Authors: CGWG (@AranaDigital @PGov) in collaboration with @Compound_Foundation

Summary

This proposal introduces a Delegate Compensation Program to strengthen Compound governance by tying delegate remuneration to objective, measurable criteria. Delegates are essential to Compound’s governance, but the lack of structured compensation has contributed to declining participation and engagement over time. This is especially important since Compound governance has one of the most active DAOs by number of proposals, requiring material and consistent participation from voters.

We propose a framework that applies consistently across all eligible delegates, rewarding both voting participation and substantive public forum communications, and includes clear oversight mechanisms to maintain accountability. The program would run for an initial six-month pilot period, renewable by subsequent governance action.

This proposal does not modify governance power, voting weight, or delegation mechanics. It solely introduces a structured compensation mechanism to incentivize and reward consistent, high-quality participation.

Objectives

• Retain and increase voting participation rates
• Improve responsiveness and feedback pertaining to important proposals
• Encourage substantive engagement on the forums
• Align delegate incentives with protocol resilience and long-term health
• Introduce predictable, transparent compensation standards

Baseline Eligibility

To be eligible for remuneration under this framework, a delegate must:

• Maintain a minimum delegated voting power of 25,000 COMP, equivalent to the effective proposal threshold
• Manage a public delegate statement on the forum and adhere to the Governance Code of Conduct
• Provide a publicly accessible communication channel for submitting voting rationales
• Not be under suspension (see Oversight section below)

Eligibility assessments shall be conducted at fixed three-month intervals from the program start date, with updated eligibility taking effect at the beginning of the following calendar month.

Qualification for Remuneration

Delegate Selection

At the start of the program, the top 8 eligible delegates, selected based on objective voting participation data, will qualify for remuneration. Every 3 months, these 8 spots will be re-evaluated and members reshuffled based on the metrics below.

Each eligible delegate’s previous 6 months of voting history will be analyzed, with the top 8 qualifying for remuneration. After the first 3 months, the previous 6-month voting history determines updated rankings, allowing for candidates to compensate for missed votes and potentially qualify for future rounds of remuneration.

In the case of a tie between 2 or more candidates, the previous 12-month voting history will be analyzed, then 18 months, then 24 months, and so on.

Components of Remuneration

Remuneration is split into two components: vote participation and public communication. These criteria pertain to the 8 delegates that pass the delegate selection process.

Vote Participation

Delegates that qualify for remuneration must:

• Maintain a minimum 95% participation rate across all onchain governance proposals that reach the voting stage during the month
• “Participation” means casting a vote (For / Against / Abstain) prior to a vote closing
• Failure to meet 95% participation in a given month results in zero vote participation remuneration for that month
• In cases where a delegate is unable to participate in a vote due to verifiable, widespread technical issues (including but not limited to network outages, RPC failures, or wallet malfunctions), the oversight group may, acting reasonably and based on objective evidence, exclude such vote from the participation calculation for that month

Public Communication

To qualify for the communication portion of the remuneration, delegates must:

• Publish a written public rationale for 100% of their votes within 3 days of the vote ending.
  • A rationale must be substantive and reference proposal content (not boilerplate or generic text). More leniency will be applied for routine market parameter updates and adjustments.
  • Rationales are to be posted on a delegate’s “Delegate Platform.” This is intended to create a communication thread that the public can reference to easily access a voter’s collective perspectives.
• Post at least 2 substantive forum contributions relating to governance proposals, risk, treasury, or protocol development. “Substantive” excludes one-line comments, acknowledgments, or purely procedural remarks.
• Attend at least one community call in a given month. These are hosted biweekly and are managed according to this thread.

Failure to meet any of these requirements results in a proportional reduction of that month’s communication component.

Example: A qualified delegate is expected to give rationales for 6 votes, 2 substantive forum comments, and attend 1 call in a given month. If they provide rationale on 4 votes, 1 comment, and a call, they receive (4 + 1 + 1) / (6 + 2 + 1) = 2/3 of the communication portion.

If a vote crosses over between two months—for instance, a voting period takes place between April and May—then the relevant voting participation rate and associated rationale will count under the May remuneration. Votes are divided based on when a particular voting period concludes. Note that vote “end” refers to the conclusion of the voting period, not upon proposal execution.

