GRT staked by an Indexer to vouch for the accuracy of data provided by their Graph Node.

Allocations open indexed subgraphs up to query traffic. They must be closed by indexers within 28 epochs (roughly 28 days) in order for rewards to be disbursed.

APIs simplify software development by enabling applications to exchange data and functionality in a secure manner.

APIs can open app data to a third-party developer, or between the front end and back end of a single application. They make programming much more efficient because they allow services and products to communicate with each other and leverage each others data and functionality.

A colloquial crypto term that began as a way to describe traders who bought tokens without conducting research shortly after a project's ICO.

The term has grown to encompass NFTs and other crypto plays that are based more on "group think" principles than any semblance of thorough vetting.

An altcoin is any crypto coin that is not Bitcoin; Ethereum is the largest and most popular altcoin by market cap—there are thousands of others.

A string of numbers and letters that is used to encode and decode cryptographic data.

A public key functions similarly to a bank account number, allowing third parties to send funds to a user's account without compromising its security. What's commonly known as a "wallet address" is simply a compressed version of a user's public key.

A private key is used to access a user's cryptocurrency that is stored on the blockchain.

Anthony Di Iorio is an early Bitcoin investor, co-founder of Ethereum, and founder of Decentral Inc., the developer behind the unified cryptocurrency wallet platform Jaxx Liberty.

Axie Infinity is an NFT-based dApp game that allows players to collect, breed, trade, and battle NFT-creatures called Axies.

Axie Infinity uses a native token called Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) to enable its in-game marketplace. It has an additional token, as well, called Smooth Love Potion (SLP), that enables users to breed Axies.

A decentralized, distributed, and often public ledger that uses cryptography to link groups of transactions, called blocks, in such a way as to make it virtually impossible to falsify data.

A bonding curve is a mathematical concept used to describe the relationship between price and the supply of an asset. The basis of the bonding curve is the idea that when a someone purchases an asset that is available in limited quantity, then each subsequent buyer will have to pay slightly more for it.

What this means for Curators on The Graph, is that, because Curation Shares are tied to a bonding curve, signaling early on subgraphs is highly incentivized. Signaling late on subgraphs puts the Curator at risk because their Curation Shares will lose value when other Curators sell their shares.

Binance is the largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange by volume in the world. It was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao and registered in the Cayman Islands. Binance was based in Shanghai, China, until China's increasing regulation of cryptocurrency, and ICO ban in 2017, prompted the company to uproot. It remains unclear where Binance is currently located.

A collection of transactions on the blockchain.

There is a limit to the amount of transaction data a single block can store. Every block stores a hash of the block before it in order to update the state of the entire chain.

When a new block is created, it is verified by multiple validators within the network before being added to the blockchain. Once a block has been added to the blockchain, it cannot be altered or destroyed.

Each block is marked by a unique ID that contains encrypted transaction information from previous blocks, as well as new transaction information, thus ensuring that all blocks remain linked.

The first and largest blockchain-based cryptocurrency, released by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that uses built-in incentives and voting models to ensure its health and continued operation.

Bitcoin pioneered the consensus mechanism known as proof of work that is used by Ethereum and many other cryptocurrencies today. It harnesses the power of cryptographic functions, both to ensure user security and to distribute rewards to its miners (a.k.a. validators).

Curators are a type of network participant on The Graph's decentralized network. Curators help take some of the workload off of Indexers by making it easier for them to identify high quality subgraphs.

Curators signal on subgraphs they deem worthy of indexing by purchasing Curation Shares. Because Curation Shares are tied to a bonding curve, Curators are highly incentivized to research new subgraphs and signal early if they are good quality.

It is important to note that purchasing Curation Shares may incur significant risk to the Curator. Especially if they are late to signal, and other Curators already hold significant shares on the subgraph. Because of the bonding-curve mechanic, when a curator burns their shares the value of everyone else's will drop; Curation Shares are liquid and can be sold for a profit or loss at any time.

Once a Curator has purchased shares on a subgraph, they will earn a percentage of the query fees garnered by the subgraph proportional to the number of shares they hold. To garner significant earnings, however, most Curators focus on selling their shares for a profit.

Cryptography is a field of study focused on secure communication techniques in the presence of adversarial behavior.

Modern cryptography relies heavily on mathematical theory and computer science. It is used extensively in data security, and is the backbone of blockchain technology, hence the name "cryptocurrency."

