The Compound token model: how it can expand beyond governance

The standard playbook for crypto projects has become "progressive decentralization."

Unlike in 2009, when Bitcoin was launched as a fully-functioning, permissionless protocol from day one, many projects today are centrally controlled and teams hold admin privileges over their smart contracts. In practice, this means the core development team can unilaterally decide to upgrade and/or seize assets controlled by its smart contracts. For example, a lending protocol could seize collateral or a decentralized exchange could freeze user balances.