The Graph breaks query record in Q1: Subgraph adoption on the Web3 grows

The Graph has reached a historic Web3 milestone: 6.140 billion queries processed in Q2025 XNUMX, driven by massive subgraph adoption, technical innovations, and new cross-chain integrations.

In recent years, blockchain technology has moved from being a fringe experiment to becoming the backbone of the new decentralized internet, known as Web 3. In this context, The Graph has established itself as one of the most relevant and robust protocols for accessing, indexing, and querying data on blockchains. 

The Graph's model, based on subgraphs and a decentralized network of indexers, has enabled thousands of applications and services to access real-time information securely and efficiently. 

During the first quarter of 2025, The Graph exceeded all expectations by registering a record 6.140 billion queries, consolidating its leadership and demonstrating the community's confidence in its infrastructure. This growth, noted by Messari in a recent report, reflects not only the protocol's scalability but also the vitality of its ecosystem, marked by new integrations, technical improvements, and an economic model that incentivizes participation and decentralization. 

A historic quarter: 6.140 billion queries and The Graph's leadership in Web3

The first quarter of 2025 has marked a before and after for The Graph, which has processed the unprecedented number of 6.140 billion queries, a 3,2% increase compared to the previous period. This milestone, according to Messari analysts, not only confirms the protocol's relevance but also highlights its ability to meet the growing demand for real-time data from developers and decentralized applications.

The Ethereum mainnet remains the primary source of traffic, with 1.3600 billion queries, but the prominence of emerging networks like Base, which saw 89,3% growth, demonstrates the rapid adoption and versatility of The Graph's infrastructure.

“Graph Network is used by developers and data consumers who pay to query data. Network performance can be measured by the growth in the volume of queries served, the number of active subgraphs serving queries, and the accrual of query fees.” they said the analysts.

Subgraphs on the Rise: The Technical Basis of the Decentralized Revolution

The Graph ecosystem has seen notable growth in the number of active subgraphs, reaching a total of 12.402 at the end of the first quarter, representing a 9,8% increase from the previous quarter. During this period, the developer community deployed 1.143 new subgraphs, demonstrating a continued and growing commitment to the network. 

Subgraphs, which function as customized schemas for extracting and organizing blockchain-specific information, are essential for the operation of decentralized applications that require up-to-date, real-time data.

The completion of the Sunrise of Decentralized Data program in June 2024 enabled the complete migration of subgraphs to a distributed model of independent indexers, significantly improving the system's decentralization, security, and censorship resistance. This shift has created a more trustworthy and open environment, where curators play a key role in classifying and prioritizing the highest-quality subgraphs for processing. Thus, the network is strengthened and becomes the technical pillar of the decentralized revolution, fostering innovation and collaboration in the Web3 ecosystem.

Under-the-Hood Innovations: Technical Advances Powering The Graph

The first quarter of this year has been marked by significant technical improvements to The Graph. Notable advancements include the beta launch of the Token API, which replaces previous services and offers real-time data on tokens, prices, and balances across multiple chains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Polygon. This API not only facilitates integration with artificial intelligence tools and automated assistants, but also empowers advanced application development and improves the community experience.

In addition, a novel has been implemented scoring system for indexers, which combines metrics of efficiency and volume of queries served, allowing delegators to make more informed decisions about where to allocate their GRT tokens. 

In terms of governance, the adoption of improvement GIP-0061 has streamlined the proposal process, eliminating redundant steps and speeding up request processing. However, by far the most disruptive change has been the implementation of Substreams as a streaming-first indexing layer, which enables parallel and real-time processing, improving scalability and reducing costs.

All of these innovations have contributed to stronger competitiveness and community benefit, ensuring that The Graph remains at the forefront in the Web3 era.

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The future of The Graph in an expanding Web3 ecosystem

The first quarter of 2025 also saw a surge in strategic partnerships and integration with multiple prominent networks and projects, strengthening cross-chain interoperability and data availability, a key objective for Web3 development. 

For example, Messari mentions that Layer 1 and Layer 2 projects and protocols such as ZKSync Era, Polygon zkEVM, Sonic and Berachain have successfully integrated with The Graph, expanding the network's reach and capacity. 

Likewise, the incorporation of Wonderland As a core development team, it has contributed significant advances in ZK (zero-knowledge) systems and network optimization, improving the privacy and technical resilience of the protocol. 

However, despite all these advances and developments, the ecosystem also faces challenges. Although GRT-indexed rewards increased by 4,1%, their dollar value fell by 40,2% due to crypto market volatility and the reduction in the price per million queries, implemented to encourage use of the service. Furthermore, the number of active indexers decreased by 23%, although the network remains robust and capable. 

In short, despite the challenges, The Graph has solidified its position as the fundamental protocol for decentralized data access in Web 3, achieving an all-time high in queries and demonstrating a remarkable capacity for innovation and adaptation in the digital ecosystem. 

Subgraph growth, technical improvements, and new cross-chain integrations are transforming the ecosystem, driving interoperability and collaboration and ensuring sustainable growth and decentralization over the long term. 

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