BlockBeats reported on October 30th that the main interface of Avalanche blockchain browser Snowtrace will be discontinued at 8:00 on November 30th Beijing time, as shown. Users need to download private name tags and contract verification before the discontinuation date.

During this period, many people in both the community and group chats expressed confusion about this decision. There was no official announcement or statement from the project leader. The founder of The Individuals in the NFT community, @sw4g_ct, said, "I don't know how many months in advance Snowtrace should have officially announced this decision, but it shouldn't have been a 30-day notice because there are thousands of developers and users using it in their dApps. If you want to replace something, there should be a smooth transition. This is not the usual way of handling communication."

Later on the evening of the 30th, Avalanche officials announced that "the current version of Avalanche blockchain explorer Snowtrace on Etherscan is being phased out and replaced by a new version run by Avascan. Users will continue to enjoy the similar interface, URL, and API they are currently using, now supporting C chains and all subnets. The Snowtrace.io domain will remain valid and will fully transition to Avascan on November 30th without any service interruptions."

Ava Labs DeFi leader Luigi D'Onorio DeMeo posted on social media stating that Avascan also supports subnets under the same Snowtrace domain. He also mentioned that in addition to Avascan, other browsers on Avalanche can be used, such as "subnets.avax.network".

That is to say, in the future, Avalanche's official blockchain explorer will be Snowtrace, developed and operated by RouteScan. The previous browser, Snowtrace, with the domain name "snowtrace.io", will be replaced by the new domain name "snowtrace.dev".

Snowtrace replaced the original Avalanche browser C-Chain Explorer in November 2021 and is touted as a browser customized for the Avalanche blockchain to compete with Etherscan. The product's operations team is also supported by Etherscan's browser-as-a-service (EaaS) toolkit.

Two years have passed, why did Avalanche choose to stop using Snowtrace developed and operated by the Etherscan team at this time?

费用太高还是不愿意付款，为何要关停 Snowtrace？

"Why shut down Snowtrace if the cost is too high or if people are unwilling to pay?"

Before discussing the reasons for changing browsers, let's first talk about why blockchain browsers are important?

Blockchain browsers have now become a necessity for all early-stage public chains. Public chains need to provide necessary support to the top blockchain browsers in their ecosystem. Developers with blockchain infrastructure capabilities can gain a foothold in the ecosystem by providing underlying infrastructure to different public chains. Within the public chain ecosystem, there can also be different browser tools competing in infrastructure to ensure maximum data transparency.

In addition, a blockchain browser that belongs to the public chain itself can also provide users with the most suitable services in terms of UI interface, cross-chain interoperability, community and ecosystem construction. A customized and fully functional blockchain browser helps to establish a strong community and ecosystem, as it provides a platform for users, developers, and other stakeholders to interact, share information, and collaborate.

Regarding the deactivation of Snowtrace on Avalanche, although the official reason for closing the browser has not been explicitly stated, there have been speculations about the fees for Etherscan's EaaS service.

TradingStrategy founder Mikko Ohtamaa commented that Etherscan requires an annual service fee of 1-2 million US dollars. Ohtamaa stated that "EtherScan is a very good product, but smart contract verification needs to be decentralized. Regulators and others will not strictly ask 'how do you check this?' 'The source code is hosted by a private company in Malaysia.'"

Ava Labs' strategic and operational director, Philip Liu Jr., stated that the protocol has not ceased operations, but is transitioning to a more suitable solution. "Etherscan's EaaS service provides a paid blockchain explorer and application programming interface (API) solution for the blockchain. Due to factors such as the non-renewal of the EaaS service agreement, limited bandwidth, or insufficient traffic, the blockchain explorer may stop running."

Hubbleverse DAO member @Dorlanz0x holds a positive attitude towards this shutdown event, believing that despite many dramatic speculations, "Snowtrace.dev" is more suitable for Avalanche's ecosystem. "The key is that Avalanche will not only be a C chain, we need a browser that includes subnets."

Avalanche Subnet is a part of the Avalanche ecosystem, connected to the core Avalanche mainnet (which includes 3 blockchains). However, dApps on the subnet run on their own independent network and do not share an L1 network with other dApps. In Avalanche's official announcement, it is also mentioned that "Avascan now supports the C-Chain and all subnets".

In addition, Stars Arena, a friend.tech simulation project highly recommended by Ava Labs co-founder Emin Gun Sirer, has also been involved in this shutdown event.

Encryption KOL @basedkarbon said "This requires more funding than Stars Arena, and each chain needs a well-functioning block explorer. Snowtrace is the best browser for avax. It's crazy to see snowtrace gradually disappear when Stars Arena gets funding. I hope this can be resolved and Snowtrace can get the funding they need."

Additionally, the encryption lawyer @ImmutableLawyer states, "I don't understand how Avalanche stakeholders can quickly fund (in what appears to be an overnight fashion) fashion-driven projects like Stars Arena, but let critical parts of the ecosystem infrastructure remain paralyzed. It seems to me that there is a lack of long-term vision."

Although opinions are divided on the replacement of the official browser, the shutdown of Snowtrace reflects the continuous development and increasing decentralization of the blockchain and encryption fields. Undoubtedly, this is a big step forward for community tools.

Etherscan Monopolizes Browser Business? "Selling Shovels" Business is Profitable

Blockchain explorer has always been one of the most fundamental infrastructures in the encryption industry, and among them, the application of Etherscan is the most widely used, with at least 80 million visits per month.

Etherscan does not have tokens. Although it is at the core of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, Etherscan is considered more like a "traditional SaaS business" and not a fully native blockchain application. It simply provides users with tools to better understand blockchain transactions.

Related reading: "Unveiling the Profit Path of Blockchain Explorers Using Etherscan as an Example."

"Like many other software companies, Etherscan creates revenue by providing services. Although Etherscan also offers some B2B products, it is primarily a B2C business. However, advertising has become an important factor in Etherscan's revenue generation."

除了因高浏览量而形成的广告业务，Etherscan 还提供 B2B 的 SaaS 服务，例如构建区块浏览器即服务（官方称之为 EaaS）以及 Etherscan 提供 API 计划以访问其数据，价格从免费到每月 399 美元不等，并有未公开的企业定价。

Except for the advertising business formed due to high traffic, Etherscan also provides B2B SaaS services, such as building block explorer as a service (officially known as EaaS) and Etherscan's API plan to access its data. The prices range from free to $399 per month, with undisclosed enterprise pricing.

Avalanche co-founder Kevin Sekniqi stated that "Etherscan is a great product, but it has an unreasonable monopoly on EVM block explorers. If there is competition, the product can be greatly improved."

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