Curation Shares are non-transferable NFTs purchased by Curators to signal on subgraphs, which, in turn, alerts Indexers to perceived subgraph quality and demand.

Criteria for a "high quality" subgraph typically depends on sound code, first and foremost. Very important also is the volume of query traffic the subgraph is expected to attract. Expected query traffic is determined mainly by the popularity of the project for which the subgraph is built, and how relevant the targeted data is to that project's end users, developers, and network participants.

Indexers use the amount of GRT signalled by Curators as a proxy when considering new subgraphs to index.

A blockchain software company founded by Joseph Lubin in 2015.

ConsenSys launched its core projects, Metamask and Infura, in 2016. However, it is involved in many others blockchain services and applications as well.

Charles Hoskinson helped co-found Ethereum in late 2013. He was briefly CEO, before being removed by Vitalik in 2014 after a dispute over whether the project should be commercial or non-profit (Hoskinson took the former view).

After leaving Ethereum, Hoskinson went on to found the proof-of-stake based blockchain Cardano in 2015, releasing the project in 2017.

Cardano is an open-sourced and decentralized blockchain founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson. It uses a proof of stake mechanism to reach consensus.

A cryptocurrency wallet over which the user does not posses true ownership since it is hosted by a third party, typically a centralized exchange such as Coinbase.

Delegators add security and balance to The Graph's decentralized network by “loaning” their GRT to Indexers. These loans increase the Indexers’ overall stake and, in turn, the rewards they earn for successful indexing.

The purpose is twofold; one: delegation helps capital constrained Indexers become more competitive in the marketplace, and, two: it incentivizes Indexers to remain diligent and accountable in order to attract more Delegating is considered the easiest of The Graph protocol roles and incurs the least amount of risk.

A DAO is a member-governed organization that uses rules established by smart contracts on the blockchain to arbitrate decision making, as opposed to a centralized governance model.

DAOs typically operate on the basis of proposals and votes. Voting power is commonly weighted in proportion to token holdings to ensure that those with a higher vested interest also have a stronger voice. However, this model has received criticism for trending back toward centralization, albeit under a different guise.

Emblem offers an alternative to the token-share-based voting model, allowing votes to be weighted by badges that signify time and energy invested in a project. This model can be used both exclusively and in conjunction with token-share models.

An application that is built on top of a decentralized network, combining smart contract with a frontend user interface.

Examples of dApps include games like Axie Infinity and Decentraland, as well as decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Uniswap. Emblem itself is also a dApp.

A dApp, such as Uniswap, that enables users to exchange, stake, borrow or lend to other users directly, through the use of smart contracts, instead of relying on a centralized intermediary.

Decentralized exchanges stand in contrast to centralized exchanges, such as Binance, which require users to deposit funds into a wallet under the exchange's control in order to access the marketplace.

DEXs are considered safer than centralized exchanges because they allow users to retain total control over their assets, and thus cannot be hacked. They are also intrinsically more expensive, however, since users must pay gas fees for every transaction that goes through the blockchain.

A virtual reality dApp game in which players can purchase and trade plots of land, buildings, and cosmetic items using the games native token, MANA.

Ethereum is a programmable blockchain. It was first conceived of by Vitalik Buterin in 2013. The Ethereum network launched on July 30th, 2015. Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio and Joseph Lubin were all instrumental members of the founding team.

Vitalik began developing Ethereum after his argument that Bitcoin should have a scripting language for application development was rejected by Bitcoin's core development team.

ERC-20 is a token standard that implements an API for tokens within smart contracts. It facilitates the creation and operation of tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.

The term “epoch” is used by protocols and blockchains to denote blockchain transaction history within a certain time period.

Every epoch has a starting block and an ending block. For The Graph, the current length of an epoch is approximately twenty-four hours.

The EVM is a layer of code that functions as a decentralized master computer to complete all tasks on the Ethereum blockchain. It defines the rules for how a new block can be created, and hosts all Ethereum accounts and smart contract that interact with the blockchain.

The EVM is also the platform used by developers to create dApps on Ethereum.

Edge & Node is the software development team behind The Graph.

Ether is Ethereum's native token. It is the currency that fuels the Ethereum network, charged to users in the form of gas fees and distributed to the validators who maintain the network.

Ether is unique from bitcoin in that it has a distinct moniker that is used to distinguish it from Ethereum (as opposed to Bitcoin's currency which is distinguished by a lowercase 'b,' instead).