Remuneration Amount

Qualified delegates are eligible to receive up to $4,000 per month, split as follows:

ComponentAmountPayout BasisVote Participation$2,000/monthAll-or-nothing (must meet 95% threshold)Public Communication$2,000/monthProrated based on rationale, forum comments, and call attendance

The vote participation remuneration is all-or-nothing. In other words, delegates must maintain over 95% voting participation in a given month to receive this portion. The public communication remuneration is prorated based on the percentage of voting rationale, substantive forum comments, and call attendance provided. If a delegate does not meet the 95% voting participation rate, they are automatically disqualified from the communication remuneration for that month as well.

Example: A qualified delegate is expected to give rationales for 6 votes, 2 substantive forum comments, and attend 1 call in a given month.

• If they vote on everything, provide rationale on 4 votes, 1 comment, and a call, they receive $2,000 for voting and ~$1333 (⅔*$2000) for communication of the communication portion. Total = $3,133.
• If they vote on everything and don’t partake in communication, they only receive $2,000.
• If they vote on ⅚ proposals, or 83% of all votes, then Total = $0 since the threshold is 95%.

Forum Contributions

Delegate Platform and Communication Thread

Each month, qualified delegates are expected to update their Delegate Platform thread with each vote decision and respective rationales. We ask that delegates maintain one forum post that is edited as it is updated.

These communications should be established as a running thread under the initial delegate statement. For formatting, you may reference the outline at the bottom of the Code of Conduct.

Substantive Comments

As stated in the above section, a delegate must also make 2 substantive forum comments. These comments are not intended to be posted under a delegate’s communication thread. They’re meant to be commented directly under a forum topic. For example, if there’s an RFC related to treasury management, a delegate should comment their substantive contribution as a reply to that forum post. We also encourage delegates to start fresh discussions in the event there aren’t enough active forum posts. A new forum post that initiates discussion will also be acknowledged as a substantive contribution.

Payment Administration

Payments will be made monthly in USDC, and each delegate’s contribution results will be transparently reported to the forums. Payments shall be calculated and disbursed within a reasonable period following the end of each calendar month, based on the finalised participation and engagement metrics for that month.

Approved funds shall be transferred to a newly created multisig established solely for the administration of delegate remuneration under this framework. The multisig will operate under a 3-of-4 signing threshold, with 2 representatives each from the CGWG and the Compound Foundation.

The multisig shall:

• Hold only the funds allocated for this program
• Disburse monthly payments strictly in accordance with publicly verifiable data
• Publish transaction records and monthly payout summaries in a forum thread

Transparency, Reporting, and Oversight

Reporting

A public spreadsheet will be maintained, tracking vote participation percentage and engagement count (rationale posts, forum comments, call attendance) for each delegate. A continuous forum thread will update the community each month.

All voting participation data shall be derived from publicly verifiable onchain governance records (including recognised governance interfaces such as Tally or equivalent), and engagement metrics shall be sourced from the Compound governance forum and officially recognised communication channels.

Suspension for Suspected Malicious Conduct

Remuneration may be suspended where there is reasonable suspicion that a delegate:

• Is coordinating with known malicious actors
• Is participating in governance manipulation or vote-buying schemes
• Is acting in bad faith to undermine protocol security or integrity
• Is engaged in undisclosed conflicts of interest materially affecting governance behavior
• Or is in violation of any of the other Code of Conduct criteria

Oversight Group

Suspension determinations shall be made by a 2-party oversight group comprising the Compound Foundation and the CGWG. A unanimous decision of the group is required to impose suspension. The standard is “reasonable suspicion based on objective evidence.”

All suspensions are immediate, and public disclosure will be made. This mechanism applies solely to delegate qualification for remuneration. It does not affect governance power or delegation. Treasury delegation matters, for example, are handled under a different program managed by the CGWG.

The oversight group is also responsible for making final decisions around tracking delegate scores pertaining to voting participation and forum comments.

Term and Budget

DetailValueInitial Duration6 months from activation—if this proposal passes in the middle of a given month, remuneration tracking will commence on the 1st of the following monthRenewalRequires subsequent governance proposal and approvalReviewA performance and impact review shall be published before renewal

Total Budget: $4,000/delegate × 8 delegates × 6 months = $192,000 USDC (maximum)

If not renewed, this program automatically expires, and any unused USDC will be returned to the treasury. A follow-up will be posted prior to the onchain vote to confirm exactly where assets for funding this proposal will be sourced from.

Proposal Actions

1. Decrease cUSDCv3 reserves for 192,000 USDC. The reserves are transferred to 0x42a7716cf1f55Fe3F4f6585Aa37349bcbE69D621