# Token Utility The $GAI token is the core utility asset powering the GraphAI ecosystem, aligning incentives and participation across the network. Here’s how $GAI is used: #### 1. **Access to Platform Services** $GAI unlocks premium GraphAI features, including advanced data indexing, live sub-index creation, and AI-optimized querying. Developers and enterprises use $GAI to interact with knowledge graphs and the Model Context Protocol (MCP). #### 2. **Staking and Node Incentives** Participants stake $GAI to operate or support indexing nodes and validators, who are rewarded for processing, embedding, and maintaining blockchain data, as well as securing the network. #### 3. **Curator Incentives** Curators stake $GAI to identify, validate, and signal high-quality sub-indexes and knowledge graphs, earning a share of query and marketplace fees for surfacing valuable datasets. #### 4. **Data Marketplace Payments** $GAI is used as the payment medium for data, analytics, and AI services in the decentralized marketplace, rewarding data providers, curators, and analysts for their contributions. #### 5. **Grants** A portion of $GAI tokens is reserved for grants to fund developers, researchers, and community members contributing to the growth, integrations, and expansion of the GraphAI ecosystem. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://graphai-1.gitbook.io/graphai/token-utility.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.