Evolving How The Graph Supports Chain Integrations
As The Graph ecosystem continues to mature, so too must the systems that support its long-term growth. During the early days of network expansion, protocol subsidies and infrastructure support were designed to enable experimentation, user onboarding, and ecosystem growth across many chains.
With many of those early objectives achieved, The Graph is now focused on adjusting protocol systems to support sustainability, adoption-driven incentives, and long-term alignment between protocol contributors and end users.
From Bootstrapping to Long-Term Strategic Focus
Since the inception of the in 2023, The Graph has offered indexing rewards funded through protocol issuance, as a way to bootstrap the decentralized data layer of web3. These rewards supported a wide array of chain integrations and community-led experimentation, helping build out the network’s core infrastructure.
With the ecosystem now serving billions of queries per month, and with dapps increasingly relying on The Graph for mission-critical infrastructure, the bar for protocol support must continue to rise to meet the network’s maturity.
Moving forward, indexing rewards will be allocated to chains and projects that demonstrate clear signals of adoption, such as strong query volume and sustained developer usage.
To reflect this shift, updates are being made to the . These changes will ensure that protocol incentives are focused where they matter most: on builders and chains demonstrating substantial adoption.
What are Indexing Rewards?
Indexing rewards are GRT tokens issued by the protocol to incentivize Indexers—participants who provide the computing resources that serve Subgraph data. These rewards keep the network decentralized, fast, and reliable.
Indexing rewards were used to bring new chains into the ecosystem, regardless of their current usage levels. This helped spark growth during a time when new chains were launching in quick succession and required reliable infrastructure. Going forward, the process for determining indexing rewards will be growth-focused, with rewards allocated to chains and Subgraphs that meet key usage metrics. This ensures that Indexers are focused on serving high-value queries, enhancing protocol performance, and enabling smart scalability.
What Is Changing in the CIP?
The Chain Integration Process (CIP) is how new chains become fully supported on The Graph. In the past, chains often started by integrating with The Graph’s Subgraph Studio (managed by ) to build and deploy Subgraphs to the Network, but this did not activate Indexer Rewards. Without Indexer Rewards, these Subgraphs are typically served only by Edge & Node’s altruistic . Subsequently, chains would complete the CIP process to achieve indexing rewards based on technical testing. Previously, this meant chains could receive protocol-funded indexing rewards before demonstrating high usage. However, moving forward, the process for providing indexing rewards is changing.
To be eligible for indexing rewards, a chain must now show signs of real adoption and growth, such as active Subgraphs, sustained query volume, and ecosystem engagement. These changes are being made to:
- Focus indexing rewards where they're most effective
- Reduce unnecessary infrastructure costs
- Support Indexers in prioritizing high-impact data
- Enable more reliable long-term planning for core contributors and partners
Chains already integrated with Subgraph Studio or Substreams may still participate, but will now go through an updated evaluation process. This includes a minimum query threshold and an assessment of ecosystem engagement before moving to full protocol support. Chains that do not meet the criteria will no longer receive indexing rewards, but will remain part of the network.
What Happens Next?
- Chains in the testing or integration pipeline will be evaluated under the new standards and notified of their status.
- Chains already receiving indexing rewards but not meeting usage thresholds may be subject to deprecation.
- Chains that are early in development or below the eligibility standard may explore alternative paths to remain on The Graph.
These changes are part of The Graph’s broader effort to ensure that protocol growth is demand-driven, community-aligned, and future-proof.
FAQ
Q: What are the eligibility standards?
To be considered for full protocol support and indexing rewards, a chain generally must meet a minimum number of queries per month and show signs of active dapp development. Additional criteria may include ecosystem alignment, end-user demand, or financial partnership.
Q: How can chains meet the criteria?
Focus on activating high-quality Subgraphs, encouraging community usage, and driving traffic to your chain’s dapps. Participation in events, developer office hours, or community campaigns may also help build momentum.
Q: Are there other ways to get indexer support if a chain doesn’t qualify for CIP?
Yes. Chains may pursue off-chain arrangements with indexers, explore grants, or work with core dev teams to explore alternative support options. Chains may also reapply for the CIP if adoption metrics improve.
Q: Does this mean chains are being removed from The Graph?
No. Being ineligible for indexing rewards does not mean a chain is removed from the network. Subgraphs can still be hosted via Studio, and chains may continue to engage with the ecosystem. Chains that do not meet thresholds for reward support will simply not receive subsidized indexing.
Q: How can we give feedback or request clarification?
The Graph is committed to transparency and open dialogue. Please reach out through the forum or use the .
Toward a Stronger Network
These changes reflect The Graph’s evolution from a phase of exploration to a phase of focus. By concentrating incentives on the most active parts of the network, The Graph provides better service, ensures protocol sustainability, and unlocks even more powerful use cases across web3.
As always, The Graph is built with and for the ecosystem, and these updates are designed to make sure the most impactful builders can thrive.
About The Graph
is the leading indexing and query protocol powering the decentralized internet. Since launching in 2018, it has empowered tens of thousands of developers to effortlessly build and leverage across countless blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, Celo, Soneium, and Avalanche. With powerful tools like Substreams and Token API, The Graph delivers high-performance, real-time access to onchain data. From low-latency indexing to rapid token data, it serves as the premier solution for building composable, data drive dapps.
Discover more about how The Graph is shaping the future of decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) and stay connected with the community. Follow The Graph on , , , , , and . Join the community on The Graph’s , join technical discussions on The Graph’s .
oversees The Graph Network. , , , , and are seven of the many organizations within The Graph ecosystem.
