Clockwork, a Solana-based smart contract automation project, announced its decision to shut down by the end of October, citing “limited commercial upside.” The startup, which had raised $4 million in a seed round last August, will cease active development and turn off its nodes on both devnet and mainnet. The news comes as a setback to the Solana ecosystem, which has seen a series of protocol closures in recent months.
On X (formally Twitter), Nick Garfield, the founder of Clockwork, elaborated on the decision. He attributed the shutdown to “simple opportunity cost,” stating that the team saw limited benefits in continuing the project and had a growing interest in exploring new opportunities. Clockwork enabled users to schedule transactions on the Solana network and create smart contracts automated to run applications when triggered by specific events.
Clockwork’s closure adds to the growing list of shuttered Solana Protocols
The closure of Clockwork follows a trend of other Solana-based protocols winding down operations. Earlier this year, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms Friktion and Everlend Finance also closed their doors. In late June, the non-fungible token (NFT) protocol Cardinal announced its cessation due to economic conditions. These closures raise questions about the commercial viability of projects within the Solana ecosystem, particularly as the network aims to compete with other major blockchain platforms.
Despite the shutdown, Clockwork’s code will remain open-source and freely available online. Garfield gave his “full endorsement to fork and ship” to anyone interested in continuing the project.
When questioned about the fate of the seed money, he indicated that a “meaningful portion” of the funds remained and that he would take time before deciding on its allocation.
The decision to shut down Clockwork has implications not just for the project’s team and investors but also for the broader Solana ecosystem. According to Crunchbase data, the startup had secured funding from venture firms Multicoin Capital and Asymmetric, along with participation from Solana Ventures. The closure could potentially impact investor confidence in Solana-based projects, given the recent spate of shutdowns.
Clockwork’s decision to cease operations comes at a time when the Solana network is striving to establish itself as a formidable competitor in the blockchain space.
