Snowtrace, Avalanche’s (AVAX) main blockchain explorer, is set to close its doors shortly, to be replaced by a new tool integrating the ecosystem’s subnetworks. Is the cost of operating Etherscan’s technology one of the reasons behind this decision?
Avalanche: Snowtrace will close its doors to make way for a new blockchain explorer
After 2 years in business, Snowtrace, the blockchain explorer for Avalanche’s C-chain (AVAX), announced on Monday that it would be closing its doors, effective November 30:
The instance of Snowtrace by @etherscan will be discontinued on 30th November (00:00 UTC)
Thank you @avax and the community for the last 2 years of support and we wish you the best moving forward pic.twitter.com/WdBOzIWOz9
– Snowtrace.io (@SnowTraceHQ) October 30, 2023
In reality, this will mean replacing the explorer, which is currently powered by Etherescan technology, with a new tool. Avalanche has confirmed that an independent version of its explorer is under construction, integrating the sub-networks of its ecosystem :
” The current version of Snowtrace by Etherscan is being phased out and will be replaced by a new version managed by Avascan Explorer. Users will continue to benefit from an interface, URL and API similar to the one they currently use, now supporting the C-chain and all subnets. A demo is already available on Snowtrace.dev. The Snowtrace.io domain will still be active and will be fully transitioned to Avascan on November 30 with no service interruption. “
For his part, Phillip Liu Jr. director of strategy at Ava Labs, said the features of this new blockchain explorer would make it a cross between DeBank and Etherscan.
If the reasons for discontinuing Etherscan’s Explorer-as-a-Service (EaaS) have not been disclosed, one of them could be its cost. Indeed, Mikko Ohtamaa, co-founder of Trading Strategy, says the service would cost $1-2 million a year:
For the reference, EtherScan is asking $1 – $2m/year for the service https://t.co/miYfUHrUSk
– Mikko Ohtamaa (@moo9000) October 30, 2023
In any case, Snowtrace encourages its users to make backups of the information they wish to keep before closing its services. This includes, for example, the “Private Name Tags” that can be assigned to an address, or smart contract verification details.
