📊The Graph SRB

Learn how The Graph staking rewards are calculated. GRTSRB formula covers GRT issuance per block, Arbitrum block time, and total staked tokens by indexers.

GRTSRB is a benchmark representing the mean, annualized staking rate across all active The Graph indexers.

GRTSRB is calculated and published by Staking Rewards via the The Graph Profile and Data API.

TL;DR: The Graph staking rewards come from GRT token issuance on Arbitrum One. The reward rate equals tokens issued per block annualized divided by total staked GRT across all indexers. Indexer-level rates are adjusted by query fee cut and reward cut.

$$GRTSRB = (ib * t_y / bt) / st$$

Formula key	Metric name	Description
ib	Indexing Rewards Issuance Per Block	The number of GRT tokens per Ethereum block allocated to the RewardsManager for indexing rewards on Arbitrum (the RewardsManager's share of total issuance under the Issuance Allocator).
bt	Block Time	The average Ethereum block time in seconds.
st	Staked Tokens	The total number of GRT tokens staked (self-staked + actively delegated, excluding thawing delegation) across all indexers on Arbitrum.
$t_y$	Year Constant	31,536,000 seconds (365 days)

• GRTSRB takes into account all accumulated rewards, whether they have been claimed or remain unclaimed.

• GRTSRB operates on a non-compounded basis, meaning it excludes returns generated from the reinvestment of rewards.

• The Graph protocol operates on Arbitrum One. All staking, delegation, and reward distribution occurs on Arbitrum.

Slashing

The Graph implements slashing for indexers who serve incorrect data or allocate dishonestly. Slashing can affect up to 2.5% of an indexer's self-stake. Delegators are not directly slashed but may experience reduced returns if their indexer is slashed.

---

The Graph Indexer Staking Rewards Rate: GRTSRB(v)

Staking Rewards calculates the GRTSRB for each indexer based on a 30-day rolling window of actual delegator indexing rewards earned. The window ends at the current day (UTC) and starts 30 days earlier:

$$GRTSRB(v) = (dr_{now} - dr_{30d}) / \overline{dt} * t_y / t_d$$

Formula Key	Metric name	Description
drnow	Delegator Rewards Now	Cumulative delegator indexing rewards from the indexer's latest daily record. The value is cumulative and a daily record exists only on days with activity, so the latest value carries forward unchanged to the current day.
dr30d	Delegator Rewards at Window Start	Cumulative delegator indexing rewards from the latest daily record on or before the window start (the current day minus 30 days). A record after the window start is never used, because it already contains rewards earned inside the window.
$\overline{dt}$	Time-Weighted Average Active Delegated Tokens	The sum of the indexer's active delegated tokens over each day of the window, divided by td. Active delegated tokens are delegated tokens minus delegation that is thawing (undelegation requested); under Graph Horizon, thawing delegation no longer earns rewards and is excluded. Each day's value is carried forward from the latest daily record on or before that day. Weighting by days corrects for delegation that moves in or out during the window: new delegation counts only for the days it was delegated, and withdrawn delegation stops counting once it leaves. An average of 0 gives a rate of 0.
$t_y$	Year Constant	365 days
$t_d$	Day Window	The window length p in days (30 for GRTSRB(v)). The numerator covers exactly the p-day window, so it is always divided by p.

7-day and 60-day rolling window rates are also calculated and published for each indexer, with the same method and t_d = 7 and 60.

• An indexer whose latest record is on or before the window start earned nothing inside the window, so its rate for that window is 0.

• If an indexer has daily records but none on or before a window's start (for example, an indexer younger than the window), that window's rate is not published. A missing 30-day rate also omits the indexer's published reward rate, which equals the 30-day rate.

