GRT

The Graph

AI

The best-known indexing network for blockchain data, whose token earns far less in fees than it issues.

Useful tech, weak token v1.1 · as of 2026-10-21 · framework v1.13 Coinsight · all analyses
Bottom line

The Graph is widely used plumbing: subgraphs have served over 1.27 trillion queries, and the Horizon upgrade (Dec 2025) turned the protocol into a platform for several data services. The token has not benefited: −61% over a year, −99% from the 2021 high, and query fees of roughly $0.5M a year set against ~3% annual issuance worth ~$8M at today's price. The September bounce from $0.0132 to $0.0358 has already faded to $0.025; a real turnaround needs paid usage of the new data services, not just more roadmap.

Scorecard (1–5)
Project
Token performance
Tokenomics
Price
$0.0249
−0.6% 24h · +6% 30d · CoinGecko 21 Oct
Market cap
$272.9M
rank #153 · FDV $289.7M, no max supply
24h volume
$15.0M
5.5% of market cap
From cycle high
−95%
$0.4700, Mar 2024 · launch ATH $2.84 = −99.1%
2026 YTD
−25%
$0.0332 → $0.0249
Query fees 12m
~$0.5M
Gross, Aug 2025 to Aug 2026, estimate

The last 12 months

$0.02$0.04$0.06$0.08Oct 25NovDecJan 26FebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2025-11-08: $0.0702$0.0702 peak2026-08-17: $0.0132$0.0132 low2026-09-28: $0.0358$0.03582026-10-21: $0.0249$0.0249112-month high at $0.07022Graph Horizon goes live32026 technical roadmap4Grayscale AI fund cuts GRT5Year low at $0.01326Innovation Allocation starts7Rebound to $0.03588Permissionless Substreams9Amp and Token API expansion
MarketTechProductGovernanceUpcoming

Daily closes from CoinGecko, 22 Oct 2025 to 21 Oct 2026. Closes from 10 Jan to 27 Mar 2026 look inflated by a CoinGecko data glitch and should not be read as a rally.

Key events
  1. 1
    08 Nov 25 12-month high at $0.0702. The last peak before a steady slide through December.
  2. 2
    Dec 25 Graph Horizon goes live. Protocol becomes a modular platform with one staking and payment layer for many data services.
  3. 3
    Feb 26 2026 technical roadmap. Subgraph Service on Horizon, permissionless Substreams, Token API expansion and Amp, aimed at AI agents and institutions.
  4. 4
    07 Apr 26 Grayscale AI fund cuts GRT. Rebalance trims GRT to 4.15% of the fund, with most proceeds moved to TAO.
  5. 5
    17 Aug 26 Year low at $0.0132. Bottom of a slide from ~$0.025 in May; −81% from the November high.
  6. 6
    31 Aug 26 Innovation Allocation starts. Council-approved GIP-0089 sends 20% of issuance to new data services; total minting unchanged.
  7. 7
    28 Sep 26 Rebound to $0.0358. +171% from the August low with heavy volume, then about a third given back by mid-October.
  8. 8
    Soon Permissionless Substreams. Horizon-based Substreams data service mainnet, slated for Q3 2026 in secondary coverage; not yet confirmed live.
  9. 9
    Q4 26 Amp and Token API expansion. Amp SQL platform launch and Token API real-time pricing were listed as 2026 milestones without firm dates.

How a dapp query flows through The Graph

Developer
Publishes a subgraph

Defines which contracts and events to index; Curators may signal GRT on it.

Indexers
Stake and index

Allocate staked GRT to the subgraph and build the database from chain data.

Dapp
Sends a GraphQL query

Pays per query via an API key, billed in GRT or by card through Edge & Node's billing.

Gateway
Routes to an Indexer

Picks an Indexer on price, speed and data freshness.

Indexer
Returns the answer

Gets the query fee (minus a small burn) through Horizon's payment system.

Protocol
Pays indexing rewards

New GRT is minted to Indexers and Delegators on curated subgraphs.

Where GRT comes in: Indexers must stake it and Delegators back them with it, query fees are settled in GRT and a small share is burned, and new GRT is minted as indexing rewards. Rewards from issuance are roughly 15 times the fees, so staking demand rests mostly on inflation.

Usage and adoption

USD per year, last 12 months, at today's price
Query fees paid (gross)
~$0.5M
GRT burned
~$25k
Innovation Allocation (20% of issuance)
~$1.6M
New GRT issued
~$7.9M

Query fees: ~$28–66k a month gross, Aug 2025 to Aug 2026 (Tokenomics.com, consistent with Token Terminal's ~$32k in 30 days), so roughly $0.5M a year. Burned: ~5% of fees per Tokenomics.com. Issued: 120.73 GRT per Ethereum block, about 317M GRT a year (~3%), valued at $0.0249; 20% of it has gone to the Innovation Allocation since 31 Aug 2026. Fees cover about 6% of new supply.

  • weak signal
    Query fees
    ~$28–66k / month

    Gross, Aug 2025 to Aug 2026 (Tokenomics.com); Token Terminal shows a similar ~$32k in 30 days. Real paid usage, but small.

  • weak signal
    Fees vs issuance
    ~6%

    ~$0.5M of fees against ~$7.9M of new GRT a year at $0.0249. Issuance does the heavy lifting for Indexers.

  • medium signal
    Queries served
    1.27T+ total

    Cumulative since 2020, early 2026. A query is one API call to a subgraph; many are cheap or free-tier.

  • medium signal
    Projects using it
    75,000+

    Per The Graph's blog, early 2026. Shows reach; most are small.

  • weak signal
    Token API
    10 chains

    Pre-indexed token and balance data; real-time pricing planned. No usage figures published.

