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No whitepaper found

GNO

GNO · Gnosis

UtilityGovernance token for Gnosis — holders vote on protocol decisions.

What it is

GNO is the staking and governance token of the Gnosis ecosystem, anchored by Gnosis Chain, a stable-payments EVM layer-1.

Technology & consensus

Gnosis Chain uses a dual-token model: xDai (stable) for gas and payments, and GNO for proof-of-stake protection via the Gnosis Beacon Chain (~5-second blocks). Validators stake 1 GNO each; misbehavior is slashed and inactivity penalized.

Token utility

GNO secures Gnosis Chain through validator staking (consensus rewards from attestations, block proposals, sync committees, plus execution rewards), serves as the governance token of GnosisDAO, and functions as an index/exposure token for the Gnosis ecosystem (Safe, Cow Protocol, Gnosis Pay).

Key risks & notes

No official whitepaper could be read in this session: the official Gnosis whitepaper PDF in the gnosis/research GitHub repository only rendered a loading page and could not be fetched. Summary is grounded in official Gnosis Chain docs. Risks include validator-set concentration at modest thresholds, slashing, GNO price volatility, and the long evolution from the original prediction-market design.

Primary source

No whitepaper found. The summary below is drawn from the project’s official documentation, site, or repository instead — the substitution is disclosed, not hidden.

Research status

Classification: No whitepaper found · Researched · Source material: official project documents only.

Machine-readable summary →

👁️ Evidence dossier

Verification classClass AFORA-01 scale — verification, not a quality ranking
Claim type · Governance token
What does the holder own?

Title, redemption claim, fractional ownership, reserve exposure — or just narrative.

GNO is the key token of the Gnosis ecosystem: it is staked on the Gnosis Beacon Chain to secure Gnosis Chain through block validation (earning staking rewards), and it is the governance token of GnosisDAO. Exchange disclosures and the official Gnosis Chain documentation agree on these two roles. It is a utility and governance token, not a claim on any asset.

high confidence

Evidence: [1] · [2]

Verified
Who holds the underlying?

Needs an identifiable custodian or entity — not a wallet address or a label.

No underlying exists by design. The project documents GNO only as a staking and governance token; no backing claim, reserve exposure or custodian is stated in official documentation or exchange disclosures.

high confidence

Evidence: [1]

Verified
How are reserves checked?

Custodian records → inventory → third-party audit → supply reconciliation.

No reserves exist by design. Supply is fixed with roughly three million GNO issued at the 2017 token event and about 2.6 million in circulation per exchange disclosures; the ERC-20 contract address is published in the official docs and auditable on-chain.

medium confidence

Evidence: [1] · [2]

Verified
How does redemption work?

Eligibility, minimums, fees, KYC, settlement — and what happens to the token.

No redemption is promised by the project. Staking and unstaking are network participation mechanics, not redemption against an issuer. Notably, a May 2026 governance proposal sought a treasury redemption mechanism for holders — which confirms no such right existed, since GNO was never advertised as backed by treasury assets.

high confidence

Evidence: [1] · [2]

Verified
Who is liable if redemption fails?

A legally accountable entity and jurisdiction — not a DAO label.

Gnosis Ltd., a company based in Gibraltar, is named as the issuing and operating entity in exchange listing disclosures, and Messari confirms the company is based in Gibraltar with a development hub in Berlin. Holders have no documented legal claim on the company or the DAO treasury; the 2026 governance dispute shows even a pro-rata treasury claim requires a contested DAO vote.

medium confidence

Evidence: [1] · [2] · [3]

Verified

❔ UNVERIFIED means not yet researched — not disproven. Rows marked “researched” were investigated and independent evidence was not found. Coverage expands as FORTUNA verifies. This dossier was researched 2026-09-15. Method: FORA-01 Asset Claim Verification Protocol.

❔ Frequently asked questions

What is GNO (GNO)?

GNO is the staking and governance token of the Gnosis ecosystem, anchored by Gnosis Chain, a stable-payments EVM layer-1.

What does the holder own?

GNO is the key token of the Gnosis ecosystem: it is staked on the Gnosis Beacon Chain to secure Gnosis Chain through block validation (earning staking rewards), and it is the governance token of GnosisDAO. Exchange disclosures and the official Gnosis Chain documentation agree on these two roles. It is a utility and governance token, not a claim on any asset.

What is GNO's verification status?

GNO (GNO) carries verification class A (Class A): every applicable FORA-01 question is VERIFIED — a full verification chain. What would change it: A status change would require new evidence — a status never changes from reinterpreting old evidence.

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