Today, The Graph Foundation is opening the first chapter of the GRT Liquid Staking Initiative. Phase 1 (i.e. a soft launch) goes live on August 25, 2026 as a vault launch for a small group of existing GRT holders. This post explains what the initiative is, why it exists, what stGRT is, who it is built for, and how the soft launch works for community members who want early access.
We are sharing this with the community first to give more insights into what they can expect to see in the coming months. The people who have staked, delegated, and curated through every phase of The Graph are the reason this initiative is possible, and you should hear about it here before anywhere else.
TL;DR
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The GRT Liquid Staking Initiative turns staked GRT into a liquid token named stGRT, representing the holder’s staked position and accrued rewards allowing tokens to remain productive while also being usable elsewhere.
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The vault was deployed by Avantgarde Finance (using Enzyme vault tooling) and managed by The Graph Foundation.
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Phase 1 (Soft Launch) opens August 25, 2026 as a launch with a limited group of existing holders, smaller deposit footprint (<1M GRT), the goal being to verify operational protocols, accounting systems, deposit and redeem cycles, and to seed sufficient liquidity before a wider rollout.
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If you are interested in early access, send The Graph Foundation an email to vault@thegraph.foundation to express your interest.
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Note that this post is informational only, not financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Features and timelines are subject to protocol governance and may change.
The Graph’s Liquid Staking Initiative
Staking has always involved a trade-off: commit your GRT to help secure the network and earn rewards, or keep it liquid and flexible. You could not easily do both.
The GRT Liquid Staking Initiative is designed to reduce that trade-off by allowing participants to receive a liquid token representing their staked position while continuing to participate in network staking. Holders may stake GRT into a single-interface vault and receive stGRT in return, a liquid token their staked position. The staked GRT keeps doing its job on the network while stGRT moves freely across DeFi.
The Foundation manages the GRT held in the vault to delegate to Indexers and support data services through an upcoming Indexer Delegation Program, coordinating chain support and helping bootstrap participation across the network. In other words, the same GRT that underlies a stGRT position may also contribute to strengthening the security and growth of The Graph Network.
What stGRT is
stGRT is a liquid staking token: an ERC-20 you receive when you stake GRT into the vault. It is comparable in design to liquid staking tokens like stETH, rETH, or cbETH in the broader DeFi ecosystem.
Two things make stGRT useful:
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It accrues rewards: stGRT accrues staking rewards over time through a price ratio against GRT, so holding it reflects your share of the staked pool and its rewards.
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It stays liquid: Because stGRT is a standard ERC-20, you can use it across DeFi while your underlying GRT remains staked. Over time, and subject to integrations, governance, and legal considerations, that may include using stGRT as collateral for borrowing, providing liquidity in a stGRT/GRT pool, and more.
A short note on what stGRT is not: it is not a new fundraising token and not a giveaway. It is simply a liquid representation of GRT you have chosen to stake, and all GRT reward is earned through staking.
Why the Initiative Exists
Three reasons sit behind this initiative:
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Flexibility for holders: Capital that is locked cannot be put to work. stGRT lets holders keep earning network rewards without giving up the ability to use their position elsewhere in DeFi.
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A cleaner path for institutions: Today, participating in network staking can mean building bespoke delegation infrastructure. stGRT replaces that with a single ERC-20 plus a transparent price ratio, which is far easier for custodians, exchanges, and institutional desks to integrate and reason about.
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A stronger network: GRT routed through the vault is delegated to Indexers and used to support data services, helping secure the network and bootstrap new chains and services as The Graph expands under Horizon. Liquid staking is designed to deepen participation, not divert from it.
Which Users Benefit
The initiative is built for several groups across the ecosystem:
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Existing Delegators and GRT holders gain a way to keep earning while unlocking the flexibility of a liquid position.
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DeFi users get a new reward-bearing asset (stGRT) to use as collateral, in liquidity pools, and across composable strategies as integrations roll out.
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Institutions, custodians, and exchanges may find a tokenized representation of a staking position operationally simpler than direct participation in staking, depending on their individual requirements.
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Indexers benefit from the Foundation-managed delegation that the vault enables, supporting their work across chains and data services.
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The Graph Network as a whole benefits from deeper, more durable staking participation that reinforces economic security as the protocol scales.
The Avantgarde Collaboration
The vault is built in collaboration with Avantgarde Finance, a team with deep experience in on-chain asset management and vault infrastructure. The vault uses Enzyme tooling, a well-established on-chain asset management framework, and is managed by The Graph Foundation.
This matters for two reasons. First, it means the staking vault is built on battle-tested infrastructure rather than something assembled from scratch. Second, Avantgarde’s curation gives institutional participants a documented risk methodology for the vault, which may assist custodians and exchanges evaluating whether to participate in or integrate the vault.
What “Soft Launch” Means for Early Access
Phase 1 is a soft launch, which means this stage is deliberately small and controlled rather than fully secret. In practice that means:
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A limited group of existing holders were invited to deposit first, rather than opening the vault to everyone at once.
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A smaller initial footprint of <1M GRT, so the team can validate reward-accrual calculations, the stGRT price ratio, and the vault’s accounting under real conditions.
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Establishing initial liquidity conditions before any broader rollout.
This staged approach is intentional. Starting small proves the systems work as designed, with real GRT and real participants, before inviting the broader community in during later phases. It is a sign of respect for the people putting their GRT to work first, not a barrier.
If you want early access: Send The Graph Foundation an email to vault@thegraph.foundation to express your interest. We will follow up with eligible participants about next steps. Spots in the initial phase are limited, and broader access expands in the phases below.
What Comes Next
Phase 1 is the first step in a phased rollout. The tentative sequence (anticipated and subject to change through governance) is:
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Phase 1 (Soft Launch): vault launch to a small group of existing holders to validate reward-accounting system and operational processes.
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Phase 2 (Delegator and DeFi Rollout): a wider vault launch reaching existing and prospective Delegators.
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Phase 3 (Indexer Delegation Program): the Foundation manages vault GRT to support Indexers, chains, and new services.
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Phase 4 (Potential Liquidity Pool): a stGRT/GRT pool to establish stGRT as a tradable primitive.
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Phase 5 (Institutional Collateral): stGRT as institutional-grade collateral for lending.
A Few Important Notes
This post is informational only. It is not financial, investment, legal, or tax advice, and nothing here guarantees value, yield, or returns. Rewards are variable and depend on network conditions. Not all DeFi venues or strategies referenced will support stGRT at launch; availability depends on integrations, governance, and legal and regulatory considerations. Forward-looking details about features and timelines are subject to protocol governance and may change.
Questions are welcome. Drop them below and the Foundation will do its best to answer in-thread. And if you would like to be considered for the soft launch, reply or DM to register your interest.
Thank you for being the core of this community. This is the first of many updates as the initiative progresses.