30s Summary

Decentralized indexing service The Graph has introduced a data standard for Web3, called GRC-20. It aims to improve data organization, sharing, and linking across decentralized apps. GRC-20 is poised to replace the World Wide Web Consortium’s current data representation system, the Resource Description Framework. The new standard will create specific spaces for group information, visualizing individual data units and impose structure on the data. The Graph plans to launch a series of tools to aid the use of the GRC-20 standard.

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The Graph, a decentralized indexing service often compared to Google for blockchains, has launched a data standard for Web3 named GRC-20. This standard defines how data is organized, shared, and linked across decentralized apps. This was revealed on The Graph’s website in a blog post linked to developer Yaniv Tal’s improvement proposal.

GRC-20 builds upon the idea of knowledge graphs, initially brought up by Tal in June. This notion suggests that knowledge is formed when we link and label information to gain a better understanding. Knowledge graphs display these links and relationships between different pieces of information.

GRC-20 would replace the current system of data representation, the Resource Description Framework (RDF). At present, this serves the World Wide Web Consortium. However, it’s not quite up-to-scratch for Web3 for various technical reasons. The Graph’s blog stated that GRC-20 creates common ground around the concept of knowledge which fits with the vision of an open, verifiable and mix-and-match style of web3.

The new standard leans on a few key ideas: Spaces for grouping information together, Entities and Relations for visualizing individual pieces of data, and Types for injecting structure into the information. Developers will define these entities, relations, and types, and The Graph will launch a suite of tools to assist in using the GRC-20 standard soon. Tal’s improvement proposal is open for comments until it is finalized.

Launched in 2018, The Graph is a global open network of APIs called subgraphs, which are the basis of decentralized apps (or DApps). These subgraphs simplify smart contracts making them easier to monitor and use. The Graph said it can slash the time it takes to develop DApps from months to days. Contributors to the project are awarded with Graph tokens (GRT), and to date, over 70 blockchains have been indexed by The Graph.

Data provider Chainstack launched a service for these subgraphs when The Graph stopped hosting theirs in preparation for becoming a decentralized network.