Ankr shifts to protocol to improve decentralization

Leading platform and Web3 infrastructure provider Ankr is restructuring as a protocol to further encourage local node deployments and improve load balancing within the networks it supports, Invezz learned from a press release.

Combating traffic congestion

Ankr’s traffic to blockchain node infrastructure providers has grown by 1,900% over the past year. While this has its pluses without a doubt, it has also led to congestion and even outages across a number of platforms.

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Ankr intends to adopt a Web3 ethos as a DAO architecture protocol. It will promote cost reduction, community ownership, rewards for self-sovereign infrastructure, and stronger geographic distribution to deal with stress-related issues.

Ankr projects low costs and high rewards

Ankr’s node hosting prices are three times lower than Alchemy’s and almost 20 times lower than Infura’s. The protocol projects high rewards for full node operators and low costs for users through its novel DAO governance and easy-to-use RPC management system.

With the shift to a protocol, they plan to improve reward incentives and transform the extremely centralized landscape, which is harming Web3 performance.

Josh Neuroth, Head of Product at Ankr commented:

Community ownership in decentralized networks should be a key component of Web3. At Ankr we’re building a protocol that provides and captures value, and then redistributes this value to the community. This is very different from the traditional way of building a business where the goal is to extract as much value as possible from their users.

Addressing Web3 vulnerability and redistributing value

Companies like Fireblocks and Alchemy have raised more than $500 million in venture capital this year. However, these centralized infrastructure providers do not encourage their communities to run nodes, which misaligns with Web3 principles.

They are subject to intense VC pressure to generate quick profits and rely on centralized cloud services, which tend to suffer from geo-specific latency issues and frequent outages. This leaves the Web3 economy and ecosystem vulnerable to attack, an issue Ankr aims to address.

Michael Kong, CEO of Fantom (FTM/USD) said:

Ankr is among the most innovative protocols, and a leader across DeFi and the larger Web 3.0 ecosystem. Not only does its node infrastructure deliver a more robust, distributed network, but it also allows for unique staking capabilities that benefit users globally. Fantom is proud to continue working alongside Ankr to drive greater Web3 adoption.

To run full blockchain nodes, Ankr partners with independent data centers all over the world, such as INAP and Maxihost. The protocol needs global distribution to respond to the huge demand. It processes more than a billion RPC requests every month from users worldwide.