The Graph’s Community Talk #26 was held on Tuesday, August 15th @8AM PST.
The Graph’s Community Talk covers a wide range of subjects from all corners of our network and provides attendees with a comprehensive recap of the latest happenings within The Graph ecosystem. The meetings are held in The Graph Stage channel of the Discord Server.
Tip: Go to the Events channel at the top of the Discord server and set yourself a reminder for The Graph’s Community Talk.
Detailed notes regarding each topic with timestamps can be found below.
The Graph Community Talk is geared towards a broad audience regardless of background. We are looking for active participation from the community and are looking forward to your engagement!
You can find this and all other community events on the ecosystem calendar. Subscribe to the calendar to stay up to date on future events!
Community Updates (00:00)
Community Talk #26 highlighted several updates within The Graph Ecosystem. The session began with a presentation by Andrea about START-A-THON, a hackathon occurring in India. This event has seen participation from over 800 applicants, with more than 500 hackers currently working on projects. The hackathon comprises two tracks: web2 and web3. Approximately 40% of participants are focusing on web3 projects. Marcus Rein of Edge & Node is hosting a workshop on Subgraph Development and Querying in tandem with the event bringing in over 80 attendees. Prizes for the hackathon include awards for the Best Use of subgraphs and for the best use of an existing subgraph. The top three prizes are $500(1st), $250(2nd), and two $125(3rd) prizes. The growing engagement of The Graph community in India was also emphasized.
Furthermore, the community was informed about a series run by Alex from Edge & Node called “Code Along with Alex.” This series teaches coding, and all sessions are available on his YouTube channel. Topics covered include Rust, Kubernetes, and other coding tips relevant to The Graph Ecosystem. Lastly, monthly core developer updates have been posted to the forum!
GRTiQ New Releases
125 Sebastian Burgel
Sebastian Buergel, Founder at HOPR, discusses the decentralized, incentivized mixnet HOPR that enhances privacy by obfuscating metadata. The interview delves into Sebastian’s background, his views on the 2017 ICO Craze, and the significance of web3 privacy.
126 Mable Jiang
Mable Jiang, Chief Revenue Officer at Find Satoshi Lab, talks about her journey in the crypto industry and her recent induction into The Graph Council. The discussion covers her unique educational background, her insights into The Graph, and Asia’s role in the web3 industry.
Special Release: Alex Bourget on Substreams-powered Subgraphs
Alex Bourget, Co-Founder and CTO at StreamingFast, discusses the innovative Substreams-powered subgraphs and its potential impact on The Graph’s ecosystem. The podcast also revisits Alex’s previous insights into the origins of StreamingFast and their role at The Graph.
GRTiQ Podcast: 127 Alec Shaw
Alec Shaw, the new CEO at Tenderize, discusses the upcoming release of Tenderize V2 and its potential impact on The Graph ecosystem. The interview touches upon Alec’s journey in the blockchain world, the features of Tenderize V2, and the implications of liquid staking.
GRTiQ Podcast: 128 Jaime Herrero
Jaime Herrero from Messari shares his experiences in the crypto industry, including his role in building several Messari subgraphs on The Graph. The conversation delves into Jaime’s early involvement in crypto projects and the future of web3 and The Graph.
Acid Chains (05:13)
Acid Chains won the Best New Subgraph award at ETHGlobal Paris! Read more about what Acid Chains during the community talk and how their new subgraph utilizes Substreams:
Acid Chains developed at ETHGlobal Paris and awarded the Best New Subgraph award, aims to augment Ethereum’s scalability. They integrate an Acid Virtual Machine (AVM) with an Ethereum full node and a specialized Mempool. This mempool stores priority and “special transactions,” which the AVM processes using various consensus methods like PoS, PoW, and PoA depending on developer needs. A unique feature of the Acid Chains is the AVM’s ability to parse JavaScript, enabling more intricate metaprotocols and broadening potential actions on the blockchain.
In developing the Acid Chain Protocol’s proof of concept, the team used QuickNode for base infrastructure and modified its mempool behavior to suit their needs. The AVM handled transaction data, formed node attestations, and stored them in a smart contract. This contract was accessed by a Cartesi Machine to draft the Layer 1.5 blockchain. Significantly, The Graph Protocol was employed to detect Checkpoints using a Substreams, ensuring the stability and security of a decentralized network. These components, still experimental, are publicly accessible, promoting open-source innovation. The demonstration dApp is integrated with wallet connect.
