The Graph (GRT)

Overview

The Graph is a network for organizing blockchain data so applications can find and use it. A blockchain keeps a record of activity, but an app often needs a more specific answer: Which tokens does a wallet hold? What happened in a lending market last week? Finding that answer directly from blockchain records can take a great deal of work. The Graph helps developers turn those records into data they can search. (thegraph.com)

Developers publish open data tools called subgraphs. Independent operators then index the data and answer requests from applications. GRT, or Graph Token, helps coordinate this work through payments and rewards. The Graph Foundation says its products cover more than 60 blockchain networks, giving developers several ways to work with on-chain data. (thegraph.com)

History & Team

From developer tool to network

Yaniv Tal, Brandon Ramirez, and Jannis Pohlmann founded The Graph. Their goal was to make blockchain data easier for developers to use without each team building its own indexing system. The project released open-source software and first grew through a hosted service. Its decentralized network launched in December 2020, allowing independent Indexers to take part in serving data. (multicoin.capital)

Multicoin Capital led a $2.5 million seed round announced in 2019. A later funding round included Framework Ventures, ParaFi Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Digital Currency Group. The Graph Foundation supports ecosystem development and grants, while the Graph Council helps oversee changes to the protocol. Together with developers and network operators, these groups have shaped the project beyond its founding team. (thegraph.com)

The project has also changed how its services are delivered. A major effort in 2024 moved developers from the original hosted service toward the decentralized network. The Horizon upgrade, launched in December 2025, gave the protocol a framework for supporting more kinds of data services alongside subgraphs. (thegraph.com)

Technology & How It Works

Turning records into searchable data

A subgraph tells The Graph what data to collect and how to organize it. Its manifest names the blockchain and smart contracts to follow. A schema describes the data fields an application can search. Mapping code turns contract events into saved records. Once the subgraph has indexed those records, an application can request the pieces it needs using GraphQL, a language for asking an API specific questions. (thegraph.com)

Imagine a trading app that wants to show a user’s past swaps. Instead of reading and sorting a long series of blockchain events every time the page opens, it can ask a subgraph for the relevant history. This makes it easier to build pages, dashboards, and other features around blockchain activity. The subgraph’s design determines which records and relationships are available to search. (thegraph.com)

The people who keep it running

The decentralized network gives participants different jobs. Indexers run the systems that process data and answer queries. Curators signal which subgraphs may be useful, helping Indexers decide where to focus. Delegators assign GRT to Indexers, adding to the stake that supports their work. Developers create subgraphs and use the results in their applications. Payments and rewards in GRT connect these roles. (thegraph.com)

Subgraphs are one part of The Graph’s technology. Firehose streams blockchain data for processing, while Substreams lets developers filter and transform large amounts of that data in parallel. The results can feed a subgraph, a database, or another destination. Horizon supplies shared staking and payment tools intended for a broader range of data services. (thegraph.com)

Tokenomics & Utility

GRT is the network’s utility token. Indexers stake it to provide services and can receive query fees and indexing rewards. Delegators can assign tokens to an Indexer and share in rewards under that Indexer’s terms. Curators use GRT to signal support for subgraphs and can receive a share of their query fees. Developers and other data users pay for network services through the protocol’s billing systems. (thegraph.com)

The initial supply was 10 billion GRT. The protocol’s published economic model targets new issuance of 3% a year for Indexer rewards. It also removes tokens through burns tied to certain network actions, including delegation, curation, and a portion of query fees. Issuance adds tokens; burns take them out of supply. The balance between the two depends in part on network activity and protocol decisions. (thegraph.com)

GRT’s original distribution included allocations for early backers, the Foundation, a public sale, and people who helped build and test the network. These groups had different release schedules. Its economic role is tied to work: participants commit tokens, provide or support data services, and receive fees or rewards according to the protocol’s rules. (thegraph.com)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Data for apps and analysis

The Graph serves applications that need organized blockchain information. A DeFi interface can display lending positions or exchange activity. A wallet can show token balances and transfers. An analytics tool can study how people use a smart contract over time. The project’s early users included applications such as Uniswap and Synthetix, showing why shared data tools became useful to Web3 developers. (thegraph.com)

The available tools fit different tasks. Subgraphs let teams define custom, searchable views of a protocol. The Token API offers common token information, such as balances and transfers, without requiring every team to build a custom index. Substreams is designed for teams that need a fast flow of processed blockchain data for their own systems. (thegraph.com)

This reach has grown over time. The Graph Foundation reported that, by early 2026, its products had served more than 1.27 trillion queries to over 75,000 projects. Those figures describe the wider suite of Graph products, which serves application developers as well as analysts and teams building data-heavy systems. (thegraph.com)

Advantages & Challenges

The Graph gives developers a shared way to collect and search blockchain records. Open subgraphs can be reused, and GraphQL lets an app ask for selected data rather than handling every raw event itself. Independent Indexers make it possible for the decentralized network to serve that data without placing all the work on one operator. Support for multiple chains and data formats also gives teams a choice of tools. (thegraph.com)

The system takes effort to learn and run well. Developers must decide which events to index and how to model their data. Indexers need suitable systems and enough stake to serve their chosen work. The network must also match Indexer rewards to services that developers actually use. Changes to The Graph’s chain integration process have put greater weight on signs of demand, including active subgraphs and sustained queries. (thegraph.com)

Where to Buy & Wallets

GRT is available for purchase on Coinbase and Kraken. Both platforms offer ways to buy the token and hold it in an exchange account. Their available payment methods depend on the customer’s location and account. (coinbase.com)

GRT can also be held in a self-managed wallet. MetaMask can be used with The Graph’s tools, and Ledger supports GRT through its hardware wallets and wallet app. GRT began as an Ethereum ERC-20 token and also exists on networks including Arbitrum. Wallet setup and transfers therefore depend on which network holds the tokens; The Graph’s documentation lists its Ethereum and Arbitrum token addresses. (thegraph.com)

Regulatory & Compliance

Rules for buying, holding, and using GRT depend on the jurisdiction and the service involved. In the United States, the IRS treats digital assets as property for federal tax purposes. Selling tokens and receiving rewards can create reporting obligations. In the European Union, the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA, sets authorization rules for businesses that provide crypto-asset services. These rules concern the activities of service providers as well as the treatment of tokens. (irs.gov)

GRT has also been assessed under Islamic finance criteria. Fasset’s published Shariah screening list classifies The Graph (GRT) as Shariah compliant. Its indexing service provides an identifiable use for the token, while the protocol pays participants for network activity through fees and rewards. A Shariah assessment of a particular holding or delegation arrangement also depends on how that arrangement works and which screening criteria are applied. (fasset.com)

Future Outlook

The Graph’s development plans center on making more kinds of blockchain data useful. Its technical roadmap includes work on Substreams, the Token API, and Amp, a database project aimed at analysis of on-chain information. It also describes tools for AI agents to request data. These plans build on Horizon’s shared framework, with each new service having its own path from development to network use. (thegraph.com)

A key question for the ecosystem is how closely new services will connect to GRT’s working role. The roadmap describes ways to direct rewards toward useful work and support service payments across the network. As these tools develop, their place in The Graph will depend on whether developers and data users choose them for real tasks. (thegraph.com)

Summary

The Graph helps turn blockchain activity into information that applications can search and display. Subgraphs remain its best-known tool, while streaming and other data services broaden what developers can build. GRT connects the people who provide, support, and use those services. Its place in the crypto ecosystem rests on a practical need: making growing stores of blockchain data easier to use. (thegraph.com)