What Is Gitcoin (GTC) and How Does It Work?
Gitcoin (GTC) is a Web3 platform focused on funding open-source software and digital public goods. Launched to support developers building on
Ethereum and beyond, Gitcoin connects builders with communities and capital through grants, bounties, and hackathons. The project aims to solve a core Web3 challenge: how to sustainably fund public goods without relying on centralized intermediaries.
Gitcoin works primarily through quadratic funding, a mechanism that prioritizes community participation over large individual donors. Instead of rewarding projects with the biggest single contributions, quadratic funding amplifies projects that receive support from many unique contributors. This approach helps surface community-valued projects and reduces the influence of whales, making funding outcomes more democratic and aligned with collective interest.
The GTC token powers Gitcoin’s decentralized governance. GTC holders can propose and vote on decisions related to protocol upgrades, grant program design, treasury management, and ecosystem direction via the Gitcoin DAO. Rather than being a transactional token, GTC is designed to give long-term participants a voice in shaping how public goods funding evolves across the Web3 ecosystem.
When Did Gitcoin Launch?
Gitcoin was founded in 2017 by Kevin Owocki, initially as a platform to fund open-source developers building on Ethereum through bounties and community support. Gitcoin quickly evolved beyond bounties into a full public-goods funding ecosystem, introducing large-scale grants programs powered by quadratic funding. The GTC governance token was officially launched in May 2021, marking Gitcoin’s transition toward decentralized governance through the Gitcoin DAO and enabling the community to guide the protocol’s long-term direction.
Gitcoin Roadmap Highlights
- 2017–2019: Launch of Gitcoin bounties and early open-source developer funding
- 2020: Introduction of Gitcoin Grants and quadratic funding rounds
- 2021: Launch of the GTC token and formation of Gitcoin DAO
- 2022–2023: Expansion of public goods funding beyond Ethereum, governance experimentation
- 2024–2025: Gitcoin 2.0 vision, modular grants infrastructure, and increased decentralization
- 2026 (ongoing): Scaling sustainable public-goods funding, DAO maturity, and ecosystem tooling improvements
What Is the GTC Token Utility?
The GTC token is primarily used for governance within the Gitcoin DAO. GTC holders can propose and vote on key decisions such as grant program design, quadratic funding parameters, treasury allocation, protocol upgrades, and long-term strategy for funding public goods. The token is designed to represent influence and participation rather than serving as a payment or utility token within the grants process itself.
In addition, GTC plays a role in community alignment and ecosystem incentives, helping coordinate developers, donors, and contributors around Gitcoin’s mission of sustainable open-source funding. Over time, governance experiments such as delegated voting, retroactive public goods funding (RetroPGF), and DAO tooling have expanded GTC’s role in shaping how value flows across the Gitcoin ecosystem.
You can trade GTC tokens on the
BingX spot market by creating and verifying a BingX account, depositing funds, and accessing the
GTC/USDT trading pair. BingX allows you to place
market or limit orders to buy or sell GTC with real-time pricing, deep liquidity, and a user-friendly trading interface suitable for both beginners and experienced traders.
What Is Gitcoin Tokenomics?
The GTC supply is capped at 100,000,000 GTC and was allocated to balance community ownership, long-term governance, and sustainable ecosystem funding:
GTC Token Allocation
- Community (Airdrop & Grants Participants): 50% - Distributed to early Gitcoin users, donors, developers, and ecosystem contributors to ensure broad, community-led governance.
- Gitcoin DAO Treasury: 15% - Reserved for funding public goods, Gitcoin Grants, Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF), and long-term ecosystem initiatives.
- Team & Future Team Members: 15% - Allocated to Gitcoin’s core contributors, subject to multi-year vesting to align incentives with long-term protocol success.
- Investors & Advisors: 10% - Distributed to early backers and advisors who supported Gitcoin’s early development, also under vesting schedules.
- Governance & Public Goods Experiments: 10% - Used for governance incentives, experimentation with funding mechanisms, and DAO participation programs.
What Blockchain Network Does Gitcoin Operate on?
Gitcoin operates primarily on the Ethereum network, leveraging Ethereum’s smart contracts and decentralized infrastructure for governance and funding mechanisms. The GTC token is an ERC-20 token, enabling secure DAO governance, on-chain voting, and integration with Ethereum wallets and DeFi tools. While Gitcoin’s platform supports builders and public-goods funding across multiple blockchain ecosystems, Ethereum remains the core settlement and governance layer for Gitcoin and its DAO.
How to Store GTC Tokens Securely
One of the simplest and most secure ways to store GTC is by keeping it directly on BingX. Storing GTC on BingX allows you to benefit from exchange-level security measures such as cold-wallet storage, multi-signature protection, and account safeguards like
two-factor authentication (2FA). This option is ideal if you actively trade GTC or want quick access to the spot market without managing private keys yourself.
For long-term
self-custody, you can store GTC in
Ethereum-compatible wallets, since GTC is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum network. Popular software wallets like
MetaMask and
Trust Wallet offer easy access to Gitcoin DAO governance, while
hardware wallets such as
Ledger or
Trezor provide an extra layer of offline security. When using self-custody, always back up your recovery phrase securely and avoid sharing private keys to protect your GTC holdings from loss or theft.
Is Gitcoin (GTC) a Good Investment?
Gitcoin (GTC) can be considered a compelling long-term investment for users who believe in the growth of Web3 public goods and decentralized governance. Gitcoin has established itself as critical infrastructure for funding open-source software, with a proven track record of supporting thousands of developers and projects through quadratic funding and Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF).
The GTC token offers direct governance influence over one of the largest public-goods treasuries in crypto, backed by a fixed supply and community-heavy distribution that reduces inflation risk. As demand for sustainable, decentralized funding models grows across blockchain ecosystems, Gitcoin’s early-mover advantage, strong brand recognition, and DAO-driven evolution position GTC as a governance asset with long-term relevance; though, like all crypto investments, it carries market and governance risks.