated).
Estimating COMP Returns
How can users estimate potential returns from COMP? Here’s a hypothetical model based on assumptions:
Assuming COMP’s market cap reaches $70 million** in a year (comparable to Aave’s LEND token), each COMP token would be valued at ~**$7.
However, returns differ for suppliers and borrowers due to varying total liquidity:
- Lenders: With ~$116.7 million in total supplied assets, a $3,000 USDT deposit could yield 13.5 COMP annually (~3.15% APY).
- Borrowers: With ~$17.6 million in total borrowed assets, a $3,000 USDT loan could yield 89.6 COMP annually (~20.91% APY).
Note: These estimates exclude borrowing/lending interest and rely on static assumptions. Actual returns may vary significantly.
Security Audit and Launch Timeline
The COMP distribution smart contract is live on Ethereum’s Kovan testnet, with open-source code available on GitHub. OpenZeppelin’s audit report confirmed no critical issues.
Compound also provides a tracking dashboard to monitor COMP distribution by market, helping users strategize allocations.
Founder Robert Leshner stated the feature could go live in June, with distributions continuing for 4 years.
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FAQ
1. How do I claim my COMP tokens?
COMP is automatically transferred once your balance hits 0.001. For smaller amounts, manually trigger a transaction to claim.
2. Can I earn COMP by lending and borrowing simultaneously?
Yes! You’ll accumulate COMP from both activities based on your market share.
3. What’s the purpose of COMP tokens?
COMP enables decentralized governance, letting holders propose and vote on protocol changes.
4. When will the remaining 7.75% COMP be distributed?
Compound has not yet disclosed plans for this portion.
5. How does COMP compare to other DeFi governance tokens?
COMP focuses purely on governance, unlike tokens that double as fundraising tools.
6. Is there a minimum stake to earn COMP?
No minimum, but you must transact on Compound to qualify.