SKALE block explorers migrate to the latest Blockscout version

Every chain needs a dedicated explorer, and SKALE has leveraged Blockscout since the beginning to provide a fast, open-source explorer for more than 20 chains within their growing network. Over the past several months they’ve been busy upgrading all of their Blockscout instances to the latest versions, providing additional speed and optimization for their chains, along with an improved UI and new features for users.

We caught up with the SKALE team to learn more about their recent developments, their experience with migrating multiple Blockscout instances, and what the future holds for the SKALE network.

Hi guys, it’s great to connect! You were one of the early adopters of Blockscout and we’re happy you’ve been able to use the open-source version so effectively with your chains. Can you give us a quick overview of SKALE - maybe a brief how it started / how’s it going version of the SKALE network?

Absolutely, it's great to connect as well! SKALE started with a mission to enhance the scalability and performance of blockchain networks while ensuring costs remain low. SKALE is a fully decentralized Ethereum-compatible network that is optimized for running high-throughput, low-latency AppChains without gas fees. From our early days to now, our vision has been consistently centered on enabling developers to build powerful dApps that aren't hindered by scalability or cost, and creating an invisible Web3 experience for users.

What are you building right now that you’re most excited about, that you feel has the chance to either bring in the most users or bring the biggest transformation to the space?

We are incredibly excited about the AI and gaming projects currently being developed on the SKALE network. We are seeing a surge in innovative applications that leverage artificial intelligence to create more immersive and interactive gaming experiences. These projects are not only pushing the boundaries of traditional gaming but are also pioneering new ways of integrating AI technologies for enhanced gameplay, real-time decision making, and personalized player interactions.

Furthermore, these advancements are powered by SKALE’s high-throughput, low-latency capabilities, enabling developers to build complex AI algorithms without the usual cost barriers. This combination is set to attract a diverse audience—from hardcore gamers to AI enthusiasts—significantly expanding our user base and transforming how gaming and AI intersect in the blockchain space.

We encourage you to explore the full ecosystem of dApps on SKALE here.

We read that you saved users almost 1.8 Billion in gas fees in March alone - that’s incredible! Can you dig a little more into that number, does it mean that if the same transactions were performed on Ethereum they would have cost users 1.8 Billion dollars? 

Yes, that's correct! The $1.8 billion figure represents the cost of gas fees users would have faced if those transactions were executed on the Ethereum mainnet. Thanks to SKALE's zero gas fee architecture, gas fees are eliminated, making blockchain operations more accessible and economically feasible for a broader range of applications and users. You can see more of SKALE’s gas savings and other on-chain metrics on the SKALE stats page or the SKALE Dune Dashboard. 

Getting to your Blockscout migration, we wanted to learn more about the process, and also any pointers you might be able to give others migrating from older versions to the new version. First off, we wanted to ask a little about why you chose Blockscout as your primary explorer. Were there certain features that drew you to Blockscout over other explorers you may have chosen?

We chose Blockscout as our primary explorer primarily because it is an open source project that receives frequent updates. Additionally, its Elixir indexer is capable of fetching large amounts of information, which was a significant advantage. We also found the setup and configuration process to be straightforward and easy to understand. The quality of the documentation, particularly the environment variables description document, further influenced our decision to go with Blockscout over other options.

When you decided to migrate to the latest version of Blockscout, what were the first steps? Were you able to use the Docker containers to start the process, or did you go about it manually?

Our first steps were to pull the latest version of BlockScout, set up the needed environments, and try to run Docker Compose. If something was not working, we checked the error logs and tried to resolve the issue. There were some minor issues related to environment setup, but thanks to the BlockScout core team, these were quickly fixed. Also, in the beginning, we tried to run containers on macOS but faced a bug related to Postgres that we couldn't end up fixing. After spending a couple of days trying to fix it with no success, we decided to continue the work on a Linux machine, which worked fine.

Were there some customizations or updates that were more difficult than you anticipated? How did you work these out?

The biggest problem that we had was related with nginx setup and https connection. On mainnet we have a setup of 3 nodes with blockscout integrations for different chains. To host all of them and handle requests we are using a dedicated nginx proxy that redirects requests between these 3 instances. In the previous version we were just running blockscout on the instance on a specific port and passing this port and instance ip to nginx proxy. In the new version this architecture was not working for us and we had to change blockscout nginx configs and set up domain names and certificates on these 3 nodes to being able to connect to blockscout proxies.

Now that you have the latest version, we hope that new chains will be able to easily deploy and use Blockscout for their various use cases. What are the biggest use cases you anticipate for the SKALE network in the future?

With the latest updates to the SKALE network, we're excited about our continued expansion into AI, gaming, and enterprise applications. AI integration will enhance intelligent operations on the blockchain, while our gaming capabilities support high transaction volumes and low-latency interactions for immersive experiences. For enterprises, SKALE will enable robust applications in supply chain management, data security, and financial services, benefiting from our scalable and secure infrastructure. All of these use cases require high transaction volume at low cost and SKALE’s zero gas fee architecture provides a solution. These areas are poised for significant growth and transformation within the blockchain ecosystem.

Thanks so much guys! We appreciate your dedication to open-source software and for choosing Blockscout as your network explorer. We hope other projects using the older versions follow in your footsteps and make the move to migrate to the latest version. We look forward to seeing what’s next for SKALE and how Blockscout can continue to support you and your evolving network of performant chains!

About SKALE

SKALE is the world's fastest blockchain, designed for fast, secure, user-centric Ethereum scaling. SKALE AppChains offer zero gas fees to end-users and have advanced features such as AI/ML smart contracts, on-chain file storage, interchain messaging, zero-cost minting, and enhanced security features.

The SKALE Network enables developers to deploy their own EVM blockchain in minutes without sacrificing speed, security, or decentralization. Learn more at skale.space

About Blockscout

Blockscout is an open-source block explorer available for all EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) based chains. Live on nearly 1,000 networks, Blockscout features a robust interface for searching blocks, transactions, accounts, and tokens, and provides tooling for developers including APIs and smart contract verification. The new DAppscout marketplace built into Blockscout provides a secure environment for decentralized app discovery, exploration, and interaction.