diff --git a/cmd/census3/main.go b/cmd/census3/main.go
index 37ff1162..5c21fddf 100644
--- a/cmd/census3/main.go
+++ b/cmd/census3/main.go
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ func main() {
 		DataDir:         config.dataDir,
 		Web3Providers:   w3p,
 		GroupKey:        config.connectKey,
-		HolderProviders: pm.Providers(),
+		HolderProviders: pm.Providers(ctx),
 		AdminToken:      config.adminToken,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/scanner/providers/farcaster/provider.go b/scanner/providers/farcaster/provider.go
index 80e71868..94a518c2 100644
--- a/scanner/providers/farcaster/provider.go
+++ b/scanner/providers/farcaster/provider.go
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ var (
 	IterationSyncedCooldown = 60 * time.Second
 )
 
-func (p *FarcasterProvider) Init(iconf any) error {
+func (p *FarcasterProvider) Init(globalCtx context.Context, iconf any) error {
 	// parse the config and set the endpoints
 	conf, ok := iconf.(FarcasterProviderConf)
 	if !ok {
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ func (p *FarcasterProvider) Init(iconf any) error {
 	// and the database. By default, the last block is the creation block of the
 	// key registry, because in the gap between the creation of the ID and Key
 	// registries, there are no logs to scan.
-	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 15*time.Second)
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(globalCtx, 15*time.Second)
 	defer cancel()
 	idRegistryLastBlock, err := p.db.QueriesRO.LastBlock(ctx, IdRegistryAddress)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ func (p *FarcasterProvider) Init(iconf any) error {
 	p.contracts.idRegistrySynced.Store(false)
 	p.contracts.keyRegistrySynced.Store(false)
 	// start the internal scanner
-	p.scannerCtx, p.cancelScanner = context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	p.scannerCtx, p.cancelScanner = context.WithCancel(globalCtx)
 	go p.initInternalScanner()
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/scanner/providers/gitcoin/gitcoin_provider.go b/scanner/providers/gitcoin/gitcoin_provider.go
index 737c74d6..32d0a986 100644
--- a/scanner/providers/gitcoin/gitcoin_provider.go
+++ b/scanner/providers/gitcoin/gitcoin_provider.go
@@ -39,6 +39,12 @@ const (
 	metadataTimeout  = time.Second * 5
 )
 
+// since the scanne can scan multiple tokens concurrently, and every stamp
+// is a token, we need to avoid multiple downloads at the same time. this
+// variable is used to avoid multiple downloads at the same time using an
+// atomic bool
+var downloading atomic.Bool
+
 type GitcoinPassport struct {
 	// public endpoint to download the json
 	apiEndpoint string
@@ -67,7 +73,7 @@ type GitcoinPassportConf struct {
 // Init initializes the Gitcoin Passport provider with the given config. If the
 // config is not of type GitcoinPassportConf, or the API endpoint is missing, it
 // returns an error. If the cooldown is not set, it defaults to 6 hours.
-func (g *GitcoinPassport) Init(iconf any) error {
+func (g *GitcoinPassport) Init(globalCtx context.Context, iconf any) error {
 	conf, ok := iconf.(GitcoinPassportConf)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("invalid config type")
@@ -85,7 +91,7 @@ func (g *GitcoinPassport) Init(iconf any) error {
 	g.cooldown = conf.Cooldown
 	g.db = conf.DB
 	// init download variables
-	g.ctx, g.cancel = context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	g.ctx, g.cancel = context.WithCancel(globalCtx)
 	g.scoresChan = make(chan *GitcoinScore)
 	g.waiter = new(sync.WaitGroup)
 	g.synced = atomic.Bool{}
@@ -99,8 +105,11 @@ func (g *GitcoinPassport) Init(iconf any) error {
 	if err == nil {
 		g.lastSyncedTime.Store(lastSync)
 	}
-
-	g.startScoreUpdates()
+	// if there are other instances downloading, this one does not need to
+	// start the download process
+	if !downloading.Load() {
+		g.startScoreUpdates()
+	}
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -134,7 +143,7 @@ func (g *GitcoinPassport) HoldersBalances(_ context.Context, stamp []byte, _ uin
 ) {
 	// get the current scores from the db, handle the case when the stamp is
 	// empty and when it is not to get the scores from the db
-	synced := g.synced.Load()
+	synced := g.isSynced(true)
 	totalSupply := big.NewInt(0)
 	currentScores := make(map[common.Address]*big.Int)
 	if len(stamp) > 0 {
@@ -190,9 +199,7 @@ func (g *GitcoinPassport) IsExternal() bool {
 
