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[Invoice] Subscan Explorer - Kusama 2025 Q3-Q4 SaaS Infrastructure Settlement

inTreasurer
23 days ago
Executed

View Proposal Detail:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1baZdRrWHzMVfgPjItV7TTaPmRYusg8oB1B5r9qvkUbs/edit?tab=t.plgygtrmtmif#heading=h.ne48v3qj5vsm

Executive Summary

Subscan is the leading high-precision Web3 explorer and essential data infrastructure for the Polkadot, Kusama, and Substrate-based ecosystems. It provides a comprehensive, user-friendly interface for ecosystem participants to track extrinsics, events, transfers, and governance activities. Beyond a visual block explorer, Subscan serves as a critical developer tool, offering the free API plan that powers numerous wallets, DApps, and analytics platforms across the network.

We understand that reviewing comprehensive treasury proposals can be time-consuming. To ensure complete transparency and provide a clear guide for OpenGov voters, we have summarized the entire proposal into the table below.

Settlement Summary Table

Settlement Item & PeriodAmount RequestedScope & Delivered ValueKey Changes vs. Previous Ref #641
1. Q3 SaaS Infrastructure

(Jul 1 - Sep 30, 2025)
$70,812
($23,604 / mo)
Network: Kusama + 4 System Parachains

Scope: Enterprise Cloud DBs, 24/7 DevOps, Bandwidth.

Result: >99.5% SLA uptime delivered.
Removed 2026 Fees: All forward-looking 2026 estimates were removed to focus strictly on H2 2025 settlements.
2. Q4 SaaS Infrastructure

(Oct 1 - Dec 31, 2025)
$70,812
($23,604 / mo)
Network: Kusama + 4 System Parachains

Scope: Enterprise Cloud DBs, 24/7 DevOps, Bandwidth.

Result: >99.5% SLA uptime delivered.
Removed 2026 Fees: All forward-looking 2026 estimates were removed to focus strictly on H2 2025 settlements.
TOTAL SETTLEMENT$141,624
EMA30 Price: 4.1836 USD
Total: 33852.18 KSM
(Treasury assumes zero risk; all services already flawlessly delivered.)

Note: Total requested amount will be converted to KSM based on the 30-day EMA price at the time of on-chain submission.

Past Proposals

#229 Subscan | Infrastructure Costs of Subscan for Kusama & Statemine (from July to December 2022)

#377 Subscan | Infrastructure Costs of Subscan for Kusama & Asset Hub (Kusama) Networks (from January 2023 to March 2024)

#434 Subscan | Infrastructure Costs of Subscan for Kusama & Statemine Networks (from April to June 2024)

#482 Subscan Q2/Q3/Q4 2024 Funding Proposal: Basic service fee for the Kusama Relaychain and Kusama public parachain (AssetHub, Coretime, BridgeHub, People)

#581 Subscan 2025 Q1-Q2 Funding Proposal: Basic service fee for the Kusama Relaychain and Kusama public parachain (AssetHub, Coretime, BridgeHub, People)

#641 [Kusama] Subscan 2025 Q3-Q4 Funding Proposal: Basic service fee for the Kusama Relaychain and Kusama public parachain (AssetHub, Coretime, BridgeHub, People)

Infrastructure Settlement (Q3 & Q4 2025)

(Covering the Kusama Relay Chain + 4 System Parachains: AssetHub, BridgeHub, Coretime, People)

1. Service Continuity, Zero-Downtime Commitment, & Billing Precedent

We would like to clarify to the community why this invoice is submitted after the service period has concluded:

No Service Termination Notice: Prior to and during H2 2025, Subscan did not receive any notice or request from the Community, OpenGov, or the Parity team to suspend or terminate our explorer and indexing services on Kusama. Furthermore, we continuously received technical communications from Parity staff regarding architectural alignments and network updates.

Ecosystem Lifeline: Halting our explorer services would have immediately paralyzed crucial ecosystem infrastructure. Major wallets, dApps, testing frameworks, and OpenGov dashboards rely heavily on Subscan's APIs. Shutting down would have caused severe disruptions for developers and end-users on the Canary network.