---

Inflation Rate

$$i = (ib_{total} * t_y / bt) / cs$$

Formula Key	Metric name	Description
ibtotal	Total Issuance Per Block	Total GRT newly issued per Ethereum block across all issuance recipients, read on-chain from the Issuance Allocator (getIssuancePerBlock). If no Issuance Allocator is configured, the RewardsManager is the sole recipient and its allocated issuance per block is used.
bt	Block Time	Average Ethereum block time in seconds.
cs	Circulating Supply	The total circulating supply of GRT tokens.
$t_y$	Year Constant	31,536,000 seconds

Inflation Rate Behaviour

The Graph's inflation rate is governed by on-chain parameters. Total GRT issuance per Ethereum block is set on the Issuance Allocator, which splits it between recipients: the RewardsManager (indexing rewards, the ib used by GRTSRB) and other protocol targets. Inflation counts all newly issued GRT, so it uses the total issuance rather than the indexing-rewards share alone; GRTSRB uses only the share that flows to stakers. Both the total rate and the split can be adjusted through governance.

---

Real Reward Rate: GRTSRB^R

$$GRTSRB^R = (1 + GRTSRB) / (1 + i) - 1$$

---

Observation Period:

1. The GRTSRB is determined based on the latest on-chain issuance parameters and staked token totals at the point of evaluation.

2. The per-indexer GRTSRB(v) uses a 30-day rolling window of daily indexer data, ending at the current day, for annualized reward rate calculation.

3. This data is then annualized for a comprehensive year-long projection.

Calculation

The calculation happens every 8 hours and is immediately published via Data API.

Limitations

1. GRTSRB employs a 365-day convention for annualizing staking rates. This convention remains consistent and does not accommodate adjustments for leap years.

2. GRTSRB does not factor in query fee revenue earned by indexers, which is an additional source of income beyond indexing rewards.

3. Individual indexer rates may vary significantly based on their allocation strategy, query traffic, and delegation parameters.

---

Other Metrics

Metric	Description
Total Supply	Total GRT supply across Ethereum and Arbitrum: L1 GRT totalSupply + L2 (Arbitrum) GRT totalSupply − GRT held in the L1 bridge escrow, which backs bridged L2 tokens 1:1. Issuance is minted on Arbitrum, so the L1 supply alone understates the total. Omitted for a run in which the result falls below circulating supply.
Staked Tokens	Total GRT staked on Arbitrum: indexer self-stake plus actively delegated tokens (thawing delegation excluded)
Delegated Tokens	Total GRT actively delegated to indexers (delegation pool tokens minus tokens thawing). Delegation in its 28-day thawing period after undelegation earns no rewards and is excluded.
Staking Wallets	Total unique delegations across all indexers
Total Query Fees	Cumulative query fees collected across the network
Total Indexing Rewards	Cumulative indexing rewards distributed
Total Outstanding Fees	Pending (accrued, not yet collected) indexing rewards across all active allocations, summed from the RewardsManager's getRewards for each allocation. Published per indexer as Pending Indexing Rewards. Eligibility is not checked by getRewards, so a small share may later be reclaimed rather than paid out. Omitted for a run in which any allocation could not be read.
Epoch Length	Number of Ethereum blocks per Graph epoch
Unstaking Time (asset Lockup Time)	Graph Horizon provision thawing period (2,419,200 seconds, 28 days, for the SubgraphService), approximated as 28 epochs * epoch length * block time. Thawing starts once undelegation is requested.

---

Data Sources:

• The Graph Network Subgraph on Arbitrum (network statistics, indexer data)

• The Graph Analytics Subgraph on Arbitrum (daily indexer reward data)

• Arbitrum and Ethereum RPC Endpoints (GRT token supply via contract calls)

• Arbitrum RPC Endpoints (total issuance per block from the Issuance Allocator; pending indexing rewards from the RewardsManager)

• CoinGecko (price, circulating supply)

---

References:

• https://thegraph.com/docs/en/indexing/overview/

• https://thegraph.com/docs/en/tokenomics/

---

📚 Learn more about GRT Staking

📊 Calculate your GRT Staking Rewards

⚙️ Access historic The Graph Staking Data via API

Last updated on 09/29/2026