 // IsSynced returns true if the balances are not empty.
 func (g *GitcoinPassport) IsSynced(_ []byte) bool {
-	g.currentBalancesMtx.RLock()
-	defer g.currentBalancesMtx.RUnlock()
-	return len(g.currentBalances) > 0
+	return g.isSynced(false)
 }
 
 // Address returns the address of the Gitcoin Passport contract.
@@ -395,6 +402,22 @@ func (g *GitcoinPassport) updateLastSync(ctx context.Context) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (g *GitcoinPassport) isSynced(update bool) bool {
+	if !update {
+		return g.synced.Load()
+	}
+	lastSync, err := g.loadLastSync(g.ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Warnw("error loading last sync time", "err", err)
+		return g.synced.Load()
+	}
+	g.lastSyncedTime.Store(lastSync)
+	tLastSync := time.Unix(lastSync, 0)
+	isSynced := time.Since(tLastSync) < g.cooldown
+	g.synced.Store(isSynced)
+	return isSynced
+}
+
 func (g *GitcoinPassport) startScoreUpdates() {
 	log.Debug("starting Gitcoin Passport score updates")
 	g.waiter.Add(1)
@@ -431,6 +454,8 @@ func (g *GitcoinPassport) startScoreUpdates() {
 }
 
 func (g *GitcoinPassport) updateScores() error {
+	downloading.Store(true)
+	defer downloading.Store(false)
 	// download de json from API endpoint
 	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(g.ctx, http.MethodGet, g.apiEndpoint, nil)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/scanner/providers/gitcoin/gitcoin_provider_test.go b/scanner/providers/gitcoin/gitcoin_provider_test.go
index c92e8e57..625ec9ad 100644
--- a/scanner/providers/gitcoin/gitcoin_provider_test.go
+++ b/scanner/providers/gitcoin/gitcoin_provider_test.go
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ func TestGitcoinPassport(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 	// create the provider
 	provider := new(GitcoinPassport)
-	c.Assert(provider.Init(GitcoinPassportConf{endpoints["/original"], time.Second * 2, testDB}), qt.IsNil)
+	c.Assert(provider.Init(ctx, GitcoinPassportConf{endpoints["/original"], time.Second * 2, testDB}), qt.IsNil)
 	// start the first download
 	emptyBalances, _, _, _, _, err := provider.HoldersBalances(context.TODO(), nil, 0)
 	c.Assert(err, qt.IsNil)
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ func TestGitcoinPassport(t *testing.T) {
 	testDB, err = db.Init(tempDBDir, "gitcoinpassport.sql")
 	c.Assert(err, qt.IsNil)
 	newProvider := new(GitcoinPassport)
-	c.Assert(newProvider.Init(GitcoinPassportConf{endpoints["/updated"], time.Second * 2, testDB}), qt.IsNil)
+	c.Assert(newProvider.Init(ctx, GitcoinPassportConf{endpoints["/updated"], time.Second * 2, testDB}), qt.IsNil)
 	// new endpoint with one change
 	time.Sleep(time.Second * 5)
 	c.Assert(newProvider.SetLastBalances(context.TODO(), nil, holders, 0), qt.IsNil)
diff --git a/scanner/providers/holders_provider.go b/scanner/providers/holders_provider.go
index 648081d4..a87707d0 100644
--- a/scanner/providers/holders_provider.go
+++ b/scanner/providers/holders_provider.go
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ type HolderProvider interface {
 	// Init initializes the provider and its internal structures. Initial
 	// attributes values must be defined in the struct that implements this
 	// interface before calling this method.
-	Init(conf any) error
+	Init(ctx context.Context, conf any) error
 	// SetRef sets the reference to the provider. It is used to define the
 	// required token information to interact with the provider.
 	SetRef(ref any) error
diff --git a/scanner/providers/manager/manager.go b/scanner/providers/manager/manager.go
index 85a95d57..35776833 100644
--- a/scanner/providers/manager/manager.go
+++ b/scanner/providers/manager/manager.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ package manager
 // the provider types and all the providers initialized at once.
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"sync"
 
