[AlphaGrowth] 2025 Compound Growth Program V3 Consolidated

Proposals
1

TL;DR

AlphaGrowth has explained many of the potential strategies we can implement on behalf of the DAO in the pursuit of creating an impactful 2025 growth program for Compound. We’ve also outlined the corresponding salaries, working capital and bonuses.

AlphaGrowth is listening and we want what’s in the best interest of Compound’s continued success. We’ve taken feedback from forum posts, twitter spaces, and 1-1 calls with delegates and community members to bring the Compound Community an updated and consolidated version of our previous proposals.

Teams

We are retaining all of the teams from the V1 proposal as outlined in the budget below. We have reduced the size of the Community Team and removed DeFi Operations per DAO feedback.

V3 of 2025 Growth Program [Change Log]

Execution

  1. The Community Team reduced headcount & price by 51% per community feedback.
  2. The remaining teams & initiatives will be executed with their original scopes.
  3. Articles have been provided with additional explanation of DeFi Ops, however this team has been removed from the growth program, when opportunities arise they will be presented to the DAO separately with their own votes.
  4. SubDAOs will be put on pause; we will experiment paying a CFO in this manner, and AlphaGrowth will manage the remaining growth program teams as it does currently.

Compensation

  1. COMP fell as predicted from $120 to $50
  2. The USD Equivalent proposal dropped from ~$17M to ~$7.1M, the number of COMP remained consistent minus the Community team & DeFi Ops team reduction
  3. Performance based compensation will only bonus 50% of the TVL brought through deals with 1-year timeframes (like new chain liquidity loans)

Budget

2024 to 2025 Growth Program Comparison

Category 2024 COMP 2025 COMP Increase
Salaries 40,200 117,435 2.92x
Working Capital 37,008 55,512 1.50x
Business Unit Focuses 3 7 2.30x

The current price of COMP is $50, the previous price of COMP when the 2024 proposal passed was $50, making the USD conversion comparable for the two budgets.

Sections Removed from the 2025 Salary Ask

Business Unit Annual COMP Annual USD Win
Community 19000 $0 Activation
DeFi Operations 11900 $0 TVL

New 2025 Salaries

Business Unit Annual COMP Annual USD Win
Wholistic Security 20650 $1,032,500 Compliance & Safety
New Assets & Markets 9200 $460,000 TVL
New Chains 12300 $615,000 TVL
Incentive Distribution & Structured Products 6600 $330,000 TVL
DeFi Deals 16700 $835,000 TVL
Rails to TradFi 11700 $585,000 TVL
Community 9385 $469,250 Active Community Involvement
117435 $4,326,750 Total

2025 Variable Budgets that will be returned if not used

Working Capital Annual COMP Annual USD Business unit in charge
Marketing Budget 18,504 $1,202,760 New Chains
Grant Budget for Builders 18,504 $1,202,760 Community & Hyper Security
COMP Incentives to distribute 18,504 $1,202,760 Incentive Distribution
55,512 $3,608,280 Total

Total

Salaries + Working Capital Annual COMP Annual USD
Total 142,047 $7,102,350 Total

Performance Based Compensation

  1. $5M for every $1B of new TVL brought to Compound that can be attributed to AlphaGrowth.
  2. Only 50% of the bonus amount on TVL designated to stay for a duration of 1 year (like Chain liquidity loans)
  3. AlphaGrowth will submit a proposal every time a new $1B is added, and on December 31st, 2025 for a prorated bonus amount on the remainder of TVL that’s currently working toward the next $1B milestone.

Payment Method

When executed the DAO proposal will transfer funds into the AlphaGrowth MultiSig, the same wallet to which the 2024 Growth Program Funds were sent. This is the same transfer execution as in the 2025-V1 proposal. Which was taken down because Open Zeppelin deemed the proposal a governance attack that consolidated too much COMP with the AlphaGrowth team. We now believe this to be unfounded. AlphaGrowth currently controls 103,000 COMP votes. While Gauntlet controls 270,000 Votes. AlphaGrowth has verbally agreed not to vote with the Growth program budget.

Next Steps

  1. Submit to DAO for Vote
  2. Reignite the Compound Growth Program

Additional Reading

If you’re interested in how Version3 came into existence, please review the journey and back and forth with the community below.

Version 1

In December, AlphaGrowth proposed renewal of the Compound Growth program for a tenure of 12 months. With a plethora of wins in 2024 and clear examples of how the team’s responsibilities had outgrown their original scope. While a majority of the community supported the program and AlphaGrowth could have passed a vote, we refrained instead stepping back to educate the community and create a firmer foundation for the long term joint success of both Compound Protocol and the Compound Growth Program.

Feedback

The original 2025 Renewal Forum Post was 22 pages long (doubled in length by the community discussion). Each strategy clearly needed its own thread to deeper educate the community on its benefits & operation. The community also commented on the manner in which COMP was to be paid out, requesting more structure. They also commented on the price spike in COMP around the vote leading to a larger than anticipated USD equivalent for the proposal.