Ether's issuance mechanism loosely resembles that of bitcoin (which is halved roughly every four years), but is far more dynamic since it can be altered by an EIP without the need for a hard fork.

One of the biggest differences between ether and bitcoin is that bitcoin is a finite asset. New minting of BTC will cease entirely in the year 2140 when its supply reaches 21 million. There is no set point at which ETH will stop being minted; however, it is expected to become deflationary as minting slows and a portion of ETH is burned with each transaction on the blockchain.

The Ethereum Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports Ethereum and related technologies with funding, consulting, advocacy, and research.

A decentralized reputation platform that awards badges to network participants based on their on-chain activity.

Badges are automatically awarded by subgraphs that are deployed to The Graph's decentralized network. Emblem's subgraphs track transactions occuring on the blockchain through a protocol's smart contracts, and uses that data to determine when badge-award criteria has been met.

Awarded badges are displayed on Emblem's website under recipient address profiles. Users can connect their wallets to claim corresponding profiles and mint their badges as soulbound NFTs.

An EIP (Ethereum Improvement Proposal) is how Ethereum is altered and upgraded. Anyone can submit an EIP, and the changes are implemented as long as the EIP is approved by a board of editors and community members.

Information about how an EIP is submitted, and either implemented or withdrawn, can be found by following the link below.

Fishermen act as “bounty hunters” for Indexers who provide false query data.

The “bounty” process for Fishermen involves submitting a dispute to The Graph, along with a 10,000 GRT bond and a signed attestation from the Indexer. If the Indexer is found to have provided false data, a portion of the Indexer’s total stake is slashed and the Fishermen receives 50% of the amount. If the Fishermen’s claim is discovered to be unsubstantiated, their entire bond is burned.

Graph Nodes lie at the heart of indexing infrastructure on The Graph's decentralized network. They monitor Ethereum and extract and load data as defined by subgraphs.

In order to function properly, the Graph Node must be connected to EVM node endpoints, the IPFS data-sourcing node, and Indexer components that facilitate its interactions with the network. Because of the Graph Node’s central role in the function of a subgraph, Indexers are often referred to as “node operators.”

Graph Token (GRT) is the token used within The Graph network's ecosystem for staking and reward distribution.

Indexers, who organize and host the network's subgraphs, receive GRT from consumers who use the subgraphs to query data stored on the blockchain as well as in the form of direct rewards from The Graph.

Delegators help balance the network by staking their GRT with Indexers, and thus earn a portion of their rewards.

Gavin Wood is known for co-founding Ethereum, proposing and co-developing Solidity, and founding the Web3 Foundation.

In the context of cryptocurrency, gas refers to the fee required to successfully execute a transaction on the blockchain.

Gas is used to compensate the validators who assemble the blocks, verify the transactions, and maintain the network of the blockchain.

Gas fees fluctuate depending on supply and demand. Users can choose to pay a premium to help expedite their transaction, or, alternatively, can submit a below-average fee if their transaction is not time sensitive.

Occurs when a change implemented to a blockchain is large enough to require all nodes (or, users) to upgrade to the latest version of protocol software.

Hard forks make previously invalid blocks or transactions valid, and vice-versa.

Contrarily, a soft fork only makes previously valid transaction blocks invalid. Because old nodes will recognize the new blocks as valid, soft forks are backwards compatible and do not require all nodes to update, only a majority of the miners.

Hard forks have the potential to incite a split if there is enough support for the older version of a blockchain, such as with the Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash fork, and with Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

IPFS is, at its core, a distributed file sharing system. It can be thought of as a decentralized version of other file sharing platforms like Imgur and Google Drive.

IPFS uses cryptography to distill data intothat function as content IDs, allowing data to be safely distributed among its users. Websites, applications, and files submitted to IPFS can then be provided by any computer presenting data that matches the associated hash.

This communal version of web hosting has the power to make the internet faster, and eliminates the vulnerabilities associated with centralized servers.

Certain actions in crypto, like curating or delegating on The Graph, or swapping currencies on Uniswap, require the user to grant permission to a smart contract before it can access their wallet. Granting infinite approval means the user effectively only has to grant permission to the smart contract once; if the user does not grant infinite approval, they will be required to grant access (and pay the associated gas fees) each time the smart contract needs to access their funds.

Indexers are essential to The Graph's decentralized network. They take the raw, skeletal subgraphs published by developers and make them into usable query engines by collating their data and hosting the transformed repository on The Graph.