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ func (m *ProviderManager) AddProvider(providerType uint64, conf any) {
 // provider based on the configuration stored in the manager. It initializes a
 // new provider every time to avoid data races. It returns an error if the
 // provider type is not found or if the provider cannot be initialized.
-func (m *ProviderManager) GetProvider(providerType uint64) (providers.HolderProvider, error) {
+func (m *ProviderManager) GetProvider(ctx context.Context, providerType uint64) (providers.HolderProvider, error) {
 	// load the configuration for the provider type
 	conf, ok := m.confs.Load(providerType)
 	if !ok {
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ func (m *ProviderManager) GetProvider(providerType uint64) (providers.HolderProv
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("provider type %d not found", providerType)
 	}
 	// initialize the provider with the specific configuration
-	if err := provider.Init(conf); err != nil {
+	if err := provider.Init(ctx, conf); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	return provider, nil
@@ -80,10 +81,10 @@ func (m *ProviderManager) GetProviderTypes() []uint64 {
 
 // Providers returns all the providers stored in the manager associated to their
 // types as a map of uint64 to HolderProvider.
-func (m *ProviderManager) Providers() map[uint64]providers.HolderProvider {
+func (m *ProviderManager) Providers(ctx context.Context) map[uint64]providers.HolderProvider {
 	providers := make(map[uint64]providers.HolderProvider)
 	for _, t := range m.GetProviderTypes() {
-		provider, err := m.GetProvider(t)
+		provider, err := m.GetProvider(ctx, t)
 		if err != nil {
 			panic(err)
 		}
diff --git a/scanner/providers/poap/poap_provider.go b/scanner/providers/poap/poap_provider.go
index ad1c83ac..25b0fe52 100644
--- a/scanner/providers/poap/poap_provider.go
+++ b/scanner/providers/poap/poap_provider.go
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ type POAPSnapshot struct {
 // POAP API to get the list of POAPs for an event ID and calculate the balances
 // of the token holders from the last snapshot.
 type POAPHolderProvider struct {
+	ctx          context.Context
 	apiEndpoint  string
 	accessToken  string
 	snapshots    map[string]*POAPSnapshot
@@ -75,19 +76,19 @@ type POAPConfig struct {
 // Init initializes the POAP external provider with the database provided.
 // It returns an error if the POAP access token or api endpoint uri is not
 // defined.
-func (p *POAPHolderProvider) Init(iconf any) error {
+func (p *POAPHolderProvider) Init(globalCtx context.Context, iconf any) error {
 	// parse config
 	conf, ok := iconf.(POAPConfig)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("bad config type, it must be a POAPConfig struct")
 	}
-
 	if conf.APIEndpoint == "" {
 		return fmt.Errorf("no POAP URI defined")
 	}
 	if conf.AccessToken == "" {
 		return fmt.Errorf("no POAP access token defined")
 	}
+	p.ctx = globalCtx
 	p.apiEndpoint = conf.APIEndpoint
 	p.accessToken = conf.AccessToken
 	p.snapshots = make(map[string]*POAPSnapshot)
@@ -349,7 +350,7 @@ func (p *POAPHolderProvider) holdersPage(eventID string, offset int) (*POAPAPIRe
 	q.Add("offset", fmt.Sprint(offset))
 	endpoint.RawQuery = q.Encode()
 	// create request and add headers
-	req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", endpoint.String(), nil)
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(p.ctx, http.MethodGet, endpoint.String(), nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -392,7 +393,7 @@ func (p *POAPHolderProvider) getEventInfo(eventID string) (*EventAPIResponse, er
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	// create request and add headers
-	req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", endpoint.String(), nil)
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(p.ctx, http.MethodGet, endpoint.String(), nil)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/scanner/providers/poap/poap_provider_test.go b/scanner/providers/poap/poap_provider_test.go
index 36d55407..adef6074 100644
--- a/scanner/providers/poap/poap_provider_test.go
+++ b/scanner/providers/poap/poap_provider_test.go
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ func TestPOAP(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 
 	provider := new(POAPHolderProvider)
-	c.Assert(provider.Init(POAPConfig{endpoints["/original"], "no-token"}), qt.IsNil)
+	c.Assert(provider.Init(ctx, POAPConfig{endpoints["/original"], "no-token"}), qt.IsNil)
 	holders, _, _, _, _, err := provider.HoldersBalances(context.TODO(), nil, 0)
 	c.Assert(err, qt.IsNil)
 	c.Assert(len(holders), qt.Equals, len(expectedOriginalHolders))
diff --git a/scanner/providers/web3/erc20_provider.go b/scanner/providers/web3/erc20_provider.go
index 7a8580ec..9b7db357 100644
--- a/scanner/providers/web3/erc20_provider.go
+++ b/scanner/providers/web3/erc20_provider.go
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ type ERC20HolderProvider struct {
 	synced           atomic.Bool
 }
 
