Question 1

What are Gitcoin and GTC, respectively?

Accepted Answer

Gitcoin is a project and community that funds digital public goods; GTC is the governance token of GitcoinDAO. GTC launched in May 2021 to bring governance related to Gitcoin Grants into community participation, rather than serving as another independent funding platform. Therefore, understanding GTC requires distinguishing two layers: Gitcoin's grant programs serve projects, donors, and grant rounds; GTC is a tool through which the community forms views and makes decisions on governance matters. Holding GTC itself is not the same as donating directly to a project or automatically becoming eligible for that project's funding.

Question 2

How do GTC holders participate in governance?

Accepted Answer

GTC's core use is participation in Gitcoin governance. The official description of the Community Stewards mechanism describes governance as “proposing, discussing, and deciding” initiatives related to Gitcoin Grants: the workflow first defines an issue, the issue becomes a proposal, and then the community and Community Stewards participate in voting. This means GTC's role is not to guarantee that a particular proposal will pass, but to enable token holders or their delegated representatives to enter the decision-making process. Topics discussed historically include grant-round rules and result confirmation, anti-Sybil measures, grant-round structure, and project discovery; the scope of each matter still depends on the specific proposal.

Question 3

What is delegated voting power for GTC?

Accepted Answer

Delegating voting power means that a GTC holder entrusts their governance voting power to a selected Community Steward, allowing someone who participates more consistently in discussions to represent their position. According to the official description, any community member can express interest in becoming a Steward, while other members choose representatives through delegation. Delegation does not change token ownership, nor does it mean permanently giving up choice: holders may assess a Steward's governance views and change their delegate. It addresses the fact that not every holder has time to follow each proposal, but how a representative votes still depends on that representative's judgment on the specific proposal.

Question 4

How did Gitcoin's grant programs change after Grants Stack ceased operations?

Accepted Answer

In 2025, Gitcoin announced that it would discontinue the Grants Stack technology product and Grants Lab business unit by May 27, in order to focus on the Gitcoin Grants Program. This change discontinued the legacy product stack and business unit; it did not mean that grant rounds themselves would stop: the official announcement also stated that projects could still apply, the community could still donate, and grant rounds would continue. Before the change, Grants Stack was a suite of smart-contract-supported products that allowed grant-program managers, projects, and community members to manage or participate in grant programs; after the change, historical data became accessible through Open Source Observer, and the choice of future infrastructure was left to the governance process. Therefore, the status of the legacy Grants Stack should not be treated directly as an indication of whether the current Gitcoin Grants Program continues.

Question 5

Does GTC represent equity, revenue rights, or fixed returns?

Accepted Answer

GTC is officially positioned as a governance token, not as an entitlement carrying economic value. Its principal significance is participation in the governance of Gitcoin Grants and GitcoinDAO; this should not be used to infer that holders have Gitcoin equity, revenue sharing, fixed interest, or fixed returns. Governance influence and financial rights are different concepts: the former is the ability to vote or delegate votes on governance matters, while the latter requires support from explicit contractual or product terms. GTC's official positioning does not grant holders the financial rights described above.

Gitcoin (GITCOIN) Price