- SnowTrace, a popular blockchain explorer tool for Avalanche, will shut down its website on Nov. 30
- The shutdown will only affect its Etherscan-powered explorer
- Users are required to save their backup information before Nov. 30
- Etherscan’s service fees for its Explorer-as-a-Service (EaaS) toolkit is believed to be the reason behind the shutdown
- An annual subscription to EaaS can cost between $1 million and $2 million per year
- The SnowTrace team did not explicitly state the reason for the shutdown
- Mikko Ohtama, co-founder of Trading Strategy, argues that smart contract verification needs to be decentralized
- Phillip Liu Jr., head of strategy and operations at Ava Labs, clarified that the protocol is “moving onto something better” and is not ceasing operations
- Etherscan’s EaaS service provides blockchains with a block explorer and application programming interface (API) solution
- A block explorer may be discontinued due to non-renewal of an EaaS service agreement, insufficient bandwidth, or limited traffic
- Users are recommended to save their data before the shutdown
“EtherScan is a very good product, but smart contract verification is something that needs to be decentralized. Regulators and others are not going to be kosher with ‘how do you check this?’ ‘the source code is hosted by a private company in Malaysia.’” – Mikko Ohtama
The instance of Snowtrace by @etherscan will be discontinued on 30th November (00:00 UTC) – Snowtrace.io (@SnowTraceHQ) October 30, 2023
