Exciting News! SoonLabs and Soonaverse Shift to Open Source: What This Means for You
Transitioning to a New Chapter for Soonaverse
By the close of July 2024, SoonLabs will cease its operations. The decision, driven by financial limitations, affects the ability to sustain the Soonaverse platform and its associated overheads.
Sustaining Innovation Beyond Closure
The innovation behind Soonaverse extends beyond the platform itself. It is essential to acknowledge the broader initiative to transition to a fully open-sourced framework. For more insight into this significant shift, we invite you to explore our detailed release on this evolution here: Open Source Initiative Announcement.
Though Soonaverse has been a non-revenue generating endeavor, its underlying technology has been crucial. To date, all operational expenses have been borne solely by SoonLabs. These include the integration and maintenance fees of various APIs that the platform relies on. With SoonLabs winding down, a new team is anticipated to take over, tasked with crafting a viable operational and business strategy to ensure the project’s longevity.
Envisioning Future Operations
Establishing a New Governance Framework
To facilitate this transition effectively, the establishment of a new legal structure is imperative. This entity will need to manage all regulatory and operational costs in the chosen jurisdiction.
Financial Outlook and Requirements
Monthly operational costs currently involve:
- Google Cloud: $2,500
- IOTA Nodes on Hetzner: $800
- Cloudflare: $275
- Algolia: $650
Community Involvement and Transition
The responsibility of funding the Soonaverse infrastructure will shift to a community-based team committed to the platform’s success. This team must be a reliable entity known for its integrity and operational excellence. Active discussions are ongoing to identify such a team. Nonetheless, if a suitable group isn’t found within the next 30 days, the Soonaverse will unfortunately have to shut down.
Security of Digital Assets
All non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital assets that have been created on the L1 Shimmer and IOTA networks remain secure. For those holding unminted digital assets within the Soonaverse, we recommend minting them on L1 to ensure their preservation.
Ongoing Endeavors and Community Engagement
Our involvement in Buildcore operations and the broader /justbuild community will persist unaffected. This announcement pertains only to the Soonaverse application. We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing support and are excited about future opportunities to innovate and collaborate.
As we navigate through these changes, our commitment to our community and the broader ecosystem remains steadfast. Together, we will continue to explore and harness new possibilities in this dynamic environment.
