From Compound to Restaking: The Calvin Liu Story

• Calvin Liu helped design Compound’s core systems and later led Ethereum restaking strategy at EigenLayer.
• He avoids hype, backing early-stage crypto projects that focus on long-term infrastructure and governance models.

When it comes to early names shaping the DeFi ecosystem, Calvin Liu’s name rarely gets mentioned as prominently as the founding fathers. But if you dig deeper, he’s actually one of those who got in before the hype hit. He didn’t start his crypto career with a bang, but rather with consistency—and a little curiosity that paid off handsomely.

A Cornell University graduate with a background in economics and philosophy, Calvin had a bit of a career in traditional finance. He worked at investment firms like Houlihan Lokey and worked in financial regulation. But in 2013, something caught his eye—Bitcoin. Over time, he began investing, writing, and eventually diving into emerging blockchain projects.

Calvin Liu: From Building DeFi Tools to Reinventing Blockchain Trust

His first serious foray into crypto came when he joined Compound as head of strategy. Back then, Compound wasn’t what it is today. Not many people believed in the concept of “banking on Ethereum.” But Calvin saw an opening. He co-led the launch of cTokens and designed the COMP token governance—which would later become the blueprint for many other protocols.

He explained in one of the public sessions that the concept of Compound is about opening loans and interest transparently—without banks, without tellers.

On the other hand, his journey in Compound is not just about technology. He is also involved in building a community, having dialogues with users, and even answering random questions on Reddit and Telegram. People may see DeFi from a technical perspective, but Calvin realizes that building trust is more difficult than writing smart contracts.

Furthermore, after leaving Compound, Calvin did not immediately leave the blockchain world. He joined as Chief Strategy Officer at EigenLayer, a project that is now one of the main pillars in the Ethereum restaking world. This is where things get even more interesting.

Restaking may sound complicated, but if you imagine it as an additional security system for blockchain, then Calvin’s role is similar to the architect of the fence around the big house called Ethereum. Through EigenLayer, he helps organize how validators can “re-lend” their stakes to protect other applications. And yes, the amount of funds locked in it has now reached tens of billions of dollars.

Staying Grounded While Betting on the Long Game

But Calvin is not just about work. He is also an active angel investor through Divergence Ventures, backing many early-stage projects that he believes have disruptive potential—whether it’s blockchain infrastructure, DeFi, or market prediction projects.

One of his unique habits is to avoid hype. In one interview, he once said that it’s the projects that “seem boring” that are the most important—because that’s where the foundation is built.

If asked what keeps him in this industry, perhaps it’s not the money, nor the popularity. He’s more interested in the “long game”—where the protocol can regulate itself, and the community is at the center of decisions. It’s a bit like the open-source philosophy: anyone can enter, but only the consistent survive.

However, not everything went smoothly. The crypto world is full of turmoil, and some of the projects he backed didn’t always end up happy. But perhaps that’s where the important lesson lies. Calvin is not the type to stick to one project.

He sees blockchain as a living ecosystem that is constantly changing. So instead of just chasing the “trending” projects, he chose to build the foundation—slowly but surely.

Today, he still actively speaks on various forums, podcasts, and community sessions. Sometimes discussing the technicalities of staking, sometimes explaining governance, sometimes just pondering how crucial system design is in a world without central banks.

Amid it all, one thing that Calvin Liu has consistently done is stick to his original vision: to create an open financial system that is accessible to anyone, without permission. And like many good things, it hasn’t been an instant journey—but it’s slowly shaping the future.