Fronting the Costs (The Post-Paid Model): Based on a multi-year historical precedent of a "post-paid" (settlement after service) arrangement with the Kusama Treasury, Subscan acted as a responsible, enterprise-grade B2B provider and fronted all cloud infrastructure expenses out-of-pocket to ensure continuous service.

Identical Pricing: The pricing model used for these invoices is 100% identical to the fee structure approved by the community over the past two years, with absolutely zero unexpected markups.

2. Q3 Invoice Breakdown (July 1 - Sept 30, 2025)

This invoice strictly covers the hard costs of enterprise cloud databases, 24/7 DevOps maintenance, and high-throughput bandwidth. To ensure absolute clarity, the financial breakdown is calculated precisely by dividing the 6-month service cycle evenly in half.

NetworkQ3 Median StorageApplicable TierMonthly FeeTotal Q3 (3 Months)
Kusama4,236.90 GBProfessional$19,063$57,189
AssetHub341.96 GBBasic+$1,546$4,638
BridgeHub313.12 GBBasic+$1,397$4,191
Coretime93.14 GBBasic$799$2,397
People88.89 GBBasic$799$2,397
Total Settlement$70,812

3. Q4 Invoice Breakdown (Oct 1 - Dec 31, 2025)

Q4 was characterized by intense testing, high-frequency on-chain activities, and multiple runtime upgrades across Kusama system parachains. This invoice settles the SLA and maintenance costs that guarantee a robust data layer during this critical period.

NetworkQ4 Median StorageApplicable TierMonthly FeeTotal Q4 (3 Months)
Kusama4,236.90 GBProfessional$19,063$57,189
AssetHub341.96 GBBasic+$1,546$4,638
BridgeHub313.12 GBBasic+$1,397$4,191
Coretime93.14 GBBasic$799$2,397
People88.89 GBBasic$799$2,397
Total Settlement$70,812

Delivered Results: By honoring these invoices, the Treasury is settling the infrastructure costs that kept the ecosystem running smoothly. We are proud to report that despite massive data indexing demands and frequent upgrades, Subscan's actual Service Level Agreement (SLA) uptime exceeded 99.5% throughout both Q3 and Q4.

Development & Maintenance Cost Concession

Subscan deeply understands the current macroeconomic constraints of the OpenGov Treasury. We want to ensure community funds are strictly focused on sustaining core infrastructure.

Therefore, for the Kusama H2 2025 period, Subscan has voluntarily absorbed 100% of the complex R&D and maintenance costs related to XCM engines, UI updates, and Runtime upgrades directly into our standard SaaS fees. We are charging the Kusama Treasury absolutely zero ($0) extra development costs, providing maximum value to the community.

Conclusion & Our Ecosystem Commitment

By approving this settlement, the Treasury will clear the total amount of $141,624 (to be converted to KSM via 30-day EMA) for H2 2025 (Q3 + Q4) core infrastructure services. This funding covers the hard operational costs that guarantee a robust, uninterrupted, and reliable data layer for the entire Kusama ecosystem.

2026-06-15 10:00:00 (+UTC), Block #17948149

KSM EMA30 Price ( USD ): 4.183600

Number of KSM: 33852.184721

https://assethub-kusama.subscan.io/tools/price_converter?value=141624&type=block&from=USD&to=KSM&time=17948149

Our voluntary absorption of all extra engineering costs is a direct testament to our core philosophy: in times of ecosystem challenges, Subscan chooses to stand firmly with the community. We are not just a service provider; we are deeply committed, long-term builders of Kusama. Thank you to the community for your continued trust in our enterprise-grade infrastructure.

Comments (1)

9 days ago

A small note from the Subscan team for transparency.

We understand that Kusama has weaker stablecoin liquidity than Polkadot, and the community may be cautious about the potential market impact of larger KSM-denominated treasury spends.

If this proposal passes, Subscan is happy to commit to managing any received KSM responsibly and selling gradually in batches, using a disciplined grid-style or similar approach where appropriate, to avoid unnecessary one-time market pressure.

Subscan is a long-term contributor to the Substrate ecosystem, and we would not take short-term actions that could harm the Kusama ecosystem or market.

We hope this helps the community evaluate the proposal with more confidence.

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