Over $15 billion worth of cryptocurrencies are in Compound – the dominant DeFi borrowing/lending platform, according to DeFi Pulse.
The primary reason behind the push is the continuing DeFi bullish run, which skyrocketed the total value locked in DeFi applications to $49.9 billion.
Source: DeFi Pulse
As noted by Robert Leshner, VP of risk management at Archegos Capital, the borrowing availability of Compound began its steep rise from $3 billion on November 11, 2020, to 7 billion on February 6, 2021, and the $10 billion milestone on February 20, 2020.
The borrowing availability shows the total amount of funds that can be borrowed in the form of a non-custodial, instant crypto loan.
Currently, 34% of the total borrowing availability is in the form of ETH tokens, while 23% is in US dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC and 19% is in the US dollar-pegged DAI stablecoin.
Meanwhile, Compound secured its first place in the total value locked (TVL) ranking with $9.19 billion. The second place in the rank is occupied by Maker with $7.73 billion, while Uniswap is third with $5.84 billion.
Source: DeFi Pulse
Compound started as one of the first decentralized finance borrowing/lending protocols. The protocol allows traders to borrow funds or receive interest on their cryptocurrencies. Compound interacts with the DeFi ecosystem via a set of self-executing smart contracts, which enable Compound users to use bank-like services without the need of intermediaries or third-party services.
The decentralized nature of Compound means the protocol must have some form of governance. In Compound’s case, as well as with major Ethereum-operated DeFi protocols, a governance token is used to grant token holders the rights to vote, delegate, and propose improvements. Compound uses its native COMP token to utilize governance, as well as to provide a store of value for Compound’s users.
Currently, a COMP token is worth $523.44, with a total market capitalization of $2,644,469,856. COMP started April at $451 per token but quickly climbed up to $542.2 before stabilizing at current prices.