Gnosis (GNO) was built on the Ethereum blockchain as an [ERC-20](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/erc-20) token. Consequently, the whole network is secured by Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake ([PoS](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/proof-of-stake-pos)) consensus mechanism. The Gnosis platform has a series of [smart contracts](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/smart-contract) that are deployed on Ethereum and are frequently audited. On top of that, the platform’s multi-sig protocol - Gnosis Safe - acts as an additional security layer.

GNO is the native cryptocurrency of the Gnosis ecosystem. It's used to operate and govern the platform. Gnosis (GNO) has a total maximum supply of 3,000,000 coins. At the time of writing, the circulating supply is 2,589,588 $GNO. GNO owners are given access to the GnosisDAO platform, where they can express their opinion on protocol changes, influence the project development vector, participate in the prediction market and receive rewards.

Gnosis has incubated Gnosis Safe (multisig and programmable account), Cow Protocol (formerly CowSwap and Gnosis Protocol), Conditional Tokens (prediction markets), Gnosis Auction, and Zodiac (standard and tooling for composable DAOs). Their success can be attributed to the recent spin-out of Cow Protocol and the formation of SafeDAO and Safe TOken. By combining needs-driven development with deep technical expertise, Gnosis has built the decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem. The CoW (Confidence of Wants) protocol is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that distinguishes itself by utilizing a different method for matching and performing transactions. Instead of depending on liquidity provided by users within an automated market maker system, the CoW Protocol matches buyers and sellers using multi-token batch auctions, and executes trades at the most advantageous price currently available. Safe is a customizable multisig wallet on Ethereum, requiring a pre-fixed number of signatures before a transaction can be executed. It is governed by SafeDAO, a decentralized group of backers, users and contributors. Gnosis Chain is the associated execution-layer EVM chain for stable transactions. It uses the xDai stablecoin for transactions and fees. It is secured by the Gnosis Beacon Chain (GBC) consensus layer, which uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.

Gnosis was launched under ConsenSys Inc., an Ethereum-focused software company, back in 2015. Two years later, in 2017, the project won funding and became independent. It launched its native GNO token in April the same year. The core team is led by Martin Köppelmann (CEO and co-founder), Stefan George (CTO and co-founder) and Dr. Friederike Ernst (COO). Gnosis CEO Martin Köppelmann is a serial entrepreneur and recognizable figure in the blockchain space. He has an IT systems engineering degree from the Hasso Plattner Institute, and helped research the economic incentive structure of various consensus mechanisms and scalability solutions. Gnosis CTO and co-founder Stefan George is a software developer with a bachelor's degree in systems engineering from the University of Potsdam and a master's degree from the Hasso Plattner Institute. He became interested in the crypto industry back in 2013, when he served as a research intern at Sap labs. He went on to found fairlay.com (a centralized Bitcoin prediction market) and work for some Berlin-based startups. Like Köppelmann, he also helped develop various technology companies in Silicon Valley.

Gnosis (GNO) builds decentralized infrastructure on [Ethereum](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/). Its mission has always been centered on experimentation and building decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem. When Gnosis was founded in 2015, it focused on building prediction markets to enable worldwide access to accurate information. While creating the prediction market platform, it became clear that Gnosis needed to build the infrastructure required to support it. Gnosis Safe, for example, was born of necessity. Gnosis operates as a [decentralized autonomous organization](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/decentralized-autonomous-organizations-dao) (DAO) which provides infrastructure for various types of decentralized applications ([dApps](https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/glossary/decentralized-applications-dapps)), and builds products to transparently guide decisions on the development, support and governance of its ecosystem. In November 2021, both the [xDAI](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/xdaistable/) and GnosisDAO community voted to combine their vibrant ecosystems to create the Gnosis Chain: An Ethereum forerunner-companion that addresses scaling issues through solid engineering.