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The Graph

The Graph — a reference card for a crypto project: what the product does and how verifiable the project’s key claims are; also — alignment with the Decentralized AI thesis (DecAI Fit).

The Graph — an Infra protocol for indexing and querying blockchain data; token: GRT.

Disclaimer

Important: this page is a reference overview of the project. Within DecAIHub, we separately record a verification based on open sources within the AI thesis (what is real AI/onchain/why a token, and which sources this is based on).
This is not financial advice and not a recommendation to buy/sell/hold any asset. We do not assess price, returns, or entry/exit timing.
Conclusions are based on publicly available materials found as of the verification date. The absence of confirmation does not imply the absence of the technology.

TL;DR (for readers who are not into AI)

  • What it is: a decentralized protocol for indexing blockchain data and APIs (subgraphs) for queries.
  • Who it’s for: dApp developers, indexers (node operators), curators and delegators.
  • Why onchain/token: the token and onchain rules coordinate the market of data providers (stakes, rewards, taxes/burn, slashing, query fees).

How it works (very briefly)

  1. The user does: publishes or uses a subgraph and sends queries to the data.
  2. The system does: indexers serve the queries and receive rewards according to the network rules.
  3. The user gets: access to data via an API and a verifiable economy of service.
  4. Where the blockchain is: the economic rules (stake/taxes/burn/slashing) and the token — onchain.
  5. Token role (if any): GRT is used for query fees, indexer staking, curator signaling and delegation.

Quick links: AI thesis fit

Project passport

Field Value
Project name The Graph
Also known as (aliases) Graph Protocol, GRT
Logo (logo) ../assets/thegraph_favicon_256.png
Token symbol (ticker) GRT
Category Infra
Primary chain (chain) Ethereum
Type EVM
Network status mainnet
Consensus (consensus) —
Launch date (launch_date) 2020-12-17
Project status (status) active
Token (standard) ERC-20
Token contract 0xc944e90c64b2c07662a292be6244bdf05cda44a7
Token model (token_type) utility (indexing + staking)
Max supply — (no hard cap; issuance)
Issuance inflationary + burn
Tokenomics (tokenomics, brief) Initial supply 10B; target 3% annual issuance; burn via taxes/fees and slashing.
Governance company/foundation (Graph Council / Foundation)
Admins/keys —
Audit yes
Bug bounty yes
Team (team) The Graph Foundation / Edge & Node
Funding (investors/funding) —
AI component (ai_component) —
Use‑case (use_case) blockchain data indexing + queries
DecAI Fit — AI thesis fit 0/6 — no AI reality and no AI intent (ai_score=0)
DecAI Fit component summary ai_score 0 / onchain_score 3 / token_score 2 / evidence_score 2
Last verified 2026-02-10

General project overview

The Graph is a decentralized protocol for indexing and querying blockchain data. It provides a mechanism for publishing subgraphs and a market of participants (Indexers/Curators/Delegators/Developers), where economic incentives are regulated by the protocol rules and the GRT token.

Features/modules

  • Subgraphs: open APIs for data queries (GraphQL).
  • Network roles: Indexers/Curators/Delegators/Developers (Tier‑1 docs).
  • Network economy: query fees, indexing rewards, taxes/burn and slashing (Tier‑1 docs).

Typical scenarios

  • Scenario 1: a developer publishes a subgraph → indexers index it → a dApp makes queries and pays query fees.
  • Scenario 2: an indexer stakes GRT and serves queries → receives indexing rewards and query fees.
  • Scenario 3: a delegator delegates GRT to an indexer → receives a share of rewards/fees according to the network rules.

Getting started (wallet/network)

  • What you need: an EVM wallet for onchain operations with GRT and access to the official documentation/tools.
  • Network/chain: Ethereum mainnet.
  • Fees: Ethereum network fees + the protocol taxes/burn described in the tokenomics.

