– Project Lead and Co-founder of The Graph, Yaniv Tal
APIs or standardizing how applications talk to each other was a huge reason for the growth of Web 2.0. In order for the new decentralized web to really grow, there needed to be a way for developers to collaborate and work on Web 3.0. That time has now come. Using The Graph Network, developers can easily find and use the data and APIs published by fellow builders to build new applications in a truly decentralized environment.
Before The Graph Network, developers had to build complex and expensive IT infrastructure if they wanted to access the useful data they needed. It hindered the growth of the decentralized internet by adding great cost and time to development, and it was centralized on servers run by the big cloud giants. Now, for the first time, developers can use an open API, called a subgraph, to query important data. For example, a DeFi project can use a subgraph to query data on trading volume, allowing developers to keep their focus on great user experience instead of time-consuming processes.
“The funny thing about blockchain data is that even though in theory everything is transparent and accessible, in practice it has historically been very opaque. The Graph has done great work so far in making smart contract data easy to monitor and use. Subgraphs are powering some of the most used analytics tools in the space – https://info.uniswap.org/ being one of them. The design of the new system will attract more developers to build their own subgraphs, leading to better access to information. Once we know more, we can build better.”
– Hayden Adams, Founder of Uniswap
Some of the biggest and most exciting blockchain projects use The Graph’s current service including Uniswap, AAVE, Decentraland, Synthetix, Coin Market Cap, Aragon, Chainlink, and CoinGecko. All applications and projects on the current service will now be able to migrate over to the decentralized network.
Developers can find subgraphs for 21 of the top 25 DeFi dApps using the Graph Explorer.
At the beginning of 2020, there were only 1,000 subgraphs deployed, there are now over 3,800. The Graph is also truly global: individuals and projects from more than 100 countries are contributing to The Graph Network. The Graph is empowering people across the world helping developers pave the path for all future applications of the internet.
As part of the mainnet going live, the GRT token is now live and usable on the network. GRT users will help index and curate data and secure the network. GRT is a necessary component of how the network functions.
The Graph Network is made up of Indexers, Curators, Delegators, and Consumers.
The Indexers are node operators in The Graph Network that stake Graph Tokens (GRT) in order to provide indexing and query processing services, they earn query fees for their service in GRT.
Curators are subgraph developers, data consumers, or community members who indicate to the Indexers what should be indexed. Curators earn a portion of the query fees when a subgraph they picked to be indexed is queried.
Delegators contribute to the Network by giving GRT to Indexers, they earn a portion of the query fees in return. Delegators pick the best Indexers to give them the best chance at receiving fees in GRT.
Consumers are the end-users of The Graph that query subgraphs and pay query fees to the Indexers, Curators, and Delegators.
The Graph will allow for truly decentralized applications as there will be no need for centralized infrastructure. There will be a phased approach in migrating subgraphs from the hosted service to the decentralized network. Currently, only subgraphs on the Ethereum mainnet are supported on the decentralized network.
