Web3 has a cloud problem
Node counts, consensus mechanisms and client diversity are all topics heavily debated within the crypto space. Web3 prides itself on being decentralized and uncensorable.
Meanwhile, most of the Web3 infrastructure runs on AWS and Google Cloud, highly centralized companies. Recently we saw one of the first cloud induced victims when Solana got hit with a sudden decision from above.
Back in November 2022 cloud company Hetzner Online GmbH decided to turn off more than 1,000 Solana nodes overnight. Effectively taking 20% of Network State and 40% off Nodes offline.
“Although the network itself is decentralized, its service providers are definitely not.”
What is decentralized consensus worth if a handful of cloud companies can turn off most of the validators? How to get off of Web3’s cloud addiction?
Blockchains are computation heavy. Running your own node is the crypto ideal, but not feasible for most projects, let alone individual users.
Luckily cloud services are not our only option. There are crypto native companies like Liquify that focus instead on owning their own servers. This is where bare metal infra comes in.
What does bare metal mean?
Bare metal infrastructure involves using servers, physical hardware, to host an application or workload. Each node or validator is provided with a dedicated server, allowing for complete control over the hardware and specific configurations.
The more our favorite DApps and Chains choose bare metal Infrastructure-as-a-Service around the world, the more we are able to decentralize the backbone of crypto.
Bare metal offers several advantages, including improved performance due to direct access to hardware resources, full customization, higher levels of security, and predictable costs. It is therefore 40–80% cost-effective compared to cloud solutions such as AWS or Google Cloud!
Looking for trustworthy infrastructure?
Everyday more people are starting to realize that cloud hosting is not in the spirit of crypto. We at Liquify are at the forefront of this revolution, with certified bare metal servers spread out globally over 3 continents in 6 areas using custom-built geomeshing tools.
This allows us to be optimized for the lowest latency, highest throughput, guaranteed uptime of 99.95% (under SLA) and global datacenter locations.
We truly believe that the Web 3.0 industry can only reach decentralisation by limiting cloud infrastructure reliance and adding bare-metal providers with global coverage to secure networks — Andy Pohl (Liquify CEO)
Liquify supports over 50 blockchains. This ranges from archival node services to running validators and snapshots for Pokt Network, helping with analytics for the likes of THORchain, being the main RPC provider for DeFi Kingdoms and making sure for Venture Funds like TRGC that their stake is secured.
If your project is in need of any Web3 infrastructure related services like the above, feel free to reach out!
About Liquify
Founded in 2021, Liquify Ltd is a certified UK based Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) company servicing institutions and foundations. We have over $100M in staked assets and do more than 500M RPC requests per day.
In need of a reliable validator partner? Looking for an RPC provider that has guaranteed uptime? Contact us here.
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