Flare launches Blockchain Machine Images on Google Cloud

Flare, the blockchain for data networks, has unveiled a new tool designed to enable rapid and low-cost deployment of blockchain nodes.

Blockchain Machine Images, a node-as-a-service solution, is Flare’s (FLR) latest product that allows web3 developers to access faster node deployment via Google Cloud’s marketplace. With Blockchain Machine Images, it’s now easier to power decentralized applications, blockchain platforms, and data streams.

The solution supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Avalanche (AVAX) among other top blockchain networks.

According to details the Flare team shared on Oct. 25, blockchain developers can leverage this solution to quickly spin up and sync dedicated nodes. Users will also have the option of selecting an image ID for autoscaling, with infrastructure setup and deployment achievable within minutes.

Simplifying node deployment and syncing has benefits for the broader ecosystem, Flare noted. It will cost businesses $300 a month to run a dedicated Flare node, which is much cheaper compared to other node-as-a-service platforms, some of which charge up to $2,000 monthly.

Flare’s new node service offers unlimited remote procedure calls, workloads, and data indexing. Meanwhile, according to Flare vice president of engineering Josh Edwards, Blockchain Machine Images is a tool that will benefit Flare’s attestation providers.

In the Flare ecosystem, attestation providers are independent entities tasked with the secure retrieval of data from external networks such as Bitcoin or Ripple. These entities are critical to Flare’s ecosystem as they validate and transmit data to the blockchain.