The Graph is an indexing protocol for querying networks like Ethereum and IPFS. Anyone can build and publish open APIs, called subgraphs, making data easily accessible.
Todays web client-server architectures gives absolute power to whoever runs the server – usually the application developer or SaaS provider. This results in pervasive centralization, negatively impacting users and developers.
It is:
This is where The Graph comes in, creating a stable foundation for decentralized infrastructures. Instead of handing over control to companies, we can use blockchains, p2p networks, and service protocols to transact directly and regain control.
Before The Graph, teams had to develop and operate proprietary indexing servers. This required significant engineering and hardware resources and broke the important security properties required for decentralization. The Graph introduce an open network, producing the fastest, cheapest and most reliable way to access data for the crypto economy.
Developers can run a Graph Node on their own infrastructure, or they can build on The Graphs decentralized or hosted service. In The Graph Network, any Indexer will be able to stake Graph Tokens (GRT) to participate in the network and earn rewards for indexing subgraphs and fees for serving queries on those subgraphs.
Consumers will be able to query this diverse set of Indexers by paying for their metered usage, proving a model where the laws of supply and demand sustain the services provided by the protocol.
Protocol Roles
- Consumers pay Indexers for queries. These will typically be end users but could also be web services or middleware.
- Indexers are the node operators. They are motivated by earning financial rewards.
- Curators use GRT to signal what subgraphs are valuable to index. These will typically be developers and share their motivations but could also be end users supporting a valuable service they rely upon or a persona that is purely financially motivated.
- Delegators put GRT at stake on behalf of an Indexer in order to earn a portion of indexer rewards and fees, without having to personally run a Graph Node. They are financially motivated.
We’re super excited that we’ve received a $7.5K grant from The Graph! We express our deepest appreciation to the ecosystem & the team for supporting our work.
Grant applicants came from Portugal, Canada, Japan, Korea, Poland, the US and more. Each applicant was assessed based on the project’s expected impact, community feedback, relative significance and urgency in the ecosystem.
Read all about the Wave 3 grants here.
The power of The Graph community keeps getting stronger. Whether you’re an Indexer, Delegator, Curator, subgraph developer, or community builder - all roles have proven to be crucial in building the decentralized web.
We strongly encourage you, that if you have ideas for Wave 4 to apply for a grant - we`re in this together!
Decentralisation is the process of distributing or dispersing functions, powers, people or things away from a central location or authority. We believe that the internet of the future is open, decentralised, permissionless and censorship-resistant. That’s now 100% possible.
Applications that enables a decentralized, trustless and borderless system which does not rely on anyone as a trusted intermediary - that is the essence of this whole technology.
Whats really exciting is the possibility to fundamentally changing the way we allocate trust. Engage and collaborate on a global level.
The mainstream is all about trustless interactions brought by blockchain technology. This holds true for the deterministic execution of transactions on the blockchain, but does not take into account the direct exchange and interaction between people, especially when these play out in the non digital world. It is naive to trust anyone, but it is at the same time very cynical to make distrust the basis of human interaction. We firmly believe that the majority of people are able to trust each other and acknowledge that it takes courage to do so.
We strongly encourage you to learn about The Graph. You can start here and get a good overview: https://medium.com/graphprotocol/introducing-the-graph-4a281b28203e
For those of you who are really interested and want a detailed introduction, we recommend this article: https://thegraph.com/blog/the-graph-network-in-depth-part-1