A Zoom on GLM: the evolution of the token and its new use cases

Disclaimer: This article is part of a grant awarded by Octant. Our application was selected by an independent jury. The content of this article remains independent and Octant has had no right of review over the published content.

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Origins and evolution of the GLM token

Launch of Golem Network and GNT

The GLM token is a direct evolution of the GNT (Golem Network Token), originally issued on the Ethereum blockchain in 2016 as part of the Golem Network project launch. The project aimed to create a decentralized marketplace for computing power, predating the DePIN sector.

GNT was introduced through a crowdfunding round in November 2016, raising approximately $8.6 million in under 30 minutes. During this public sale, 82% of the total 1 billion GNT tokens were distributed to investors.

The sale resulted in 820,000 ETH being raised for 820 million GNT, representing 82% of the total supply. At today’s Ether valuation, this amounts to approximately $2.2 billion.

Migration from GNT to GLM

In 2019, Golem co-founders Piotr Janiuk and Aleksandra Skrzypczak announced the creation of the Golem Foundation to decentralize project governance. In 2020, the foundation introduced the migration from GNT to GLM, aiming to modernize the project’s infrastructure.

The migration involved transitioning to the ERC-20 standard, facilitating integration with decentralized applications (dApps). In 2016, ERC-20 did not exist, and tokens used varied, custom-built codebases.

This upgrade improved integration with Ethereum-compatible wallets and enhanced security. Unlike custom-built token standards, ERC-20 reduces risks of security flaws, theft, and scams.

GLM tokenomics

The GLM token retains GNT's economic model with adjustments to meet evolving ecosystem needs. The total supply remains 1 billion tokens, unchanged from the GNT issuance.

A key shift is the adoption of the ERC-20 standard, replacing GNT's internal registry model and aligning with Ethereum standards.

In terms of token allocation, the 1 billion GLM supply derives entirely from the original GNT issuance. At Golem's ICO in 2016, the token allocation was determined as follows:

• 82% to the public sale.
• 12% to protocol development.
• 6% to contributors and the team.

The Golem Foundation continues to manage part of these funds to support ecosystem initiatives.

Note: Despite the backlash against ICOs after 2017, they often provided fairer community allocations than many modern token launches.

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The Golem Foundation: role and mission

The Golem Foundation was established in 2019 as an independent entity from the Golem Network, with the aim of further developing the Golem infrastructure and exploring new initiatives and use cases for GLM.

Unlike the Golem Network development team, which focuses on the technical implementation of the protocol, the Golem Foundation takes a broader approach, looking for opportunities to expand the GLM ecosystem and token.

One of the main programs conceived by the Golem Foundation is Octant, a platform designed to enhance participatory funding in open source or public good projects. The underlying idea is to offer financial incentives and a concrete use case to GLM token holders.

Rather than leaving tokens inactive, Octant allows users to lock their GLMs for a given period in exchange for a distribution of funds, which can be claimed or donated to open source projects. These funds come from the staking yield of the 100,000 ETH held by the Golem Foundation.

This initiative illustrates the Golem Foundation's desire to explore new models for making the GLM token more useful to the community and ecosystem.

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Roles and uses of GLM

GLM in Golem Network

Initially launched to support the operation of the Golem Network, GLM is at the heart of the protocol's business model. It acts as the main exchange medium for accessing services and remunerating suppliers of computing power.

As a reminder, the Golem Network is a decentralized peer-to-peer network that brings together: providers who share their unused computing capacity (CPU or GPU) with the network, and requesters who purchase computing power to run complex tasks such as 3D rendering or AI model training.

Transactions on the Golem Network are automated thanks to smart contracts executed on Ethereum. The GLM token serves as a means of payment, ensuring direct and instant remuneration for suppliers.

GLM in Octant

Developed by the Golem Foundation, Octant is a decentralized participatory financing platform dedicated to open source projects and public good initiatives. Its aim is twofold: to offer an alternative to traditional financing for projects that are essential to the ecosystem, and to experiment with decentralized governance.

Octant's operation is simple. At launch in August 2023, the Golem Foundation deposited 100,000 ETH in staking. During each 90-day cycle, called epochs, staking rewards are accumulated and then placed in an Octant Reward Pool.

A central mechanism of the platform is GLM-locking, which allows users to lock their GLM tokens to actively participate in the governance and distribution of funds. The more GLMs a user locks, and the longer they keep their tokens locked, the more rewards and weight they accumulate in fund distribution decisions.

At the end of each epoch, they have three options for using this share:

• Withdraw the reward to their own wallet.
• Donate the funds to projects selected by the community.
• Leave the rewards in Octant to increase the amount of ETH in staking.

Since its launch on Ethereum in August 2023, Octant has distributed over 1,464 ETH to some 50 public goods projects, demonstrating the model's effectiveness. In particular, Epoch 5 has enabled:

• 322.6 ETH were allocated to public projects;
• 187.7 ETH were claimed by users as personal rewards;
• 445 users, out of a total of 898, chose not to touch their rewards.

Additionally, Octant created a Community Fund to support ecosystem projects, such as integrating GLM into DeFi solutions.

Octant transforms GLM from a payment token into an instrument for governance and decentralized funding.

OAK Research was selected for the second edition of the Community Fund, announced by Octant’s Governance Council on January 3, 2025.

→ For more details on how Octant works, here's our full presentation: