Compound Foundation Launches Institutional-Only Lending Market

Compound Foundation has launched an institutional-only lending market, marking one of its biggest DeFi pivots yet. The new market is separate from the protocol's retail-facing side and offers whitelisted participants custom loan-to-value ratios, tailored risk parameters, and their own collateral sets.

The move comes after Compound relaunched itself around institutional credit in August and a DAO vote approved a $52 million development program, the largest funding initiative in the protocol's history. The program is focused on onboarding regulated financial players such as banks, asset managers, exchanges, and fintechs.

Leading the charge is a new executive team with deep roots in traditional finance, including Executive Director Aaron Schnarch, formerly CEO of Coinbase Custody. The foundation says it has more than 10 confirmed partners, with discussions underway with over 20 additional potential collaborators.