After more than three years of offering developers, students, and academics free Ethereum mainnet archive node services, ArchiveNode.io announced on April 4 that it was “sunsetting” its services — stating the project was a success.
While we appreciate everyone’s support over the years, it’s time for ArchiveNode to hang it up and say gm for the last time.
This isn’t a sad ending, but a happy one – we just aren’t needed anymore, and are shutting down.
gm and gn. 🫡https://t.co/truuXmDgbT
— Archive Node (@ArchiveNode) April 3, 2023
The project creator “DeFi Dude” made the announcement, claiming that the project is being shut down because the service is no longer needed as there are now other alternatives that were not around when they got started. He remarked that the project is now obsolete due to the sophisticated remote procedure call (RPC) provider market that allows access to archived data.
He continued by saying that when the initiative began, there were no active Archive Nodes. Access to archived data could only be obtained by paying Ethereum infrastructure provider Infura $250 each month.
The project’s primary aim was to retrieve archive data for developers, students, and researchers who lacked the time, money, or resources needed to run their own archive node — and that it was never the project’s plan to profit off of it.
ArchiveNode.io gratefully acknowledged Ethereum Foundation’s contribution to the project’s launch in the form of an initial grant of $10,000 in Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits.
Users were able to access the whole Ethereum blockchain thanks in large part to the Archive Node service. With its termination, the Ethereum network reaches a critical milestone as its size has already surpassed 1 terabyte.
The demand for dependable infrastructure and services will only grow as the network expands and changes. Even if the Archive Node service’s shutdown may bring difficulties, it also gives other suppliers a chance to step up and propose groundbreaking solutions.
