Project Stage
Category
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Team size
Active since
Horizon-as-a-Service as a project is the beginning, we are looking to build a development platform for Stellar like we see with Alchemy and Infura. Our initial focus is on providing production ready infrastructure API endpoints for Horizon API servers and Soroban RPC nodes, as well as managed instances.
We want to make sure we provide a platform that is reliable and developer friendly.
One problem that we are looking to solve is that teams may not want to run their own infrastructure. So we are available to run and manage that for them. Another problem is that other solutions may be cost prohibitive, so we want to provide an affordable option that is more accessible.
Progress
Since our first submission, the majority of our progress has been around research and testing in the following areas:
Modifications
What's next
What are we trying to deliver for SCF#12? v0
The goal is to have everything in place for users to be able to sign up and receive services from the site. A developer should be able to put in their information and get access to a Horizon instance on all networks or a Soroban RPC node on futurenet. Each deliverable is setting the foundation for the next one after that.
Revenue Model and Funding
Revenue model is based around Usage Based Pricing, this allows users to pay for only what they consume. Continued funding will be based on revenue generated from services. The instances and nodes available will be based on their type: Shared or Dedicated. While examining a lot of the other competition's pricing structure you fall into a couple different camps around Usage Based Pricing: per API call or time used. For Shared instances, we will base the usage on the number of API calls. For Dedicated instances, we will base pricing on hours in use.
Sample Pricing
Shared - Price per API call - $0.0007
Dedicated - Developer level - Price per hour $0.093
This information will need to be captured with the Data and Billing infrastructure that will handle the metering and event storage
Growth
There are fewer developer platforms aimed at Stellar vs other blockchains, this presents an opportunity to build beyond just API access and Nodes. Services like Automated Notifications, Custom Event Streaming or even an Access Marketplace are just a few services that would benefit developers. These other services will also provide additional revenue streams.
KPIs
Our primary metric is Monthly Recurring Revenue, which also allows us to calculate our Burn Rate, Runway and Growth Rate. Our secondary metrics are Retention and Revenue Churn.
Keeping this project going means a heavy focus needs to be made around community engagement and a product in hand to onboard paying customers.
Market & Industry Research
Competition
Why are we better?
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Marketing and Sales
First customers are developers focused on Stellar, so that means focusing on where they are and creating content they can use. These are the channels we want to focus on right now:
Immediate Challenges Ahead
The API Prototype is the first deliverable and the foundation
Steps for completion:
The first deliverable will be made available online, as well as the accompanying documentation.
Mock Server (Best used with Postman or API docs)
I've included the relevant repos and documentation. The Platform API documentation is currently pointed at a mock server running a version of the OpenAPI spec. There is also a Postman workspace. The Horizon API is taken from the OpenAPI spec used in the Stellar Docs this points to a Quickstart version of futurenet. The Dashboard PoC has not been released as of yet.
As I was going through the process and going through some of the questions on Discord I realized this process could be even simpler. For a shared instance we want to reduce the friction even more. Ask for the minimal amount of information and provide the endpoint needed. This current version of the api doesn't showcase that.
The resources are hosted in Digitalocean on a Hashicorp Nomad cluster. The PoC versions running futurenet use the quickstart versions of our Nomad pack.
The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on December 5, 2022 as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on July 5th as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
**The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on December 16, 2021 as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
*The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on September 27, 2021 as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
* The USD valuation of the award in XLM is calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on the date of transfer as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR)
*This budget request has not been fully awarded to the project. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*This budget request has been awarded to the project in XLM. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*This budget request has not been fully awarded to the project. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*This budget request has not been fully awarded to the project. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.
*This budget request has not been fully awarded to the project. The USD valuation of the budget request in XLM will be calculated using the CF Stellar Lumens-Dollar Settlement Price on day of payment as administered, maintained, and reported by the cryptocurrency index provider CF Benchmarks Ltd. (using the ticker “XLMUSD_RR”) (available at https://www.cfbenchmarks.com/indices/XLMUSD_RR). Learn more in the SCF Handbook.