The Grid, a new Web3 structure and verification system that could become the standard for web3 applications. "map" Data is needed to bring the world of blockchain closer than ever.
The Grid, which has been in development for the past seven years now, is becoming a standard meta-standard that will help connect data platforms to blockchains more efficiently.
All that should mean a more user friendly interface that allows less Web3 savvy users to feel comfortable exploring this space and—ultimately—investing more.
Co-founder, Jonathan Knegtel, told Decrypt: "Think of this as an evolution rather than a revolution. The Grid provides ecosystem metadata.
"When you enter the Web3 city, its lights and symbols are all over. There is little else. Grid will provide more details on these offerings. It’s a bit like Google Maps, which gives more information than just the name of services."
The current ecosystem is a bit like Google Maps with names that offer little else—leaving you no idea how to tell a coffee shop from a hospital. The Grid aims to bring that into a more informative system.
The Grid's first partner has been Solana, meaning that it has indexed its projects and metadata. It aims to be integrated on a larger scale, but the other 60 specific Web3 partner companies have not yet been announced.
It's been enough, though, to garner interest from platforms beyond Solana as the potential has been recognized. Following an initial angel funding round that reached €600,000, this represents a crucial point in standardization for the Web3 ecosystem.
So what makes The Grid stand out? It pulls information from these websites and offers that data for front end ecosystems. Knegtel readily admits that this is something many LLMs could do.
"The Grid differs from other companies because it uses the Four Eyes concept. LLMs are used to do the unglamorous work of cleaning data. But we also have human eyes to check and confirm what's brought back. It produces a higher quality of data." he said. "The Grid, a reliable premium service in an age of increasingly untrustworthy AI data."
The Grid is designed to meet systems at their points of need. That means current block explorers, wallets and exchanges can leverage the data to pull in clear descriptions of what products and services do. This is why Knegtel said The Grid doesn't need to compete, but rather helps augment, what's already there. In fact it can work both ways to help.
"We've actually had blockchain requests on how to best work towards standardization," said Knegtel. "We are able to offer guidance that can lead to blockchain level recognition—to work with ecosystems where they may have previously struggled to get noticed."
The Grid is not only working with Solana but also providing its open-source reference implementation and explorer.
The Grid data is available as a GraphQL-based API and an open core model. Platforms can use this to develop their own pages for ecosystems. It gives companies the ability to control and update how data across their ecosystem is managed.
Stacy Elliott is the editor.