Yesterday was a huge day for The Graph (GRT)! Not only was it listed on Coinbase but it was a part of Coinbase Earn where you could earn $3 worth of GRT. Oh and before I forget to mention it also launched its Mainnet! If I was a member of the development team I would have to be thrilled with how that day turned out! I honestly cannot think of a much better series of events to take place!
This leads to a pretty important question though..... What is GRT, what is it trying to fix and how is it trying to do that?
The Graph or GRT is an indexing protocol and global API for blockchain data. The team behind GRT aims to be a key part of Web3 serving as a link between decentralized applications of dApps and various blockchains. Developers can access this data using Graph Explorer to find and publish all the decentralized applications. They claim that this can lower the time to develop or build the applications from months to just days. This project was in the works for three years before Mainnet was launched yesterday. The team raised money through two different ventures, including Coinbase hence the reason why they launched GRT earn, and through a public sale that ended October 29th of this year.
GRT is the native ERC20 token used to coordinate the work. The people who run the nodes of this network are called Indexprs and stake and earn GRT for processing data queries and like other staking tokens, individuals can delegate their tokens to someone else and earn rewards that way. The big thing this can accomplish is to get rid of the need for specially customized servers to handle data like this.
It is stated perfectly on the Coinbase video an easy to follow example. Much like Google indexes, the web thus allowing easy use by everyone on the internet The Graph indexes blockchains. Currently the big networks that are highlighted are Etherum and newly debut Filecoin. The data from the blockchains is grouped into open API's called subgroups that anyone can query. These subgroups make it possible for dApps to be quickly built that can change the way humans interact with the internet.
The possibilities of what this could do for blockchain are enormous as this is a very under served area in blockchain. Allowing quick access to data for developers is going to be more and more important as more people adapt and thus more data is created. The Web3 is moving forward quicker and quicker towards realization. This will be a key part of the infrastructure for this and thus creating a ton of value for the token. Just like the price oricles are key for DeFi and exchanges The Graph will be key for Web3 development and security.
I hope you enjoyed this article and are staying safe during this pandemic! I would love to hear comments or suggestions below! If you enjoyed it and would like to further support me I have referral spots available on Coinbase Earn for Compound (COMP), Band Protocol (BAND), and Stellar Lumens (XLM)! I have attached my links below if this interests you! Thank you for reading and stay safe out there!
Compound https://coinbase.com/earn/comp/invite/86ztmj3w
BAND https://coinbase.com/earn/band/invite/qydxm7tj
XLM https://coinbase.com/earn/xlm/invite/c6t0xd7s
