GRT is the utility and staking token of The Graph, the decentralized protocol that indexes blockchain data and makes it queryable via GraphQL APIs. Every major DeFi protocol — Uniswap, Aave, Compound, Curve — relies on The Graph’s “subgraphs” to serve data to their frontends efficiently. Without The Graph, frontends would need to directly scan every block for relevant events, which is impractically slow. GRT is used to stake as Indexers (who process queries and earn query fees), delegate to Indexers, or signal on subgraphs as Curators.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | GRT |
| Price | $0.03 |
| Market Cap | $274.08M |
| 24h Change | +5.5% |
| Circulating Supply | 10.78B GRT |
| Max Supply | 10.80B GRT |
| All-Time High | $2.84 |
| Contract (Ethereum) | 0xc944...44a7 |
| Contract (Harmony Shard 0) | 0x002f...88ff |
| Contract (Near Protocol) | c944e9...near |
| Contract (Energi) | 0x7715...aad5 |
| Contract (Sora) | 0x00d1...8355 |
| Contract (Polygon Pos) | 0x5fe2...5531 |
| Contract (Arbitrum One) | 0x9623...88c7 |
| Contract (Avalanche) | 0x8a0c...5cb9 |
How It Works
Participants in The Graph network:
| Role | What they do | GRT requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Indexers | Run nodes, process and serve subgraph data | Must stake GRT (min 100,000 GRT) |
| Delegators | Delegate GRT to Indexers | Stake GRT, earn proportion of rewards |
| Curators | Signal GRT on subgraphs to indicate value | Deposit GRT as curation signal |
Subgraph lifecycle:
- Developer writes a subgraph manifest (defines what data to index from which contracts)
- Subgraph is deployed to The Graph Network
- Curators signal GRT on valuable subgraphs
- Indexers index subgraphs with high curation signal
- Consumers (dApps) pay GRT query fees to Indexers for query results
Hosted Service vs. Decentralized Network:
The Graph originally ran a centralized “Hosted Service” where anyone could deploy subgraphs for free. The migration to the fully decentralized Graph Network (where queries are paid in GRT) completed in 2023-2024, requiring GRT for all production-grade queries.
Tokenomics
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Initial supply | ~1.245B GRT |
| Current supply | ~10.8B GRT (with inflation) |
| Annual inflation | 3% (distributed as Indexer rewards) |
| Query fee revenue | Earned by Indexers from consuming dApps |
GRT has 3% annual inflation paid to Indexers as indexing rewards. Additionally, 1% of all query fees are burned, providing a deflationary offset. The net effect means GRT supply grows modestly each year while high-query-volume periods create burn pressure.
Use Cases
- Indexer staking — Stake GRT to operate indexing nodes and earn query fees + rewards
- Delegation — Delegate GRT to trusted Indexers for a share of their earnings
- Curation signaling — Signal on valuable subgraphs, earning a share of query fees if the subgraph becomes popular
- Query payment — dApps pay GRT to access indexed blockchain data efficiently
History
- 2018 — The Graph founded by Yaniv Tal, Brandon Ramirez, and Jannis Pohlmann
- Dec 2020 — GRT token launches; The Graph Network (decentralized) launches alongside; GRT distributed in ICO and community sale
- 2021 — The Graph Hosted Service processes billions of queries monthly for top DeFi protocols; becomes core Web3 infrastructure
- 2023 — The Graph begins sunsetting the Hosted Service, migrating all subgraphs to the decentralized network
- 2024 — Decentralized migration completes; The Graph expands to 40+ supported chains including Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, and non-EVM chains
Common Misconceptions
“The Graph is only for Ethereum.” The Graph indexes over 40 blockchain networks as of 2024, including Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, Celo, Solana, NEAR, and others. Support continues expanding.
“Delegating GRT is risk-free.” Delegators share in Indexer slashing risk if their chosen Indexer behaves maliciously. Choosing reputable Indexers is important, though slashing is rare in practice.