What is Gitcoin (GTC)?

Deep Dive

1. Purpose & Value Proposition

Gitcoin addresses underfunding of public goods in crypto by creating a decentralized coordination layer for funding. Its flagship Grants Program uses quadratic funding, a democratic mechanism that weights small donations more heavily to prevent whale dominance. Over $63M has been distributed to 3,700+ projects in areas like DeFi, climate tech, and open-source software (Gitcoin).

2. Tokenomics & Governance

GTC serves two core functions:
- Governance: Token holders vote on treasury allocations, grant rounds, and protocol upgrades.
- Identity: Users stake GTC in Gitcoin Passport to prove they’re human, combating Sybil attacks (500K+ GTC staked as of 2026).

The total supply is capped at 100M tokens, with ~96M circulating.

3. Ecosystem Tools

Gitcoin’s stack includes:
- Grants Stack: End-to-end platform for managing funding rounds.
- Allo Protocol: Modular infrastructure for decentralized grant distribution.
- Passport: A “digital identity” aggregator that uses GTC staking to verify uniqueness.

Conclusion

Gitcoin reimagines how communities fund shared goals, prioritizing transparency and grassroots participation. With GTC anchoring governance and identity, it’s a cornerstone of Ethereum’s public goods ecosystem. Can decentralized funding models like Gitcoin’s scale to rival traditional philanthropy?