Version 2

In response, AlphaGrowth incorporated community feedback into a series of articles outlining the Growth Program’s 2025 plan. We:

  1. Defined an organizational structure to ensure excellence and hold leaders accountable.
  2. Created a payment structure to provide business units with autonomy while protecting the DAO’s financial interests.
  3. Provided additional clarity on the strategies behind each business unit.

Feedback

This trajectory was squashed via a snapshot vote

9 Likes
2

Have all the marketing + integration funds been spent (totaling 37,008 COMP)? Will there be some returned to treasury if not approved or otherwise rolled over if approved? Please detail.

1 Like
3

We’re glad to see a revised version of the Growth Program renewal and will vote in support. Compound needs more people and organisations with both the right expertise and determination to step up and take charge of driving Compound forward. @AlphaGrowth has been persistent in presenting new ideas and paths to potential growth, made debate more lively within the DAO which is great to see, and remains without doubt one of Compound’s most important core contributors. Taking on the remainder of 2025 without them would be a real setback to the DAO and protocol.

2 Likes
4

OpenZeppelin’s review of Proposal 381 identified several significant and avoidable security concerns. We disclosed these issues confidentially to the proposer in a detailed report, recommending the proposal be withdrawn pending implementation of our suggested remediations and subsequent review. While the proposer did withdraw the proposal, no remediations were submitted for our review. The complete report is available publicly to ensure transparency and to address any potential mischaracterizations of our findings.

5

Appreciate the post @jbass-oz. We attempted to move the direction you suggested to separate business units with Aera vaults and Sub DAOs and the DAO voted against it.

Read the history here: [AlphaGrowth] Growth Program Organizational Structure

Vote Results here

2 Likes
6

OpenZeppelin has reviewed Proposal 416 and identified the same issues previously found in Proposal 381, with one notable modification. Point 4 of the Execution section in the Change Log now states that

This modification indicates that the proposed new business units will operate under AlphaGrowth’s ownership and management structure. Voters considering this proposal should understand that enacting this proposal requires trusting that AlphaGrowth will distribute funds to these business units as described in the proposal.

The complete report for the Proposal 416 Review is available for your consideration.

7

OpenZeppelin’s recommendation was, as stated in the report, “recalculating the budget for each [business unit] in USD [instead of COMP], submitting each [business unit] as separate proposals [instead of one proposal for all], and leveraging the vendor payment system to distribute funding incrementally over time [instead of as a lump sum].”

8

Thank you for your review of Proposal 416. We genuinely appreciate all your work for the Compound community. We believe that selling COMP at this time is not ideal and have acquired a partnership to be able to borrow against the COMP as needed.

We believe this approach aligns our incentives more closely with the DAO and will reduce sell pressure to the benefit of all Token holders and the broader Compound community. We are dedicated to the project’s success and will continue to provide DeFi utility to all token holders.

2 Likes
9

With AG’s mandate nearing conclusion, it’s an opportune time to initiate a structured handover of responsibilities. In the short term, transitioning responsibilities to Gauntlet appears reasonable while the DAO works to implement a more resilient & sustainable ops structure.

10

One can acknowledge AG’s work in fostering relationships with entities like OKX & key opinion leaders such as Stephen from DeFi Dojo. However, one can also be confident that these relationships will endure due to Compound’s inherent value & market position. Given this context, the proposed scope & associated costs are difficult to justify.

11

@cmrn appreciate the recognition of AlphaGrowth’s work in cultivating valuable relationships. While Compound’s strong reputation and track record indeed play a significant role in maintaining these connections, relying on brand momentum alone does not guarantee sustained growth or expansion.

AlphaGrowth’s mandate was clear:

  • TVL Expansion: Increase Total Value Locked by $500M across new and existing markets.
  • Market Development: Launched 11 new markets, especially those with high TVL potential.
  • Chain Expansion: Expand Compound onto 4 additional blockchains
  • User Acquisition: Onboarded 289,000+ new users through targeted campaigns

To date, we’ve executed effectively against each of these objectives. We look to double the TVL expansion this year to target 1 Billion of new assets. Thank you for you consideration.

2 Likes
12

Instances such as the promotion of memecoins through @growcompound, cussing in forum, doxxing community members, proposing duplicate solutions, withholding forum feedback, etc. have raised questions about AG’s commitment to transparency & efficiency & risk harming Compound’s strong reputation & track record mentioned. Much of the observed growth appears to be attributable to broader market trends rather than AG’s efforts. Ty for hearing.

13

Thank you @cmrn value the feedback and acknowledge that our path has not been perfect. Still, we believe our overall record demonstrates commitment, strategic foresight, and meaningful contributions to Compound’s ecosystem. We’re dedicated to building on that record and proactively addressing any concerns along the way. Your voice as a community is critical in shaping and guiding these efforts, and we thank you for voicing these issues so we can continue to improve.