-func (p *ERC20HolderProvider) Init(iconf any) error {
+func (p *ERC20HolderProvider) Init(_ context.Context, iconf any) error {
 	// parse the config and set the endpoints
 	conf, ok := iconf.(Web3ProviderConfig)
 	if !ok {
diff --git a/scanner/providers/web3/erc721_provider.go b/scanner/providers/web3/erc721_provider.go
index a1205a3d..25bcb2a8 100644
--- a/scanner/providers/web3/erc721_provider.go
+++ b/scanner/providers/web3/erc721_provider.go
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ type ERC721HolderProvider struct {
 	synced           atomic.Bool
 }
 
-func (p *ERC721HolderProvider) Init(iconf any) error {
+func (p *ERC721HolderProvider) Init(_ context.Context, iconf any) error {
 	// parse the config and set the endpoints
 	conf, ok := iconf.(Web3ProviderConfig)
 	if !ok {
diff --git a/scanner/providers/web3/erc777_provider.go b/scanner/providers/web3/erc777_provider.go
index 10248cfc..94c74e2d 100644
--- a/scanner/providers/web3/erc777_provider.go
+++ b/scanner/providers/web3/erc777_provider.go
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ type ERC777HolderProvider struct {
 	synced           atomic.Bool
 }
 
-func (p *ERC777HolderProvider) Init(iconf any) error {
+func (p *ERC777HolderProvider) Init(_ context.Context, iconf any) error {
 	// parse the config and set the endpoints
 	conf, ok := iconf.(Web3ProviderConfig)
 	if !ok {
diff --git a/scanner/scanner.go b/scanner/scanner.go
index 8b4356ac..341d78bc 100644
--- a/scanner/scanner.go
+++ b/scanner/scanner.go
@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ func (s *Scanner) ScanHolders(ctx context.Context, token ScannerToken) (
 	internalCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, SCAN_TIMEOUT)
 	defer cancel()
 	// get the correct token holder provider for the current token
-	provider, err := s.providerManager.GetProvider(token.Type)
+	provider, err := s.providerManager.GetProvider(s.ctx, token.Type)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, 0, token.LastBlock, token.Synced, nil,
 			fmt.Errorf("token type %d not supported: %w", token.Type, err)