Architecture/tech (non‑AI)

  • Components: the network’s onchain contracts (Ethereum), indexer nodes, subgraphs and payment infrastructure.
  • Participant roles: Indexers, Curators, Delegators, Developers.
  • Where logic runs: indexing/serving — offchain (nodes), while the economic rules and penalties — via onchain mechanics (Tier‑1).
  • Dependencies: Ethereum, RPC/explorers, client SDKs/tools.

Token/economics (expanded, no forecasts)

  • Token utility: GRT — the network’s utility token for participant incentives and payment of query fees (Tier‑1 tokenomics).
  • Protocol necessity drivers: without the token and onchain rules, it is difficult to provide an indexing market without a trusted operator.
  • Who pays fees: developers/users pay query fees; participants pay the delegation/curation tax.
  • Where fees go: query fees are distributed to participants; part of the query fees and taxes is burned.
  • Issuance/burn: initial supply 10B; target issuance 3%/year; burn via the delegation tax (0.5%), curation tax (1%), 1% of query fees; slashing includes burn components (Tier‑1).
  • Security/incentive mechanisms: indexers self‑stake (min. 100,000 GRT), there is slashing for misbehavior (Tier‑1).
  • Distribution and token issuance schedule: —
  • Treasury: —

Governance

  • Who makes decisions: the Graph Council/Graph Foundation are mentioned as overseeing changes and the migration (Tier‑1 blog/docs).
  • How protocol parameters change: via the improvement/proposal process and discussion in the forum (Tier‑1).
  • Where decisions are discussed/made: The Graph Forum (forum.thegraph.com) and official publications.
  • Keys/multisig: —

Security and incidents

  • Audits: yes (see links_*).
  • Bug bounty: yes (see links_* and The Graph security page).
  • Incidents: —
  • Threat model: risks of indexer quality/honesty (slashing), smart‑contract risks, economic attacks on signaling.

Project status and timeline

  • Current status: mainnet.
  • Key releases/milestones: mainnet launch 2020‑12‑17 (Tier‑1 blog).
  • Roadmap: see links_*

Ecosystem/integrations

  • Integrations: many dApps use subgraphs (mentioned at the mainnet launch); access via docs/explorer.
  • Partners: —
  • Where it’s actually used: indexing/querying data for DeFi/Web3 applications (Tier‑1 blog).

AI component of the project

  • What is real AI here? According to Tier‑1 sources, The Graph is an indexing/data protocol, not an AI protocol; an AI component is not confirmed by Tier‑1.
  • What is truly onchain? The GRT token and onchain mechanics (taxes/burn/slashing), as well as the network contracts on Ethereum.
  • Why is a token needed? GRT is needed to pay query fees and to coordinate the network’s incentives/security (Tier‑1).
  • Red flags (based on the information found): AI‑washing — high risk if the project is positioned as AI; onchain‑washing — low risk; token‑washing — low/medium risk (everything hinges on the incentives working correctly).

DecAI Fit component summary

  • DecAI Fit: 0/6 — no AI reality and no AI intent (ai_score=0)
Component Level Score
AI reality low 0
Onchain necessity high 3
Token necessity medium 2
Evidence Tier‑1 present 2
Details

AI reality

AI_0 — AI intent (Tier‑1 roadmap) (1/0)

  • AI_0 (decision): 0
  • Claim (one line): No Tier‑1 AI intentions/roadmap were found (the project is an indexing/data protocol).
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — —
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 focuses on indexing/data, without an AI roadmap.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

AI_1 — what the AI does (1/0)

  • AI_1 (decision): 0
  • Claim (one line): No AI functions/models are stated as part of the protocol in Tier‑1.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — —
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): The sources describe data indexing/queries, not AI.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

AI_2 — demos/examples (1/0)

  • AI_2 (decision): 0
  • Claim (one line): There is no Tier‑1 demo of an AI component, since no AI component is stated.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — —
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): The project is not about AI.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

AI_3 — metrics/quality (1/0)

  • AI_3 (decision): 0
  • Metrics: —
  • Context (version/date/how measured): —
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — —
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): There are no AI quality metrics.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

AI_4 — tech description/architecture/versions (1/0)

