Indexers today primarily serve subgraphs via GraphQL. But there’s a natural extension: offer RPC + real-time event streams.
What it is
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RPC endpoints (HTTPS/WSS): Full/Archive access for reads, tx relay support.
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Event streams: Subscribe to new swaps, transfers, mints, burns via Webhooks, WebSockets, or Kafka.
Why it matters
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Every dApp and wallet needs RPC. Many want cheaper/faster alternatives to centralized providers like Alchemy or Infura.
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Event streams are a step-change for quant traders, bots, analytics dashboards. Instead of polling, they get clean push feeds.
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Indexers are already close to the metal. With Firehose/Substreams infra, RPC + event streaming is a natural add-on.
Time to market
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Weeks, not months: RPC endpoints and event forwarders are already common tooling. This is a wrapper + packaging play.
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Early adoption could be tested on ERC-20 transfers, DEX swaps, NFT sales as streams.
Monetization models
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Usage-based (GRT metering): Per request/stream event.
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Flat monthly plans: Developer-friendly pricing tiers.
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Enterprise SLAs: Dedicated bandwidth, low-latency regions, custom datasets.
Why this fits The Graph
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Expands indexer services beyond GraphQL → broadens the addressable market.
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Makes The Graph directly competitive with existing RPC infra providers.
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Builds a bridge between real-time app devs and analytics users.
Questions for the community:
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Would you, as a dApp/wallet developer, use RPC + event streams from Graph indexers?
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As an indexer, would you run and monetize this service?
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Should this live inside the protocol (signaled + rewarded like subgraphs) or start as an off-chain service experiment?