[Crypto projects](https://revain.org/projects/) › Gridcoin

# Gridcoin (GRC): how it works, supply and reviews

## In short

- **Type**: Own permissionless blockchain with its own coin, GRC
- **Issuance**: 37,600 GRC minted per day: 9,600 GRC to stakers and 28,200 GRC to computing contributors (2022 whitepaper)
- **Risks and caveats**: Rewards depend on statistics from third-party research projects, collected by a small set of authorised oracle nodes.
- **Checked**: 31 October 2026

## Key facts

- **Ticker**: GRC
- **Official site**: [gridcoin.us](https://gridcoin.us/)

Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.

## What is Gridcoin

Gridcoin (GRC) is an open-source proof-of-stake cryptocurrency that rewards volunteer computing for science on the BOINC platform and Folding@home. Stakers secure the chain and earn 10 GRC per block, while most new GRC goes to people who contribute computing power to approved research projects.

## Network and consensus

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Own permissionless blockchain with its own coin, GRC |
| Consensus | Proof of stake (PoSv2); network consensus does not depend on BOINC rewards |
| Block time | 90 seconds target block spacing (960 blocks a day) |
| Launched | Gridcoin-Classic launched 16 October 2013; the proof-of-stake Gridcoin-Research chain launched 11 October 2014 |
| Oracle | Once a day the network records approved project statistics in a 'superblock', collected by authorised oracle nodes (six in 2022) |
| Staking | Coins can stake after they have been unmoved for at least 16 hours |
| Approved projects | Only work for whitelisted BOINC projects earns GRC; greylisted projects earn nothing until they return to the whitelist |

## Supply and issuance

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Issuance | 37,600 GRC minted per day: 9,600 GRC to stakers and 28,200 GRC to computing contributors (2022 whitepaper) |
| Staking rewards | 10 GRC per staked block plus the transaction fees in that block |
| Maximum supply | No maximum supply is stated; the 2022 whitepaper gives a total supply of 463,000,000 GRC as of 20 August 2022 |
| Initial distribution | No premine; the proof-of-stake chain's initial distribution came from a proof-of-burn of Gridcoin-Classic |

## What GRC is used for

- GRC rewards stakers who secure the chain and contributors who run approved BOINC or Folding@home work.
- GRC is used for payments like any other cryptocurrency.

## Who develops and governs Gridcoin

- **Founders**: Launched in 2013 by Rob Halförd (described in the 2022 whitepaper as an anonymous developer)
- **Governance**: No owners, executives or board; changes are proposed in public code and adopted by nodes, guided by on-chain polls
- **Foundation**: The Gridcoin Foundation is a community-managed multi-signature wallet of about 15 million GRC, from coins abandoned in the 2014 switch to proof of stake
- **Developer**: Volunteer core developers, led by James C Owens (lead core developer)
- **Open source**: Gridcoin-Research wallet code on GitHub under the MIT licence

## History

| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 16 October 2013 | Gridcoin-Classic, a scrypt proof-of-work coin, launches. |
| 11 October 2014 | The proof-of-stake Gridcoin-Research chain launches. |
| 20 April 2015 | Gridcoin-Classic is retired. |
| 27 August 2022 | Stakers start to fulfil Manual Reward Claim (MRC) requests, letting small contributors claim rewards without staking. |
| 3 April 2026 | Mandatory release 5.5.0.0 'Natasha' activates block v13 and v14 rules, including time-locked contracts (HTLC). |

## Security and audits

- The chain is secured by proof of stake, so it keeps producing blocks even if BOINC rewards stop working.
- If a research project is compromised, it can be removed from the approved list without disrupting the network.
- Release 5.5.0.0 added v3 beacons that need a cryptographic proof of BOINC account ownership.

## Security incidents

| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 8 June 2026 | Outage: Gridcoin published hotfix 5.5.1.0 to fix a crash of mainnet nodes caused by a logic error in a divide-by-zero guard in the scraper/AutoGreylist code; the developers called the update effectively mandatory. | [github.com](https://github.com/gridcoin-community/Gridcoin-Research/releases/tag/5.5.1.0) |

Further incidents are reported by third parties (press, incident databases) but are not confirmed in the company’s own channels, so they are not listed here.

## Risks and caveats

- Rewards depend on statistics from third-party research projects, collected by a small set of authorised oracle nodes.
- The Foundation's GRC sits in a multi-signature wallet whose keys are held by a group of trusted individuals.
- Nodes must install mandatory upgrades before set heights or they cannot follow the chain.

## Official links

- Website: [gridcoin.us](https://gridcoin.us/)
- Docs: [gridcoin.us/wiki](https://gridcoin.us/wiki/)
- Whitepaper: [gridcoin.us/assets/docs/whitepaper.pdf](https://gridcoin.us/assets/docs/whitepaper.pdf)
- Source code: [github.com/gridcoin-community/Gridcoin-Research](https://github.com/gridcoin-community/Gridcoin-Research)

## Questions and answers

**What is Gridcoin?**

Gridcoin (GRC) is an open-source proof-of-stake cryptocurrency that rewards volunteer computing for science through BOINC and Folding@home.

**Who created Gridcoin?**

Rob Halförd launched Gridcoin on 16 October 2013; today volunteer core developers maintain it and there are no owners or executives.

**What is the maximum supply of Gridcoin?**

No maximum supply is stated. The protocol mints about 37,600 GRC a day; total supply was 463 million GRC on 20 August 2022.

**How does Gridcoin work?**

Stakers secure the chain with proof of stake and earn 10 GRC per block; daily superblocks record research statistics so computing contributors are paid GRC.

## Sources

- [Gridcoin - Home](https://gridcoin.us/)
- [Gridcoin Wiki - Home](https://gridcoin.us/wiki/)
- [Gridcoin Wiki - FAQ](https://gridcoin.us/wiki/faq.html)
- [Gridcoin Wiki - Team and Contributors](https://gridcoin.us/wiki/team-and-contributors.html)
- [Gridcoin - Project Whitelist](https://gridcoin.us/guides/whitelist.htm)
- [Gridcoin Whitepaper (2022)](https://gridcoin.us/assets/docs/whitepaper.pdf)
- [Gridcoin Staking Bluepaper, section 1](https://gridcoin.us/assets/docs/grc-bluepaper-section-1.pdf)
- [GitHub - Gridcoin-Research repository (API)](https://github.com/gridcoin-community/Gridcoin-Research)
- [GitHub - Release 5.5.0.0 'Natasha'](https://github.com/gridcoin-community/Gridcoin-Research/releases/tag/5.5.0.0)
- [GitHub - Release 5.5.1.0 hotfix](https://github.com/gridcoin-community/Gridcoin-Research/releases/tag/5.5.1.0)

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Page updated: 2026-11-01

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Source: https://revain.org/projects/gridcoin/