In June 2020, the Compound protocol was decentralized with the launch of COMP and the full transfer of control to the community through governance. As a foundational piece of decentralized finance infrastructure, Compound is designed to exist in perpetuity—open, autonomous, and available to all. As one of the first protocols to fully decentralize, the approach was primitive and the territory was uncharted. While the community has grown and matured, it has done so without a core operational pillar—specifically, a foundation—something that has since become a standard support structure for many DeFi protocols. Over time, the protocol has adopted critical support systems for areas like risk (via @gauntlet_xyz) and security (via @openzeppelin). However, in the absence of a foundation, consistent and clear leadership within the community has been lacking, making even routine tasks unnecessarily complex. With the upcoming development of Compound v4 and growing engagement in the community forums, along with the progressive decentralization of the Compound ecosystem and the pullback of involvement from Compound Labs, we've seen the growing need for more consistent structure. In response, we believe it's time to explore the creation of a Compound Foundation. A foundation, entirely separate from Labs or any other existing entity, would provide clarity and continuity—serving as a consistent leadership and coordination layer for the community. It would support key coordination functions across the community, another service provider. We've seen the benefits of this model in other ecosystems, such as the @uniswapFND. We look forward to further discussion in the community around the idea of a Compound Foundation in the forums. Labs stands ready to assist the community, if that assistance would be helpful.