Indexing is extremely difficult and has the highest barrier to entry of any role on The Graph. It requires immense, deep-stack knowledge, an eye for market economics, incredibly powerful hardware, constant monitoring, and a minimum stake of 100k GRT.

A blockchain node infrastructure service created by ConsenSys in 2016.

Infura is designed for dApps and developers to help facilitate data retrieval from, and the broadcasting of transactions to, the Ethereum blockchain.

Infura's network is utilized as a backend for many Ethereum services and applications, including Metamask, which was released by ConsenSys in the same year.

Joseph Lubin is a co-founder of Ethereum and was involved in the creation of the Ethereum Foundation. He is also the founder of ConsenSys, the blockchain foundry behind Metamask, Infura, and Codefi.

A secondary framework or protocol built on top of an existing blockchain.

Layer 2 protocols generally aim to solve scalability issues with blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum that struggle with high transaction volumes (suffering from high gas fees and slow processing times as a result). Layer-2s typically solve these issues by processing transactions off-chain and/or operating under a more centralized framework than a traditional blockchain.

The process by which a digital item becomes part of the blockchain.

Also known as a hash tree, a Merkle tree is a cryptographic data sorting and verification system that ensures all hash nodes, or “leaves,” in the system are linked back to a single root hash. Because of the nature of hash functions, this means that any node in the tree can be efficiently traced back to the root to verify the integrity of data within that node. Any node traced back to the root that outputs a different root hash than the correct, known root hash is invalidated.

Merkle trees are especially useful in peer-to-peer networks (like blockchains) because they provide a secure and efficient way to ensure that any data block received by a peer is genuine, undamaged, and unaltered.

The term mainnet (short-hand for “main network”) is used to describe an independent blockchain (such as Bitcoin or Ethereum) differentiating it from test networks, or other projects, that may be running on top of, or adjacent to, it.

The most popular cryptocurrency software wallet, created by ConsenSys in 2016.

Metamask allows users to store and manage account keys, send and receive Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies, and connect to dApps.

Non-fungible tokens represent ownership of unique items—art, collectibles, real estate, etc. They can only have one official owner at a time and they're secured by the blockchain.

Node operators are responsible for running network software.

This means different things for different networks. For blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, it means validating transactions, reaching consensus with other node operators, and adding transactions to the blockchain.

The majority of NFTs are transferable; Non-Transferable NFTs cannot be transferred once their owner is designated.

One example of a non-transferable NFT is a curation share on The Graph's decentralized network. Non-transferable NFTs are also used by Emblem to ensure that badge awards remain reliable indicators of their owner's accomplishment.

Another term for non-transferable NFT is soulbound, popularized by Vitalik in his January, 2022 article of the same title.

Refers to data that is stored on a blockchain.

Because it is usually much more efficient to store data off-chain, dApps will often use a combination of on-chain and off-chain data storage in an attempt to maximize efficiency while remaining credibly decentralized.

Refers to data that is not stored on a blockchain, but presumably on a centralized server instead.

Because it is usually much more efficient to store data off-chain, dApps will often use a combination of on-chain and off-chain data storage in an attempt to maximize efficiency while remaining credibly decentralized.

A protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more computers to transmit data to one another.

Blockchains enforce a set of rules for exchanging digital currency and recording data, and therefor are considered protocols. Colloquially, however, the term "protocol" usually refers to a platform built with smart contracts ontop of an existing blockchain.

Well known protocols built on top of Ethereum include platforms like The Graph, Uniswap, and even gaming protocols like Axie Infinity.

A POI is a report submitted by an Indexer when closing an allocation to verify that they have indeed indexed the subgraph in question. The POI includes transaction information for that specific subgraph deployment up to and including the first block of the current epoch.

Proof of stake is an alternative consensus mechanism that selects validators based on their quantity of holdings in order to avoid the computational costs associated with proof of work.

Because proof of stake does not incentivize energy consumption, as with proof of work, it is considered a much more environmentally-friendly model. Leading blockchains that utilize proof of stake include Cardano, Polkadot, and EOSIO. Ethereum aims to move to a proof of stake model as well with its long anticipated Eth2 upgrades, but faces a mountain of technical challenge to accomplish such a conversion.

Proof of work is the traditional blockchain consensus mechanism established by Bitcoin and utilized by Ethereum and many others. Under the proof of work model, validators compete to solve complex algorithms in order to earn the right to mint the next block on the chain and collect the associated rewards.

