xLabs is a trailblazer in the Web3 industry, leading innovation and decentralization efforts across South America. Based in Argentina, the company proudly holds the distinction of being the first Solana validator in the country, marking a significant milestone in the region's blockchain ecosystem.

As a trusted bare metal provider, Latitude.sh is honored to support xLabs’ expanding operations in the global south. In a region where Web3 culture is rapidly gaining momentum, this partnership exemplifies the potential of cutting-edge technology to foster transformative growth.

Introducing xLabs 

xLabs operates as a remote-first company with its main office in Argentina, satellite offices in New York City and Miami, and a global team spanning across the United States, Europe, and South America. 

At its core, xLabs is a Web3 company and a significant contributor to the Wormhole project, a leading protocol enabling seamless cross-chain communication. 

The company not only develops tools and services for Wormhole, such as the Portal Bridge and smart-contracts, but also plays a critical role as a guardian—a key node operator maintaining the infrastructure behind Wormhole’s ecosystem. 

This includes running both testnet and mainnet networks for the guardian infrastructure, Wormhole, and all the required Blockchain RPC nodes to enable cross-chain functionalities.

Currently, xLabs runs more than 100 nodes across 35 different blockchains, leveraging its expertise in high-availability and reliable systems.

In addition to its contributions to Wormhole, xLabs has expanded into the validator business. Notably, it became the first validator in Argentina and remains one of the few in South America. 

With its focus on innovation, decentralization, and a commitment to empowering the open-source Web3 space, xLabs is paving the way for blockchain technology while reinforcing its presence in the global blockchain ecosystem.

Latitude.sh and xLabs join forces

Initially, xLabs operated their blockchain nodes on-premises but later transitioned most of their operations to the cloud using AWS and Google Cloud. 

Recently, the team has reassessed this approach, adopting a hybrid infrastructure strategy by moving some nodes back to bare metal while maintaining the majority in the cloud. This approach balances performance, cost, and operational flexibility.

For their validator project, xLabs chose Latitude.sh’s bare metal servers in Argentina to deploy Solana nodes. This decision was influenced by several critical factors. 

Running Solana nodes in the cloud proved prohibitively expensive due to high CPU and memory demands, so Latitude.sh’s bare metal servers provided a more economical and reliable solution. 

To support Solana’s decentralization efforts, xLabs strategically located the nodes in Argentina, diverging from the typical reliance on US or European providers. 

Latitude.sh’s established reputation within the Web3 ecosystem and its existing support for Solana operators were key motivators. 

Additionally, Latitude.sh’s strong local presence in Argentina and across South America aligned with xLabs’ mission to strengthen regional blockchain infrastructure. 

Finally, Latitude.sh’s roadmap for advancing bare metal infrastructure with cloud-like APIs, SDKs, and automation tools resonated with xLabs’ vision for streamlined and scalable operations.

This collaboration exemplifies xLabs’ commitment to building reliable, cost-effective, and decentralized blockchain infrastructure while leveraging Latitude.sh’s technical expertise and regional proximity. Together, the two companies are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in Web3 technology.

“We found that the best and most reliable option in South America, and specifically in Argentina, to help us deploy the servers was Latitude.sh,” said André Claro, Team Lead for Blockchain Nodes at xLabs. 

The relationship has been great

The collaboration between xLabs and Latitude.sh has proven to be fruitful, marked by consistent performance and strong support. André Claro shared several insights about their experience.

“We're very surprised with the platform, service UI, and with all of those options to quickly request a service and customize it. So all the functionality that you put in the UI for the billing, for the expenses, are all there,” he affirmed. 

The intuitive user interface has been a standout feature, allowing xLabs to manage their infrastructure needs efficiently.

Claro also highlighted Latitude.sh’s comprehensive documentation, which has grown over time. “The documentation that you have now available and more and more throughout the time” has been a key resource for their operations, providing clarity and support.

“The first impression was about the customer support, the people in your team that were supporting us with all of our questions,” he added. Latitude.sh’s responsive customer service has been instrumental in ensuring a smooth and productive partnership.

In terms of performance, the results speak for themselves. 

“We have an uptime of 100%. Also, the skip rate in the last month has been 0%. So it means that we don't skip any slot to create a block,” Claro noted. 

When compared to other providers and major node operators like Coinbase, xLabs’ skip rate and uptime are significantly lower, reflecting their exceptional infrastructure performance.

Furthermore, Claro emphasized Latitude.sh’s focus on continuous innovation: “All of the features that you add at the time and now you continue to add more new features like Database, Firewall and Storage, all of that was important for our decision.” 

This ongoing development ensures that xLabs’ needs are consistently met with cutting-edge solutions.

Frederik Hartmann, Community Growth Lead at xLabs, echoed these sentiments: “It’s nice to have a partner who's present, reliable, and can work with all over the world.” 

He praised Latitude.sh as “a trustworthy, reliable partner which we can access globally in every geography and with good support.”

As xLabs continues to scale its operations, the partnership with Latitude.sh serves as a cornerstone for their success, showcasing the future potential of bare metal cloud infrastructure.