If you’ve ever used Etherscan to check a transaction, verify a contract, or build a dApp that pulls on-chain data, you’ve relied on infrastructure that most people treat like tap water: always available, always free. That assumption is starting to crack.
Etherscan has moved Gnosis Chain out of its free API tier, pushing developers who need full indexing and API functionality toward paid plans. And by August 11, 2026, the dedicated Gnosisscan platform itself faces deprecation, meaning the shift to Pro-tier access isn’t a temporary inconvenience. It’s the new default.
What changed and why it matters
As of November 22, 2025, Etherscan reduced its free API tier coverage to roughly 90% of previously supported chains. The reason is straightforward: higher transaction speeds, growing TPS rates, and sheer transaction volume across networks have pushed operational costs to a point where free universal coverage is no longer sustainable.
Gnosis Chain, identified as chain ID 100, is one of the networks that fell outside that 90% cutoff. Developers and applications that previously queried Gnosis data through Etherscan’s free endpoints now need to upgrade to a paid tier for continued access.
