Three jobs, one token
The Graph’s marketplace runs on GRT in every role: indexers stake it as collateral to serve queries, delegators lend stake to indexers, curators signal which data sets deserve indexing, and consumers pay query fees through it. That makes GRT a work token — its demand is a function of work performed, the way an L1’s gas demand is a function of blockspace used.
The meter and the multiple
A metered token invites a sobering calculation: query-fee flow versus network valuation. Through most of its life the multiple has been enormous — the market pricing the option on future data demand, not the current meter. When AI-agent narratives run, GRT gets swept into the data-infrastructure basket and the meter matters even less; the same narrative-versus-workload gap, measured here against an unusually visible workload.
Staking is float management with risk
Staked GRT is slashable collateral, not passive yield — it backs service quality. High participation locks float the way every staking system does, with unbonding delays that slow the float’s response to a move.
Reading it
Query-fee growth is the honest fundamental; basket flow is the honest explanation for most rallies. Funding tells you which one the crowd is currently trading.