Deep Dive
1. COMP Distribution Patch (27 June 2020)
Overview: This patch addressed two specific vulnerabilities in the newly launched COMP distribution system. It stopped users from manipulating reward speeds with flash loans and changed how rewards were allocated to different markets.
The update required that only externally owned accounts (regular user wallets, not smart contracts) could "poke" the system to trigger rewards, closing a flash loan attack vector. It also changed the COMP distribution speed to be proportional to a market's size (total borrows), rather than where users paid the most interest, to discourage inefficient "reward farming" and better align incentives with protocol health.
What this means: This is neutral for COMP because it was a necessary security fix during the protocol's initial launch phase. It made the reward system more robust and fair, protecting the value of early distributions.
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2. COMP Distribution System (9 June 2020)
Overview: This was the final mainnet release for Compound's groundbreaking governance token distribution. It allowed users to earn COMP tokens automatically by supplying or borrowing assets in approved markets.
The system included a "Reservoir" contract that dripped COMP to the main protocol at a constant rate, ensuring a predictable supply for rewards. Users could either claim earned COMP manually or receive it automatically after reaching a threshold.
What this means: This was extremely bullish for COMP as it created the core utility and distribution model for the token. It pioneered "yield farming," directly incentivizing users to provide liquidity and participate in governance, which drove massive initial adoption.
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3. Tether & Gas Optimizations (30 April 2020)
Overview: This update added support for Tether (USDT) as a new money market, implemented significant gas optimizations across the protocol, and adjusted the DAI interest rate model to be more responsive.
The gas optimizations reduced transaction costs by 10-20 thousand gas per operation by simplifying code and removing redundant calculations. The new DAI model increased its rate adjustment speed ("gapPerBlock") from 0.05% to 2% per block.
What this means: This was bullish for COMP as it improved the user experience by making transactions cheaper and faster, while also expanding the protocol's utility by adding a major stablecoin. These foundational improvements supported greater scalability and adoption.
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Conclusion
The available codebase history shows Compound's intense development phase centered on its 2020 launch and the innovative COMP token distribution. While no recent source code releases are documented, ongoing development is evident through governance-approved upgrades like Compound III and new chain deployments. How will the transition to a multi-chain, community-governed infrastructure be reflected in future code iterations?