  • AI_4 (decision): 0
  • Claim (one line): There is no Tier‑1 technical description of an AI model/versions.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — —
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): The project is an indexing/data protocol.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

Onchain necessity

OC_1 — contracts/addresses/chain (1/0)

  • OC_1 (decision): 1
  • Chain: Ethereum mainnet
  • Addresses/identifiers: GRT token contract 0xc944e90c64b2c07662a292be6244bdf05cda44a7
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://thegraph.com/blog/the-graph-network-launches-mainnet/ ; https://thegraph.com/docs/en/tokenomics/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): The Tier‑1 blog/docs provide the token address and indicate the deployment of the contracts on Ethereum.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

OC_2 — onchain beyond just a token (1/0)

  • OC_2 (decision): 1
  • What useful logic is onchain: staking/delegation/taxes/burn/slashing, described in the network’s tokenomics.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://thegraph.com/docs/en/tokenomics/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): The Tier‑1 tokenomics describes specific onchain mechanics (taxes, burn, slashing).
  • Conflict note (if any): —

OC_3 — onchain is critical (1/0)

  • OC_3 (decision): 1
  • “Replace the blockchain” test: without onchain, the trustless incentives/penalties and the transparent accounting of payouts for a network of independent indexers break down.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://thegraph.com/docs/en/tokenomics/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): The design relies on stake/slashing/burn as the mechanism of trust and network resilience.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

Token necessity

TK_0 — no token (1/0)

  • TK_0 (decision): 0
  • Claim (one line): The project has a token, GRT.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://thegraph.com/docs/en/tokenomics/ ; https://thegraph.com/blog/the-graph-network-launches-mainnet/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 specifies the token and the address.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

TK_1..TK_4 (1/0)

TK_1 — payment for the service (1/0)

  • TK_1 (decision): 1
  • Claim (one line): Developers pay for queries they make in GRT; query fees are distributed to participants.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://thegraph.com/docs/en/tokenomics/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): The Tier‑1 tokenomics explicitly describes paying for queries in GRT.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

TK_2 — incentives/collateral/penalties (1/0)

  • TK_2 (decision): 1
  • Claim (one line): Indexers self‑stake GRT and can be slashed; slashing includes burning parts of the stake/rewards.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://thegraph.com/docs/en/tokenomics/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 describes the staking and slashing/burn mechanics.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

TK_3 — governance (1/0)

  • TK_3 (decision): 0
  • Claim (one line): Tier‑1 does not record that GRT is used as the protocol’s governance token (token‑weighted voting).
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://thegraph.com/ecosystem/governance/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 describes the governance process via Council/Forum/Snapshot, but does not record a token‑weighted voting mechanism in the sense of “GRT = governance token”.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

TK_4 — token is replaceable (1/0)

  • TK_4 (decision): 0
  • Claim (one line): The token is embedded in query payments and the network’s incentives/slashing, so “replaceability” does not follow from Tier‑1.
  • Evidence: Tier‑1 — https://thegraph.com/docs/en/tokenomics/
  • Why sufficient / why not (one line): Tier‑1 describes the protocol roles of the token.
  • Conflict note (if any): —

Evidence (table)

Tier Source What it proves
Tier‑1 https://thegraph.com/blog/the-graph-network-launches-mainnet/ The mainnet launch date (Dec 17, 2020) and the deployment of the contracts + the GRT token address; mention of a bug bounty.
Tier‑1 https://thegraph.com/docs/en/tokenomics/ Tier‑1 tokenomics: participant roles, query fees in GRT, issuance 3%/year, burn via taxes/fees and slashing.
Tier‑1 https://etherscan.io/token/0xc944e90c64b2c07662a292be6244bdf05cda44a7 Onchain fact: the GRT token contract on Ethereum.
Tier‑1 — No Tier‑1 source about an AI component of The Graph was found.
Tier‑1 https://thegraph.com/ecosystem/governance/ Governance: the GIP process (discuss → vote → implement), Council (approval 6/10), links to Forum/GitHub/Snapshot.
Tier‑2 — —
Tier‑3 — —

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