Web3 Infrastructure Without Sunk Costs

On the heels of our major update to the Pocket Portal, we’ve been sharing some of the key changes that we’re bringing to the table, including a new Pay As You Go plan and other flexible service options for developers. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how the updated Pocket Portal is also helping developers shift from sunk costs to “infrastructure as an asset.”For some time now, Web3 developers have been paying for their dApp infrastructure under a largely Web2 model. This means infrastructure costs are often paid up front, on a recurring basis, and are not recoverable in any sort of way - the definition of a “sunk cost.”Our update to the Pocket Portal is enabling developers to shift away from that more extractive model, and towards a service that provides them with real benefits for decentralizing their infrastructure.

POKT Rewards Enable True Ownership

SaaS pricing models commonly come in one (or a combination) of several popular forms:

• Flat rate pricing
• Usage based pricing
• Tiered pricing
• Per user pricing
• Per active user pricing
• Per feature pricing
• Freemium business model

While each approach has its pros and cons, they typically have sunk costs in common - the costs must be spent, and they cannot be recovered in any way beyond merely receiving the service.We’re changing this with our new approach to the Pocket Portal. As mentioned above, the updated Pocket Portal includes a variety of service plans to best fit developers’ dApps, including the new Pay As You Go (PAYG) plan. Out of the above approaches, the overhauled Pocket Portal includes elements of usage based pricing, tiered pricing, and a freemium model - but it does so while taking a unique approach to addressing the sunk cost pain point that has remained as a relic of Web2 models.How exactly is this pain point addressed? Rather than paying SaaS fees in perpetuity, like with other Web3 infrastructure alternatives, PAYG enables developers to receive an amount of POKT that correlates with their dApps’ relay traffic. This POKT is received after 24 months of paid service beyond the Always Free tier (which is 250,000 relays per day). There is no minimum amount of paid relays to be eligible - any month with any relay traffic above the free tier counts towards these 24 months, and these months of paid service do not need to be consecutive.Receiving POKT rewards is one thing, but we want to make sure developers can also put those rewards to work for their dApps. With the update to the Pocket Portal, developers can now do exactly that. After receiving POKT as described above, developers can then simply keep the POKT staked in order to continue receiving relay service! This is what brings true utility to the POKT token itself, by allowing it to be used to access Pocket Network’s actual service.With this 3-step approach of securing service beyond the Always Free tier, receiving POKT rewards, and staking those rewards for continued service, we are empowering Web3 developers to make the move away from sunk costs.Plus, we have some high-priority items on our roadmap to enable more direct staking for service through the Pocket Portal - a “Bring Your Own POKT” approach. Stay tuned for more on this!

Towards Web3 Principles

One of the key principles across Web3 is the shift towards stakeholders and end users claiming a real sense of ownership that has been limited by previous Web2 models. In line with this principle, our mission for some time now has been to allow developers to actually take “ownership,” in the literal sense of the word, of their dApps. Bringing POKT rewards to the table, and enabling staking for service, are the innovations that allow us to offer this true sense of ownership to developers. This approach converts dApp infrastructure into a real Web3 asset, rather than just endless SaaS fees.For developers looking to make this shift, you can get set up with our Always Free tier or Pay As You Go plan in the Pocket Portal today, and mint your first endpoints for any of our supported blockchains.