The ongoing digital revolution and rise of the internet have upended the old global value structure over the past 30 years, and big data has become the new “gold” or “oil” — a fact demonstrated by the money-making capabilities of platforms like Google and Facebook.
One blockchain project focused on the future of retrieving and managing data is The Graph (GRT), an indexing protocol designed for querying networks like Ethereum and IPFS through the creation of open APIs called subgraphs.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $0.34 on Jan. 24, GRT has made several attempts at a sustained breakout above the major support and resistance level at $0.48.
Three reasons for the building momentum of GRT include the addition of new subgraphs supported by GRT, increased attention on the capabilities of The Graph network due to community engagement and outreach efforts and the ongoing rise of Web3 which is heavily dependent on oracle and data providers.
The library of subgraphs grows
One of the main reasons for the recent increase in attention for The Graph is the growing list of subgraphs offered by the network for popular decentralized applications and blockchain protocols.
Subgraphs are open application programming interfaces (APIs) that can be built by anyone and are designed to make data easily accessible. The Graph protocol is working on becoming a global graph of all the world’s public information, which can then be transformed, organized and shared across multiple applications for anyone to query.
The protocol is currently hosted on the Ethereum (ETH) network and is adding support for Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) compatible networks including Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Fantom, Arbitrum, Polygon and Moonriver, to name a few.
Subgraphs can also be made for individual projects as well, such as the recent migration of the gaming subgraph for NiftyLeague, a community-led game studio
A gaming subgraph has migrated to The Graph Network!
@NiftyLeague is a community-led game studio known for its “Nifty Smashers” NFT-infused fighting game.
In-game NFT data is fetched using Nifty League’s subgraph in a decentralized way. Read on ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/g7Frnuv35e
— The Graph (@graphprotocol) February 11, 2022
Another notable addition that highlights the usefulness of subgraphs was the integration with Juicebox Protocol, the fundraising protocol behind ConstitutionDAO and AssangeDAO, a project that utilizes a subgraph to power the analytics displayed on each project page.
New developer and community initiatives
A second reason for the increase in attention on The Graph has been efforts to increase community outreach and engagement through events like the ongoing ETHDenver conference where the project has a booth.
Aside from the ETHDenver conference, where The Graph has sponsored a chess tournament hosted by Nifty Chess, the project has also been supporting the growth of the developer community through the release of grants, including a $1 million grant to the Nomic Foundation to support the development of critical Ethereum devex tooling.
The Graph Grants initiative is also working with the SimpleFi data analytics platform to provide funding for the creation of subgraphs for multiple decentralized finance protocols, including Alpha Finance Lab, Frax Finance, Convex Finance and Ribbon Finance.
We’re excited to launch a new initiative designed to help you learn more about The Graph in a fun way: The Graph Academy Certificates. Discover our new courses and master @graphprotocol. Plus, you’ll get a fancy certificate for completing a course https://t.co/ELziU3lEt1
— The Graph Academy (@graph_academy) February 8, 2022
The Graph has also sponsored a new initiative through The Graph Academy that aims to help community members learn more about the protocol through a course listed at freeCodeCamp.org. The course will teach participants how to build dApps using The Graph protocol.
Related: Crypto patent-sharing marks a step in democratizing knowledge ownership
The rising popularity of Web3
A third factor helping boost the prospects for GRT is the rising popularity of Web3, a topic and sector that has increasingly begun to make its way into mainstream conversations.
Web3 as defined by Wikipedia is an “idea of a new iteration of the World Wide Web that is based on blockchain technology and incorporates concepts such as decentralization and token-based economics.”
The overall goal of Web3 is to move beyond the current form of the internet where the vast majority of data and content is controlled by big tech companies, to a more decentralized environment where public data is more freely accessible and personal data is controlled by individuals.
The Graph protocol’s ability to create a global grid of public information helps eliminate the need for projects to develop and operate proprietary indexing servers, which saves time and money typically spent on engineering and hardware resources that only work to centralize information.
VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for GRT on Feb. 14, prior to the recent price rise.
The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historical and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.
As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for GRT reached a high of 72 on Feb. 14, around two hours before the price increased 26% over the next day.
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