Avalanche explorer SnowTrace to halt operations

• The team did not offer a detailed explanation for this move.
• Some suggest that the cost of using Etherscan’s EaaS toolkit could be a key factor.

SnowTrace, a well-known blockchain explorer tool catering to the Avalanche ecosystem, has announced its decision to shut down its website by 30 November.

The announcement made on 30 October explicitly stated that it was only the Etherscan-powered explorer service that will be discontinued.

The team did not offer a detailed explanation for this move. However, some industry observers have pointed fingers at the service fees associated with Etherscan’s Explorer-as-a-Service (EaaS) toolkit.

? 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

Users of SnowTrace have been advised to take immediate action by saving essential backup information before the impending shutdown.

This includes private name tags and contact verification details. Some suggest that the cost of using Etherscan’s EaaS toolkit could be a key factor behind this decision.

Mikko Ohtama, co-founder of Trading Strategy, raised concerns about the substantial annual subscription fees for EaaS. This fee can range from $1 million to $2 million.

He emphasized the need for decentralization in smart contract verification. Ohtama also expressed doubts that regulators and others would accept a scenario where critical verification processes are conducted by a private company based in Malaysia.

SnowTrace to move forward to “improved services”

Additionally, Phillip Liu Jr., the head of strategy and operations at Ava Labs, a prominent blockchain platform and technology provider, commented on the situation.

Liu clarified that the protocol behind SnowTrace is not ceasing its operations. Instead, it is pivoting toward something that offers improved services.

An update from Avalanche’s official X account announced that the Avascan explorer team would take over from the Etherscan-based block explorer.

The Avascan team will introduce a new version of the block explorer, featuring a comparable interface and extending support to all C-Chains and Subnets. A live demo of “Snowtrace.dev” is already accessible for testing.

The current version of Snowtrace by Etherscan is being sunset and replaced by a new version run by @AvascanExplorer.

Users will continue to enjoy a similar interface, URLs and APIs they're currently using, now supporting the C-Chain and all Subnets. A demo is already available…

— Avalanche ? (@avax) October 30, 2023