Gnosis (GNO)
Gnosis is a blockchain project that focuses on providing infrastructure tools to enhance the Ethereum ecosystem. Operating as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), Gnosis uses its products to influence decisions related to ecosystem development, support, and governance.
Overview
Gnosis was launched in 2015 as a decentralized prediction market on the Ethereum blockchain, initially aiming to create a platform similar to Augur. Over time, Gnosis broadened its scope to develop infrastructure tools for Ethereum's ecosystem. Notable tools include Safe, a decentralized custody protocol and asset management platform, and the CoW Protocol, a permissionless trading protocol that facilitates trades across exchanges and aggregators.
| Ticker | GNO |
| Category | Decentralized Exchange (DEX) |
| Website | https://www.gnosis.io/ |
| @gnosisdao | |
| https://www.reddit.com/r/gnosisPM | |
| Contract Addresses | |
|---|---|
| ethereum | 0x68...96 Copied! |
| arbitrum-one | 0xa0...f1Copied! |
| xdai | 0x9c...dbCopied! |
| energi | 0xf4...feCopied! |
Gnosis also introduced Conditional Tokens, enabling the creation of highly liquid prediction markets with asset values tied to event outcomes. Gnosis Auction assists projects in determining fair token prices, while Zodiac provides tools for composable DAOs. In November 2020, Gnosis established GnosisDAO, a prediction market-driven collective for governing the Gnosis ecosystem. In 2021, xDai and GnosisDAO merged, resulting in the creation of the Gnosis Chain, an EVM-based Ethereum sidechain focusing on stable transactions.
Safe introduced SafeDAO and the Safe Token in September 2022, further expanding the Gnosis ecosystem.
Gnosis ecosystem
The Gnosis ecosystem is powered by the GNO token, which is used for staking on the Gnosis Beacon Chain and serves as the governance token for GnosisDAO.
Gnosis Chain
The Gnosis Chain is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) execution-layer chain that uses the xDAI stablecoin for transactions. The network's security is maintained by the Gnosis Beacon Chain (GBC) consensus layer, which employs a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism. Participants lock up GNO tokens to validate transactions and can earn additional GNO tokens as rewards. The Gnosis Chain is a community-driven network with nodes operated worldwide, ensuring resilience against technical failures.
CoW Protocol
The CoW (Confidence of Wants) Protocol is a permissionless decentralized exchange (DEX) enabling users to trade any ERC-20 token on the Ethereum network. It matches trades through multi-token batch auctions and executes them at the most favorable price, protecting traders from miner extractable value (MEV).
Safe
Safe is a customizable multisignature wallet infrastructure functioning as a smart contract wallet on Ethereum. It requires a predefined number of approvals before executing a transaction and supports various tokens, including ETH, ERC-20, and ERC-721. Safe is governed by SafeDAO, a decentralized collective known as Safe Guardians.
GnosisDAO
Established in 2020, GnosisDAO serves as the steward of the Gnosis ecosystem. It uses its products to guide development, support, and governance decisions. Governance occurs on the Gnosis Forum, where proposals pass through three phases, and community members with at least 1 GNO participate in decision-making.
Gnosis Pay
Gnosis Pay is the project's payment platform, allowing GNO token holders and other cryptocurrency users to use digital assets for real-world payments. The Gnosis Card, a Visa-certified debit card, was introduced on July 17, 2023, enabling users to spend funds from their self-custodial wallets wherever Visa is accepted. Initially launched in the U.K. and the EU, Gnosis plans to expand to other regions, including the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Gnosis is working with Monerium, MakerDAO, and other industry partners to ensure compliance and security.
GNO token
The Gnosis cryptocurrency, GNO, is an Ethereum-based token sold during the Gnosis Initial Coin Offering (ICO). It is primarily used for participating in the Proof-of-Stake network via staking and serves as a governance token for GnosisDAO.
Team
Gnosis is led by Martin Köppelmann (CEO), Stefan George (CTO), and Dr. Friederike Ernst (COO).