The Ethereum Archive Node service terminates, declaring success

Updated: 07 April 2023

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ArchiveNode.io, an Ethereum mainnet archive node service, announces its impending shutdown and claims the project was a success. 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.

After three years of offering archived Ethereum blockchain node data, ArchiveNode.io has shut down

An instance of an Ethereum client set up to create an archive of all previous states is known as a “Ethereum Archive Node.” When requesting historical blockchain data that is inaccessible on full nodes, this kind of node is a helpful resource.

While we are grateful for everyone’s support over the years, ArchiveNode must now put its hat in the ring and bid adieu. This is a bright conclusion rather than a depressing one because we are closing down because we are no longer required.

Moreover, Archive Nodes can theoretically be created from scratch because they are not required to take part in block validation; however, they do need substantially more storage space.

“DeFi Guy,” the project’s initiator, made the statement and said that it was being terminated because “we succeeded,” adding that “other solutions exist today that did not exist when we got started.” 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.

“Get archive data into the hands of developers, students, and researchers who wanted to make awesome shit, but didn’t have the time, money, or resources available to host their own archive node,” was the project’s stated purpose. He said it was never intended for the effort to “earn money or profit.”

He continued by saying that the idea is now obsolete due to the competitive remote procedure call (RPC) provider market that provides access to archived data.

The Ethereum Foundation received a $10,000 gift in the form of Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits to launch the initiative, which ArchiveNode.io gratefully acknowledged. There are less than three centralized cloud service companies are responsible for more than two-thirds of all Ethereum nodes. According to information available at the time, AWS was used to host more than half of all nodes.

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