3 Likes
14

Based on available evidence, voting FOR AlphaGrowth is no longer prudent.

There is cultural misalignment here & inexcusable operational shortcomings that make them unsuitable for Compound’s future. We extend our gratitude for their contributions & hope they recognize this feedback is driven by a commitment to Compound’s long term success.

Moving forward, we recommend a structured transition taking place over the remaining 2 month period to a more sustainable, grassroots operational model. Thank you to all community members for your continued engagement & dedication to Compound’s growth.

15

Apologies for less formal and more personal post in advance.

Compound Labs has abandoned the protocol.

The Compound Labs Twitter account, with over 250K followers, is inactive. Sure, you could argue that it’s technically a “Labs” account and not the protocol’s official account, but let’s be real—most users see it as the face of Compound.

Compound DAO doesn’t control a front-end, which means contributors are stuck working within the existing smart contract infrastructure. Users care less what’s on the backend—they care about what’s in front of them. And right now, even something as basic as supplying assets feels like a struggle.

Service providers have to negotiate just to execute strategies, while VC-backed protocols move faster, with more capital and flexibility.

There’s no leadership.

I don’t see anyone with a structured, long-term vision or an execution plan for Compound’s growth.

I don’t see any organization with a team capable of securing partnerships, liquidity deals, marketing, and BD activities for Compound.

Except AlphaGrowth.

I don’t always agree with AlphaGrowth’s approach—things like handing out cigars at events or meme-style PR aren’t my thing. But there’s no clear, agreed-upon strategy for how Compound should position itself.

We’re all human. Experimentation is part of finding what works.

Some community members have told me that Compound should be a battle-tested, resilient protocol that survives any market conditions. I agree.

But that shouldn’t stop us from growing.

We can keep existing liquidity secure while also attracting new capital—capital that, for now, doesn’t see Compound as the right fit.

I won’t speak on behalf of AlphaGrowth or list their achievements, but I can share what I’ve seen firsthand.

I’ve never seen another growth agency fight for its client as hard as AlphaGrowth fights for Compound. They don’t chase wins just to make announcements—they do everything they can to maximize value for the protocol.

No one cared more about the Humpy governance attack than Bryan. His effort led to a successful resolution—without it, the protocol might have been dead long before the current growth proposal.

I’m genuinely impressed by the number of opportunities AlphaGrowth has managed in the past year. I don’t see any other player in the Compound ecosystem that could handle even 50% of that.

AlphaGrowth overdelivered promised $500M in TVL, considering current market fall and liquidations(check the dashboard). And I believe they will overdeliver their proposed promises this time as well.

I strongly encourage every delegate to vote FOR the Compound Growth Program renewal.

Tell me if I wrong. healthy DAO > deep state

Disclaimer: I represent WOOF!. WOOF! was hired as a development team for Compound DAO under the current Compound Growth Program managed by AlphaGrowth.

6 Likes
16

Hey. I am just commenting as a long time Compound user and community member. I am not speaking on behalf of Gauntlet here.

How does the COMP DAO afford this? Doesn’t this increase total burn a ton and put spend above revenues? Is there a path to making the money back?

Alphagrowth has done some great work listing new assets but the Mantle and Optimism launches have been total failures.

Same goes for WOOF but I don’t think it’s really believable that they are going to beat the Morpho team at this point and the sandbox is a plan to have a protocol that’s worse than competitors’ at launch

I think it’s easy to say that it’d be a lot better if this proposal was 50-75% smaller. Also if you guys were to do some runway analysis for the DAO or something it would make it a lot easier to justify the expenditure. You are proposing to be more than 50% of spend so I think it makes sense for you to do this

Your $17mm proposal was totally insane and I don’t think people were clear enough about that. Off by an order of magnitude

1 Like
17

Harder when the biggest active Compound delegate is on Morpho’s payroll.

4 Likes
18

Hey man I’m happy to change my mind if you guys ship this thing. Just trying to be honest here. Protocol dev is expensive. I think y’all should be paid fairly for your work. It just doesn’t make a ton of sense for Compound to invest heavily here unless there is a clearer path to victory

1 Like
19

Personally, I hope WOOF! would stay involved in the Compound community.

This is false, and I once again urge members to provide feedback (it has been over 3 weeks without any feedback) on Sandbox’s evolution to Compound v4. @robinnagpal tagged many. From my understanding, Sandbox is actually not “6 months out”, and we can move quicker.

Reorganizing and decentralizing these efforts is not just in Compound’s favor, but perfectly exemplifies its ability as a mature DAO to adapt in real-time based on available evidence.

2 Likes
20

In case this wasn’t clear, I feel the same way! Just want their efforts to be directed on something with better upside

3 Likes