Gitcoin (GTC) Crypto: A Complete Guide

We present a complete guide to understanding Gitcoin (GTC) Crypto and it’s technology in the field of cryptocurrency development. We include helpful explanations, illustrated guides, historical data, and technical details. This article is brought to you by Digital Financial Market


Gitcoin (GTC) Crypto

Gitcoin is an Ethereum-based decentralized cryptocurrency that is built around the platform GitHub and website Gitcoin.co. It is designed to facilitate a developer ecosystem where contributions, projects, and software developments are rewarded in the forms of bounties or grants.

GitCoin is intended to create a platform where open-source development is rewarded for contributions. Users are free to choose a subject of expertise where they can offer solutions, software developments, and project proposals. 

See Gitcoin (GTC) Official Website

Key Points of Gitcoin

  • Open Source Funding Platform
  • Built on the Ethereum-blockchain
  • Small Market Cap
  • Backed by Github, a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp.

Gitcoin (GTC) Price Chart

Gitcoin (GTC) Historical Price Chart


The Origin of GitCoin: Git and GitHub

Before delving deeper into the timeline of GitCoin, it is important to understand Git, GitHub and it’s fundamentals. Git is a modern programming language that is the industry standard version-control and repository management software. Git was invented in 2005 as a distributed version control system and a central tool in open source development.

Git is widely used across Applications, Web Servers, and Databases. The official website of Git is GitHub and it serves as one of the worlds largest open source platform and community support forum. 

History of Github

GitHub was first introduced in late 2007 then fully established by Executive Chairman Chris Wanstrath in 2008. GitHub grew to be one the largest software forums in the world and a central part of open-source software development since it’s inception.

In 2018, GitHub and its’ subsidiaries were purchased by Microsoft Corporation for $7.5 Billion USD. This merger included the website for GitCoin as well.

A GitHub account is required in order to receive or offer rewards through the official GitCoin website. Note that a GitHub account is NOT required to hold GTC tokens, trade on an exchange, or send GitCoin through the Ethereum Network.


The History of GitCoin

The GitCoin project was founded by Kevin Owocki and launched on September 25th of 2017. Initially, GitCoin was partnered with ethereum blockchain organization called ConsenSys. GitCoin quickly became a platform to develop blockchain technology through the process of quadratic funding. 

In 2018, the website GitHub was purchased by Microsoft Corporation for $7.5 Billion USD. This merger included the website for GitCoin as well.

The Ethereum (ERC-20) token for GitCoin (GTC) launched on larger crypto markets on platforms such as Coinbase since May 24th, 2021. The price of GTC at the time of launch was $3.05 USD.

As a comparison, the Market Cap of GitCoin was floating between $133-$155 million USD at the end of 2021. If you divide this market cap by the total value of GitHub at the time of purchase, you can conclude that GitCoin Market Cap had a peak value of between 1.75% and 2.06% of the total of GitHub. 


The Growth and Adoption of GitCoin

In April 2021, Gitcoin held a round of funding led by Paradigm to raise $11.3 million. Gitcoin continued to ramp up open source funding as it launched on the open market on exchanges such as Coinbase since May 24th, 2021.

Ethereum founder, Vitalik Buterin, has praised Gitcoin and even used the platform personally. Vitalik states,

“Gitcoin grants quadratic funding is not just for funds allocation, it’s also a great signaling tool! For the last few rounds, going to Gitcoin Grants  has led me to discover a lot of really cool Ethereum projects I previously did not know about.”

Gitcoin continues to grow in popularity. GTC is currently one of the lowest market cap assets on major exchanges such as Coinbase. 


Earning GitCoin Rewards Through Open-Source Development

The concept of Gitcoin is to reward and encourage an open source framework for Software Development, Cybersecurity Solutions, and open-source Grants. Rewards and grants come in the form of cryptocurrencies such as Harmony One (ONE), Algorand (ALGO), Ethereum (ETH), and GitCoin (GTC).

The Gitcoin website divides their rewards into three main categories. The first category being Bounties involving security, design, and content creation. The second, sponsored Hackathons intended to create solutions for advanced technologies. Thirdly grants, which involve crowdfunding, open source development, and community projects.


The Mathematics of GitCoin 

Gitcoin is designed to have a Total Token supply of 100 million GTC. This supply will be distributed as follow:

  • 15% Retroactive Airdrop
  • 35% Existing Stakeholders
  • 50% GitCoin DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization)

Gitcoin has given 15 Million GTC to early developers of the platform in the form of a Retroactive Airdrop. This included users that created, completed, or contributed to a bounty or grant. The intent was to reward the early adopters and encourage further development of the GitCoin platform.

 Another 35 Million GTC has been distributed to the stakeholders, founders, investors, partners, and employees of the organization.

The remaining 50 Million GTC is currently being distributed to the GitCoin DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization). This final 50% is led by a community treasury which facilitates donations to users, projects,  and developments. All 50 million GitCoin allocated to the DAO will by unlocked in monthly installments until they are depleted by roughly May of 2023.


How GitCoin Funds Open-Source Development

GitCoin supports community involvement using a method called Quadratic Funding. In this instance, quadratic funding means that a certain amount of the donations a project receives from the community will be matched by a large pools of donated GitCoin based on a specific ratio. This is to encourage crowdfunding and supply cryptocurrency resources to the project.

Simply put, a user can donate an amount to the GitCoin Pool, then the GitCoin Pool will donate to crowdfunded projects based on the popularity and support for the project.

The GitCoin Pool gives out grants and donations in a relative ratio based on popularity. This means that 10 individual $10 donations will garner a higher donation match than one $100 donation, although the formula may vary from a simple 1:1 ratio. More details on the GitCoin Donation Pool can be found on the technical details of the GitCoin Pool Webpage.

As of 2022, GitCoin has funded $69 Million USD worth of cryptocurrencies to open-source developments. The platform also has over 311,000 active developers. 


How Gitcoin Works

Although the cryptocurrency itself is based as a decentralized currency, GitCoin Rewards, Bounties, and Developments are centralized around the GitHub Platform. Currently, these payments come in the form of Ethereum-Based Cryptocurrencies ranging from Harmony One (ONE), Algorand (ALGO), Ethereum (ETH), and GitCoin (GTC). 

These rewards are distributed through the open-source model explained model in previous section.

The GitCoin Project has huge potential in the growth the future of open-source, service, and payments. The project may evolve to include the concept of employers hiring independent contractors by offering paid bounties in exchange for services completed. 


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