Compound is an autonomous, algorithm-based yield rate protocol created for developers to unlock a world of open financial applications.

According to the whitepaper, the currency is an Ethereum-based protocol that seeks to build money markets. Money markets are the pools of assets with algorithmic yield rates based on the asset's demand and supply. Borrowers and suppliers of an asset communicate directly with the protocol, paying and earning a floating yield rate without negotiating terms like maturity or collateral with a counterparty. DApps and exchanges with token balance use Compound protocol for incremental returns and monetization by sweeping balances to open new business models for the Ethereum platform. Besides this, the protocol lets users borrow assets from the protocol using cTokens in the Ethereum ecosystem. cTokens work as collateral for the assets borrowed from the protocol. The total value of an account's underlying token balance, multiplied by the collateral factors, makes a user's borrowing capacity.

This protocol aims to use the yield rate model to incentivize liquidity. The liquidity can decline at the time of high demand for an asset, which leads to an increase in the yield rate.

cTokens are the main mode of engaging with Compound Protocol. There are two types of cTokens: CErc20 and CEther. CEther wraps the Ether itself while Cerc20 wraps an ERC-20 underlying asset. Users' balances are the cToken balances that can be minted by supplying assets to the market. Minting is the process of verifying information, designing a new block, and documenting that data into the blockchain. Also, the exchange rate of the underlying asset and cTokens seeks to increase with time. Users can earn yield by supplying tokens in the money market without any interference from the central party.

A centralized system controls the Compound governance. However, over time, the stakeholder and community may take control. The admin in the protocol controls the following rights:

The version 1.0 of the Compound Protocol whitepaper was launched in February 2019 by Robert Leshner and Geoffrey Hayes.