A follow up demonstration of how they utilized Substreams was presented!
Playgrounds API (13:44)
Tachi, the CEO of Playgrounds Analytics, discussed their latest offering, the Playgrounds API, during the meeting. Playgrounds Analytics specializes in blockchain data analytics tools.
Their prior notable tool, Subgrounds, allows users to easily analyze data from subgraphs using Python. The Playgrounds API further streamlines this process, offering an easier interface for querying decentralized subgraphs without the typical associated friction. Two primary methods existed for querying decentralized subgraphs that required The Graph Token (GRT) for access. Users either had to load traditional wallets with GRT, obtained either through decentralized or centralized exchanges, or use a newer method introduced by The Graph which allows for GRT purchase via credit card. Both methods, however, have their challenges. The Playgrounds API offers a solution to these pain points. Users can simply log into the Playgrounds app, choose a subscription plan, and generate an API key to start querying decentralized subgraphs immediately.
Notably, there’s no need for a traditional wallet or GRT. The platform integrates seamlessly with Subgrounds, meaning existing Python users can incorporate the Playgrounds API with minimal disruption to their workflow. The API also offers built-in analytics to track usage. Tachi gave a demo showing the ease of use, from API key generation to querying data in Python. This innovation aims to make blockchain data analytics more accessible, bypassing technical hurdles usually associated with decentralized subgraphs.
Tachi encouraged everyone to create an account and API key and explore Playgrounds. There are bounties and competitions on the horizon!
Mastering Delegation (33:59)
During the meeting, Paolo presented “Mastering Delegation: A Guide to Navigating the Graph Protocol”. The article delves into the intricacies of delegating GRT (Graph Tokens) within the Graph Protocol ecosystem. The more complex steps include photos to help you on your delegation journey!
This delegation mechanism is pivotal for promoting decentralized data indexing and querying across various blockchain networks. By entrusting GRT tokens to network participants, known as Indexers, individuals and entities can bolster the network’s health and efficiency, all while reaping rewards. The article emphasizes the importance of community-driven collaboration in the protocol’s mission. It also highlights that one doesn’t need extensive technical knowledge to delegate but should be acquainted with the workings of GRT and the ecosystem.
The article offers insights on selecting an Indexer, understanding Web3 Wallets, and the significance of community feedback. Furthermore, it touches upon the ongoing migration of The Graph to L2 Arbitrum and its implications for delegators.
At the meeting, Paolo took us through the article, all while demonstrating those concepts and visiting some of the important resources on how to find the right Indexer!
Region Spotlight (43:18)
India
During the India Blockchain Tour, Graph Advocates from India actively participated and presented about The Graph in various cities. The Graph Advocate program has seen rapid growth of advocates in India, with 62 advocates contributing to various roles within The Graph. A significant contribution was observed in the text translator and event evangelist roles. The India Blockchain Tour comprised six events across major cities. While the first event in Delhi was presented online due to time constraints, subsequent events had Graph Advocates attending and speaking about The Graph and The Graph Advocate program. The events attracted many students and newcomers to the web3 spac and saw tech enthusiasts and startup owners gaining insights into The Graph’s functioning. The Graph India community has been growing robustly, marking its presence in almost every blockchain event in the country.
Nigeria
The next region spotlighted was Nigeria. The country boasts approximately 49 Graph Advocates, with a majority involved in the content creator and event evangelist roles. A notable advocate, Charles Freeborn, has been active in promoting web3 activity and introducing The Graph to his community and shared his experience with The Graph at the talk. Charles has organized hands-on workshops and founded the web 3 Warri community, which has over 80 members.
As an Event Evangelists you are encouraged to not only organize events but also to participate as speakers at web3-centric events. Charles exemplified this by supporting The Graph at the BlockchainUNN sponsors booth. Advocates are also urged to attend events like ETHGlobal meetups to share their experiences with The Graph.
If you become an event evangelist like Charles, you can look to future opportunities engage attendees at events such as ETHAccra, ETHSafari, and DevFest globally, and actively promote your participation, Web3 and The Graph on platforms like Twitter/X.
Stay Tuned!
Join us next month for Community Talk #27!
Keep up to date by joining discussions in the forum, following The Graph on Twitter or joining the Discord server.