The Graph is widely used, but very little of that use is paid in GRT: query fees cover only about 6% of the value of new tokens issued each year. The test for Horizon, Substreams and Amp is whether they raise fees meaningfully.

Project

What it is
A decentralized network that indexes blockchain data and serves it to apps through subgraphs (GraphQL APIs), Substreams streams and a Token API. Mainnet since Dec 2020.
Team
Founded by Yaniv Tal, Brandon Ramirez and Jannis Pohlmann. Core dev Edge & Node (CEO Rodrigo Coelho since Jan 2025) works with The Graph Foundation and other core teams such as StreamingFast and Pinax.
Technology
Independent Indexers stake GRT and answer queries; Horizon (live Dec 2025) adds one staking and payment layer for several data services, not only subgraphs. Amp, Edge & Node's SQL product, targets institutions.
Traction
Over 1.27 trillion queries served to 75,000+ projects (early 2026, per The Graph's blog). Record 6.49B queries in Q2 2025; no 2026 quarterly figure found.
Competitors
Hosted indexers and RPC providers (Goldsky, Alchemy, QuickNode, Envio, SubQuery), data platforms (Dune, Allium) and teams running their own indexers.
Key risks
Query fees are tiny next to issuance; many developers prefer cheaper centralized indexing; Edge & Node and the Foundation still steer most development; AI-agent data narrative not yet visible in fees.
Roadmap
2026 roadmap (Feb): Horizon-based Subgraph Service and permissionless Substreams data service, Token API expansion (real-time prices, more DEXs), Amp SQL platform. Several items were due by Q3 2026; launch status not confirmed.

Token performance

1-year return (22 Oct 2025 → 21 Oct 2026, CoinGecko)
GRT
-61%
BTC
-22%
ETH
-35%

GRT fell about three times as much as BTC over 12 months. Over 3 years it is down about −72% (from ~$0.09 in Oct 2023, approximate) vs BTC ~+179% (from ~$29.7k) and ETH ~+53% (from ~$1.6k); 3-year figures are researched by hand because the free CoinGecko API covers 365 days.

Range 2026
$0.0132 low (17 Aug) to ~$0.0425 (7 Jan) on reliable daily closes; now $0.0249. Jan–Mar CoinGecko closes are distorted
12-month drawdown
−81%, from $0.0702 (8 Nov 2025) to $0.0132 (17 Aug 2026)
Liquidity
$15.0M traded in 24h, 5.5% of market cap; rank #153
Relative strength
−61% over a year vs BTC −22% and ETH −35%; the Aug–Sep rebound (+171% to $0.0358 on 28 Sep) has given back about a third
Launch-spike ATH Launch-spike ATH. The $2.84 high came on 11 Feb 2021, eight weeks after GRT started trading, and price never returned to within 50% of it (the late-2021 peak stayed below $1.42). The framework uses the March 2024 cycle high of about $0.47 (approximate) as the reference instead.

Tokenomics

Supply
No hard cap. 11.61B total, 10.94B circulating (94%); started at 10B in 2020.
Inflation
~3% a year: 120.73 GRT per Ethereum block minted as indexing rewards, roughly 300M+ GRT a year.
Unlocks/vesting
Team, investor and foundation vesting from the 2020 sale has largely run out; remaining non-circulating supply is ~0.67B. No large cliff found.
Utility
Indexers stake GRT (100k minimum), Delegators delegate (up to 16x self-stake), Curators signal on subgraphs, and query fees are paid in GRT.
Distribution
Since 31 Aug 2026 (GIP-0089) 20% of issuance goes to an Innovation Allocation for new data services; 80% still rewards subgraph indexing. The Council (6 of 10 votes) decides, not token holders.
Sinks
A small share of query fees and curation is burned (~5% per Tokenomics.com); staking and delegation lock GRT but are not a burn. No buybacks; GRT is only ~4% of Grayscale's AI fund.

Bull case

Horizon's new data services (Substreams, Token API, Amp) bring paid demand that lifts query fees well above $1M a year, and the Innovation Allocation funds products that stick. GRT holds above the $0.0132 August low and retakes $0.0358, the September high.

Bear case

Fees stay near $0.5M a year while ~3% issuance keeps diluting holders, and developers keep moving to hosted indexers. GRT slides back toward $0.0132 and the August low gives way.

Watch before the next re-run

  • Monthly query fees and burned GRT (Token Terminal, Tokenomics.com)
  • Launch of the permissionless Substreams data service and Amp
  • How the Innovation Allocation is spent and whether issuance is cut
  • $0.0132 August low and $0.0358 September high

Where to trade

Krakenlisted

GRT against EUR · USD · BTC · GBP

24h $246.5k · ±2% depth $306.3k

OKXlisted

GRT against EUR · USDT · USDC

24h $79.6k · ±2% depth $21.0k

Largest exchanges

Exchange24h vol±2% depth
BinanceGRT/USDT$804.4k$73.7k
CoinbaseGRT/USD$444.3k$104.2k
UpbitGRT/KRW$245.6k$45.1k
KrakenGRT/USD$206.2k$311.3k
BybitGRT/USDT$189.2k$21.8k

Deepest DEX pools

Pool24h vol±2% depth
Uniswap V3CLGRT/WETH · Arbitrum One$41.0k$19.5k

Pool size (TVL), fee tier and fee APR are not in yet: they need DefiLlama, which this setup cannot reach so far. CL = concentrated liquidity (higher fees, more impermanent-loss risk).

On-chain share of all GRT volume: 0.3%.

As of 21 Oct 2026 · CoinGecko tickers (24h volume, ±2% depth). ±2% depth is the money it takes to move the price 2% either way: the real size of a market. Exchanges ranked by volume among well-known venues; pools by depth. Not investment advice.

Where to follow

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