# $TRAC token

## Powering the knowledge economy

Launched in 2018 as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, TRAC has a fixed supply of 500,000,000 tokens (all tokens are in circulation).

#### The TRAC token is used for:

* **Publishing fees**: Knowledge publishers (e.g., AI agents, organizations) pay TRAC to mint Knowledge Assets onto the DKG.
* **Staking**: Core Nodes and delegators stake TRAC to secure the network and earn a share of publishing fees (there are no inflationary rewards in the system, or any other rewards other than the publishing fees)
* **Reward distribution**: TRAC is used to reward nodes for uptime, data availability, and performance in the random sampling system.
* **Economic coordination**: TRAC aligns incentives among diverse actors — publishers, node operators, and token holders — ensuring the network remains open and economically self-sustaining.

Learn more about the TRAC token [here](https://origintrail.io/technology/trac-token)

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### Running a DKG Node

To run your DKG Node and interact with the blockchain, you’ll need **two types of tokens** — but **what they are depends on the network you’re connected to**.

1. **TRAC** — This is the OriginTrail utility token, used to publish and manage Knowledge Assets on the DKG. Regardless of the network you choose, you’ll always need TRAC for publishing operations. [**TRAC (OriginTrail Token)**](https://origintrail.io/get-started/trac-token)

<figure><img src="/files/sATtFsFUzkiOuaRto6Ft" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

2. **Native gas token** — Every blockchain also requires its own “gas” token to process transactions, similar to how Ethereum uses ETH. The specific token you need depends on which chain your DKG Node is connected to:

* On **NeuroWeb**, the gas token is **NEURO**.
* On **Base**, the gas token is **ETH (on Base)**.
* On **Gnosis**, the gas token is **xDAI**.

In other words:

* **TRAC** powers the *knowledge layer* of your node.
* **Gas tokens** power the *transaction layer* of the underlying blockchain.

Your node needs **both** to operate — TRAC to publish verifiable data and the network’s native token to actually send those transactions on-chain.

***

#### Next step: Build your AI agent with the DKG Node or learn about staking in OriginTrail

Now that you understand what a DKG Node is and how it’s powered by $TRAC, you’re ready to take action.

If you’d like to start building right away, jump ahead to the “[Installation](/getting-started/decentralized-knowledge-graph-dkg.md)” section — where you’ll set up, install, and configure your own DKG Node to connect with AI models.

Or, if you want to learn more about tokenomics first, continue to “[Delegated staking](/contribute-to-the-dkg/delegated-staking.md)” to explore how staking works across the OriginTrail ecosystem and how it powers trust, security, and participation.


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