The Graph (GRT) is a decentralized protocol for indexing and querying blockchain data, deployed as a native ERC-20 token on Ethereum on 2020-12-13.
Bridged or canonical representations also exist on Arbitrum One, Polygon, Avalanche, Harmony and Energi. The protocol organizes blockchain data into open APIs called subgraphs, which applications query instead of running their own indexing infrastructure. A decentralized network of Indexers, Curators and Delegators processes and serves these queries, and core query activity has increasingly moved onto Arbitrum One.
The Graph differentiates itself from centralized blockchain-indexing services by operating an open, incentive-aligned marketplace.
Indexers stake GRT to earn query fees and rewards, tying token ownership to actual network usage rather than passive holding. Query fees processed on Arbitrum reached an all-time high of $8.11 million in August 2026, with six-month query volume of 11.6 billion queries, cited as evidence of accelerating developer adoption. A 1% burn on query fees and a 0.5% delegation tax link ongoing network usage directly to GRT's supply.
GRT functions primarily as a utility (work) token rather than a direct on-chain governance token.
Network-level decisions are made by The Graph Council rather than through direct GRT holder voting.
Circulating supply: approximately 10.94 billion GRT (as of 2026-09-01).
The Graph concluded a public token sale on 2020-10-25, raising $12 million from about 4,500 investors at $0.03 per GRT, with roughly 400 million GRT sold.
Earlier private funding totaled $7.5 million raised between April 2018 and June 2020, including a $5 million private sale involving Coinbase Ventures and a $2.5 million seed round led by Multicoin Capital.
Mainnet launched on 2020-12-17, and the Ethereum GRT contract was deployed 2020-12-13 — roughly three years after the project was founded in July 2017.
The native GRT token is deployed on Ethereum, an ERC-20 asset secured by Ethereum's proof-of-stake consensus.
Bridged or canonical GRT representations also exist on Arbitrum One (an Ethereum Layer-2 optimistic rollup that inherits Ethereum's security), Polygon, Avalanche, Harmony and Energi.
The Graph's own network activity — indexing and query processing — has increasingly shifted onto Arbitrum One, though the token itself remains natively an Ethereum asset.
The Graph was founded in July 2017 by Yaniv Tal, Tegan Kline, Jannis Pohlmann and Brandon Ramirez.
The founders later established Edge & Node in 2021 (with Carl Hagerling and roughly 11 others) as the protocol's primary development company. Yaniv Tal initially served as Edge & Node's CEO before stepping down; Brandon Ramirez, previously its head of research and product, succeeded him as CEO.
The Graph Foundation oversees the protocol's treasury and network development, operating with accountability to The Graph Council.
Day-to-day protocol development is carried out by multiple independent organizations rather than a single company, including Edge & Node (the original core developer), StreamingFast, Semiotic Labs, GraphOps, Pinax, Wonderland and Geo.
The Foundation has also run treasury-funding initiatives, including a reported $50 million Strategic GRT Sale.
The Graph is governed through a Graph Improvement Proposal (GIP) process overseen by The Graph Council, which represents five stakeholder groups: Indexers, Users, Researchers, Supporters and Core Developers.
In August 2026 the Council approved GIP-0089, directing 20% of protocol issuance (24.146 GRT per block) into a new Innovation Allocation within the Foundation's treasury, effective 2026-08-31, to fund direct network development work.
A separate community body, Graph AdvocatesDAO, governs membership and grant contributions for the Graph Advocates program.
A concrete near-term priority is the Innovation Allocation created under GIP-0089, which from 2026-08-31 directs 20% of protocol issuance toward funded work on building, maintaining and scaling the network.
The Graph has continued shifting core network query processing onto Arbitrum One, with query fees and query volume on that chain reported at record levels through August 2026.
The Graph's smart contracts have been audited by CertiK, with a final report delivered 2021-09-26 noting 99% of findings remediated. OpenZeppelin also conducted a governance-upgrade audit and a separate protocol smart-contract audit.