Dialogue with Infura Co-founder: Why We Plan to Launch a Decentralized Protocol in 2023

Author: SHL, PANews

Infura is an important interface for Ethereum network APIs, allowing developers to access Ethereum with one click. Infura and MetaMask were both launched by the Ethereum infrastructure company ConsenSys. Since its development in 2016, Infura has become a pillar of the core infrastructure for Ethereum and IPFS.

At the same time, Infura is also the first synchronized node service provider for the Ethereum network's upgrade from PoW to PoS. After the Ethereum upgrade, Infura continues to maintain the stability and security of the Ethereum network interface. In addition to the Ethereum network, Infura is also actively deploying interfaces for other networks. On September 21, Infura announced the launch of support for the StarkNet network API, further enriching Infura's ecosystem and laying a solid foundation for the realization of a decentralized Web3.

Recently, Infura announced the upcoming launch of a Decentralized Infrastructure Network, which will allow developers to link dApps and the Ethereum network more easily based on this decentralized protocol. The emergence of the decentralized protocol is expected to address the previous centralization issues of Infura's products, marking an important step towards achieving decentralization. As a result, the decentralized protocol has garnered significant attention from developers and the community, sparking discussions within the industry about Infura.

In light of Infura's recent adjustments and upgrades, PANews interviewed Infura's co-founder E.G. Galano to gain deeper insights into Infura's underlying strategies and thoughts. E.G. Galano was previously the director of the Los Angeles hotel software startup KEYPR and an early employee of the cloud gaming company Gaikai, which was acquired by Sony in 2012. He is now the co-founder and chief infrastructure development engineer at Infura.

In this interview, E.G. Galano revealed that Infura currently has over 400,000 registered developers, with 99.99% uptime, handling over 8.5 billion blockchain network requests daily. He also detailed the reasons for launching the decentralized infrastructure network and why a decentralized network is an important complement to Infura, although centralized services will continue to be provided. When asked about the possibility of a community incentive program, E.G. Galano stated that there is currently no airdrop plan, but any methods that benefit data growth and increase protocol usage will be considered.

Here are the highlights from this interview:

PANews: Although Infura and MetaMask are both operated by ConsenSys, unlike MetaMask which targets end users, Infura primarily serves developers, making it relatively unfamiliar to many Web3 users. Could you briefly introduce Infura and its main products?

E.G. Galano: Infura provides developers with instant, scalable access to Web3 tools and infrastructure. The technology of Ethereum and other blockchain protocols differs from our current Web2 internet. Accessing the Ethereum network does not require a "www" URL, unlike logging into Facebook which requires visiting facebook.com. In fact, most public chains, including the Ethereum network, have built an API application programming interface that helps programmers query and record data on-chain. However, implementing data interaction and storage on these APIs can be time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly. Infura solves this problem by providing access points for Ethereum APIs.

Infura's unique advantage lies in offering foundational infrastructure to developers, allowing them to develop any application on Ethereum without needing to run backend infrastructure. Additionally, beyond providing on-chain API services, Infura can also offer distributed storage through IPFS API, meeting developers' needs for transaction management, GAS processing, NFT API, and more.

PANews: At the recent EthBerlin hackers event, Infura announced that it will launch a Decentralized Infrastructure Network in the first half of 2023. Can you elaborate on the specific products that will achieve decentralization in the upcoming decentralized infrastructure network? How will they achieve decentralization?

E.G. Galano: The Decentralized Infrastructure Network will address the shortcomings of existing Infura products, providing users with more choices to build corresponding applications. The network will focus on decentralizing lower-level infrastructure layers to enable greater interoperability among operators serving these types of network requests.

Infura's goal is to gradually decentralize and lower the high barriers to entry into the ecosystem, initially prioritizing the user level. The Infura ecosystem is ready, and we have more quality infrastructure providers. We believe it is time to fulfill the promise of Web3, allowing users to choose decentralized services with 100% uptime and no single points of failure.

Infura's centralized services will never disappear, but we are providing developers with more options to help them achieve their building goals. At the same time, the entire Infura ecosystem will also be strengthened. If the Decentralized Infrastructure Network is successful, it will mean that Infura has fulfilled its commitment to decentralization, openness, and standards, and it will enhance the interoperability of the ecosystem. Of course, we won't do this alone; we will call on more infrastructure operators to join the early access program to help us build the test network and protocol.

PANews: We understand that Infura was initially free, but starting in July 2019, Infura upgraded its free products and began charging for certain services. Current service prices range from $50 to $1000. With the continuous maturation of Infura's products, will there be further adjustments regarding fees? Will Infura consider using a token for charging in the future?

E.G. Galano: We are committed to a user growth and access strategy centered on technology, providing optimal support for developers at different stages. Our core layer provides everything developers need to get started, and these are completely free.

Our paid plans will refine service content, such as allowing increased daily usage, customizing service levels, and enhancing customer support and response times. Infura is built for developers, and our goal is to make their work easier and achieve exponential improvements in work efficiency.

