The Graph (GRT)
Unlock Schedule
The Graph (GRT) Token Unlock & Vesting Schedule
The unlock chart above provides a clear visual overview of the The Graph (GRT) token release schedule, showing when and how tokens enter circulation across investor, team, treasury, and community allocations. Understanding these tokenomics dynamics is critical for evaluating potential supply pressure, inflation impact, and market liquidity over time — key factors that can influence GRT price performance.
Each color segment in the chart corresponds to a specific allocation group described in the Allocations section below. Underlying assumptions and data models used to reconstruct this schedule are explained in detail under Assumptions, while broader utility insights and token use cases are covered in Tokenomics & Utility.
Tokenomics & Utility
The Graph tokenomics are designed to sustain a high‑quality data marketplace.
- Initial supply: 10 billion GRT at network launch.
- Issuance: Target ~3% annual issuance distributed as indexing rewards to incentivize Indexers.
- Burns and sinks: A share of protocol activity is burned, including a 0.5% delegation tax on new delegations, a 1% curation tax on new curator signals, and ~1% of query fees, offsetting issuance over time.
- Slashing: If an Indexer is found malicious, 2.5% of self‑stake can be slashed; half is burned and half awarded to the Fisherman.
- Minimum stake: Indexers typically stake at least 100,000 GRT.
- Rebate mechanics: Query fees flow through a rebate function so Indexers that align stake with delivered work can earn back fee rebates fairly. (thegraph.com)
Utility spans the whole lifecycle:
- Consumers pay for queries in GRT (via Subgraph Studio plans).
- Indexers earn GRT through query fees and indexing rewards.
- Curators and Delegators earn a share by helping surface and scale the best subgraphs.
- Governance and upgrades flow through community processes and The Graph Council. (thegraph.com)
With The Graph tokenomics rewarding useful work, GRT aligns incentives across roles. Discussion of the “GRT price” often centers on how developer demand, query volume, issuance versus burns, and Indexer competition shape long‑term supply‑demand dynamics rather than short‑term speculation. (thegraph.com)
Assumptions
- Total supply is uncapped due to ongoing protocol inflation (Indexing Rewards).
Docs specify initial supply of 10B GRT and target 3% annual issuance thereafter; burns offset some issuance.
- Strategic Sale 1-year lockup modeled to unlock on 2021-12-17 (1 year post-mainnet) as a full cliff.
Blog states 1-year lockup but not the exact unlock date; aligning to mainnet date is the most consistent interpretation across buckets.
- Curator Program initial launch unlock sized at ~33.33M GRT.
Blog: up to $1,000 per ~1,000 curators; modeled using public-sale price $0.03/GRT => ~33.33M tokens at launch; remainder monthly linear over 4 years to approximate quarterly schedule.
- Early Backers and Backers vest uniformly from 6 to 24 months after mainnet.
Official guidance gives a range (6–24 months) without tranche detail; used a uniform linear model from 2021-06-17 to 2022-12-17.
- Early Team & Advisors unlock modeled as 48-month linear starting 2021-07-17.
Team on standard 4-year vesting but transfers were locked until July 2021; used start-of-transfer date for monthly vest modeling.
- Foundation total set to 20.3% (2.03B) to reconcile community breakdown and reach exactly 10B genesis.
Blog text says ~20% and pie indicates 58% of community (≈20.3% of total); adjusting Foundation by +30M balances all buckets to 10B.
- Indexing Rewards modeled as constant 3% of initial supply per year (non-compounding) over 15 years.
Docs state 3% annual issuance target without formal compounding spec; linear monthly approximation keeps charting simple and within a small error vs. compounding.
Allocations
Description
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The Graph is a protocol that allows developers to query data from blockchains and decentralized networks using GraphQL. It uses open APIs called subgraphs that index and organize data for various applications such as DeFi, NFTs, and social media.
| Sector: | Oracles |
| Blockchain: | Ethereum |