Because of the high energy costs associated with proof of work, newer cryptocurrencies such as Cardano, Polkadot, and EOSIO have trended towards a proof of stake model instead. Ethereum also claims to be moving to a proof of stake model with its long anticipated Eth2 upgrades.

A program stored on a blockchain that runs when predetermined conditions are met. Typically used to automate the execution of an agreement so that all participants can be immediately certain of the outcome without any intermediary involvement or time loss.

See Ethereum's article on Smart Contracts, here, to learn more.

A smart contract that establishes parameters with a blockchain for users to temporarily proffer their assets in exchange for rewards or utilities.

Subgraphs are open APIs used to organize, process, and aggregate data from decentralized networks like Ethereum and IPFS. Once deployed to The Graph's decentralized network, a subgraph can easily be queried by dApps and Consumers.

Subgraphs deployed to the decentralized network are indexed by a large network of independent node operators referred to as Indexers, ensuring that data access is not controlled by any centralized entity.

Refers to non-transferable digital items that, once obtained, cannot be transferred to another user.

The term was popularized within the crypto space by Vitalik Buterin in his 2022 essay of the same title. In the essay, Vitalik suggests that soulbound NFTs could be used as a governance mechanism; a means to distribute voting power on the basis of something other than money.

The non-transferable nature of these NFTs would ensure their dependability as a signal of whatever it is they represented; and, by virtue of the fact that they cannot be bought or sold, have the potential to largely solve many of the problems currently associated with DAO governance.

Subgraph architecture refers to a subgraph's underlying codebase i.e. schema, events, and event handlers.

Stores the users' cryptocurrency on their local hard drive or browser. Software wallets are considered slightly less secure than hardware-wallets because they are susceptible to hacks from keyloggers etc.

The most widely used software wallet to date is metamask .

The pseudonymous alias used by the creator(s) of Bitcoin. Nakamoto was active in Bitcoin's development until 2010. Many have guessed at Nakamoto's true identity, but it is still entirely unknown. Nakamoto's claimed nationality is Japanese.

Solidity is an object-oriented programming language for writing smart contracts, most notably on Ethereum. Programs compiled by Solidity are intended to be run on the EVM.

The Graph Foundation is an independent network that handles governance of The Graph network, including grants and mentorship for other developers within the Web3 space.

The Graph Academy handles educational content for The Graph. They offer guides, video tutorials, and articles to help people get acquainted with the technology and ecosystem, and how to perform the various roles within the network.

The Graph is an indexing protocol for querying networks like Ethereum and IPFS. Anyone can build and publish open APIs, called subgraphs, that make data much easier to access.

Uniswap is the largest DEX currently available on the market. Users can exchange tokens with one another directly and earn rewards by providing liquidity for the platform.

Vitalik Buterin is the creator of Ethereum. He published Ethereum's white paper in 2013, co-founding the project in 2015 at the age of 21.

Born in Kolomna, Russia, Vitalik immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of six. He was placed into a class for gifted children in third grade and drawn to math, programming, and economics.

Vitalik became involved in cryptocurrency early in its inception after hearing about it from his father and co-founded Bitcoin magazine in 2011. In 2018, he received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Basel.

In cryptocurrency, the term "validator" generally refers to an entity that is responsible for processing transactions and adding new blocks to the blockchain, although the specific process can vary widely depending on the protocol.

Bitcoin uses a proof-of-work model for validation, requiring validators to compete for the right to mint new blocks by solving complex algorithms. Ethereum, on the other hand, uses proof of stake; validators deposit 32 ETH into a smart contract that grants validation priviledges, selecting randomly from the pool.

The Web3 Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on decentralizing internet infrastructure and technology; they provide funding to research and development teams working toward actualizing Web3, most notably Polkadot and Kusama.

Web3 (or Web 3.0) refers to the idea of a decentralized internet; it is a vision of the internet fully integrated with blockchain and other peer-to-peer technologies like IPFS.

Yaniv Tal is the CEO of Edge & Node, and co-founder and project lead of The Graph.

Before The Graph, Tal worked as a software engineer and founded multiple startups. He worked as a firmware engineer for HP for two years before leaving to focus on his first startup TapSavvy, a payment and communications solution for restaurant owners. Three years later he founded Workflo, a software company designed to help streamline UI projects.

Since co-founding The Graph in 2018, Tal has remained deeply involved in the project. He has maintained an active social media presence on Twitter, and spoken at many conferences and podcasts about The Graph, blockchain, and Web3 technology.