PANews: On September 15, ETH underwent a comprehensive upgrade, transitioning from PoW to PoS. As an important API interface for ETH, what impact does this upgrade have on Infura? What adjustments have been made accordingly?

E.G. Galano: Infura prepared detailed documentation for developers before the merge, holding weekly seminars related to The Merge to synchronize the knowledge base for developers and ensure everything went smoothly during the merge.

From the perspective of Dapps, they should not notice the occurrence of the merge; we mainly ensure that stakers run their own nodes. Additionally, we provided a new API suite for the beacon chain to ensure the network operates normally before and after the merge.

After the Ethereum merge, Infura's Ethereum API continues to operate smoothly as it did before the merge. We are constantly working to ensure that Infura's Ethereum API remains the optimal choice for developers building and expanding Dapps on the Ethereum network. Furthermore, Infura was also one of the first synchronized node service providers ready for the Ethereum network upgrade.

PANews: Infura is the most commonly used tool for Ethereum developers, and network stability is crucial. What optimization measures does Infura have in place for downtime? What should developers pay attention to when using Infura?

E.G. Galano: Downtime is very rare; the motivation behind Infura's Decentralized Infrastructure Network is to allow all node providers to work together and strive for 100% uptime.

Since its inception, Infura has maintained 99.99% uptime. This is due to our robust infrastructure and strategies to minimize the likelihood of downtime. We also distribute nodes across various regions of the Ethereum network to reduce any unforeseen risks.

At the same time, we provide developers with a wealth of documentation and resources to optimize operational techniques, minimizing downtime as much as possible.

PANews: Can you further share how many cooperative clients and developers are currently using Infura? Are there any representative collaborative projects you can share?

E.G. Galano: Infura was officially launched at the DevCon2 conference in 2016, and our mission is to make it easier for developers to build Web3. As of now, Infura has over 400,000 registered developers, with 99.99% uptime, processing over 8.5 billion blockchain network requests daily. In 2021, the amount of ETH traded through Infura APIs exceeded 26,300.

Infura's node infrastructure supports several leading projects, and our partners include Coinbase, Compound Protocol, and MakerDAO. You can read our case studies to learn how well-known projects, including Aragon DAO, Uniswap, and PoolTogether, use Infura to optimize their blockchain infrastructure.

PANews Note: For example, the Uniswap team created two different linking methods for their application: one using Infura's wallet and the other linking to any user's wallet. Uniswap can query relevant information using Infura when the user has not yet connected their wallet or is not connected to the client, primarily achieved by creating another provider root for the web3-react library. First, Infura is paired with web3-react, and then the web3-react framework can directly connect to Infura to extract useful information for Uniswap, thereby obtaining token exchange rates, token balances, and other related data.

PANews: Currently, there are many infrastructure service providers in the Web3 field. In your opinion, what is the key to Infura's success?

E.G. Galano: Infura's biggest highlight is its ability to provide optimal performance and network reliability. Infura is firmly committed to network reliability, scalability, multi-chain support, and security.

Developers building Dapps on Infura rely on network reliability; our architecture has been tested and can provide excellent uptime, with response times ten times faster than other nodes. Our Web3 API suite enables developers to connect to over nine blockchains, and we are continuously increasing support for new chains.

In addition to blockchain APIs, Infura also offers decentralized storage through various features and products for developers. Building Dapps on Infura means you can access ConsenSys's product suite, which includes several industry-leading tools like Truffle and MetaMask.

As a crypto-native company, Infura has extensive experience in successfully helping developers build, launch, and manage Web3 applications, and we will continue to focus on this core mission.

PANews: Can you share the roadmap for the Decentralized Infrastructure Network? What can we look forward to?

E.G. Galano: The vision for the Decentralized Infrastructure Ecosystem is a decentralized and robust network of infrastructure providers capable of serving blockchain APIs with high throughput and performance, without single points of failure. This ensures that global users can seamlessly access the information and services they need without interruptions and downtime caused by single points of failure.

We are currently in the research and design phase and are actively recruiting protocol engineers and network participants to join the early access program. The expected launch date for the Decentralized Infrastructure Ecosystem is in 2023, but the specific timing is yet to be determined.

PANews: Regarding the launch of the Decentralized Infrastructure Network, what opportunities are there for ordinary users to participate? Will there be an airdrop plan?

E.G. Galano: There are certain barriers to using blockchain; whether or not there is Infura, browsing the blockchain network requires expertise in the field of Web3 infrastructure providers.

We believe that anyone with passion and patience for blockchain can learn how to use it. At Infura, we can provide a full set of resources to help you get started. However, currently, most decentralized infrastructure networks are only open to existing Web3 infrastructure providers, but we want to facilitate the next trend in blockchain infrastructure, which is a network owned and operated by the community.

We are currently in the research and design phase, and there is no airdrop plan at this stage, but any methods that benefit our users, promote data growth, and increase protocol usage will be considered.