The team behind Clockwork, a Solana-based project known for its smart contract automation, has announced its decision to cease vital infrastructure operations by the end of October. This decision is attributed to the perceived “limited commercial upside” of the project.
Nick Garfield, the founder of Clockwork, shared this news on August 27 via several posts on X (formerly Twitter). The team will suspend proactive development of the protocol, and the protocol’s nodes on both the devnet and mainnet will be deactivated on October 31.
Garfield cited a “simple opportunity cost” as the primary reason for this decision, acknowledging that continuing Clockwork offered limited commercial returns. The team’s desire to explore new opportunities and prospects further supported their choice to cease operations.
However, there is a silver lining for Clockwork’s code. Garfield assured that it would remain open-source and accessible to the public online. He encouraged enthusiasts and developers interested in the protocol to use and develop it further through forking and shipping.
Notably, Clockwork had a promising start, securing a commendable $4 million seed round approximately a year ago, with support from venture giants like Multicoin Capital and Asymmetric, as well as Solana Ventures. Responding to inquiries about the remaining seed money and investor refunds, Garfield stated that a significant amount from the fund remained untouched, but he would carefully deliberate on how to proceed.
It’s essential to recognize that Clockwork is not the only Solana protocol facing such challenges. Several Solana-based platforms have ceased operations recently. For example, Friktion, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, discontinued its services in January, followed by Everlend Finance a month later. In June, the non-fungible token protocol on Solana, named Cardinal, also revealed plans to conclude operations due to unfavorable economic conditions, despite successfully raising $4.4 million about a year prior.
