Arweave Explained: Decentralized Permanent Data Storage for the Future

Update 4 Apr 2024 • Reading Time 6 Minute

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Cloud services like AWS and Google Cloud are commonly used for online data storage. However, in the blockchain world, the idea of Decentralized Cloud Storage (DCS) has emerged as a decentralized and cost-effective alternative. Arweave is a distinctive project in the DCS space, providing permanent data storage with a one-time payment model. This article will delve into Arweave, its functionality, and the potential of its AR token.

Article Summary

☁️ Arweave is a decentralized data storage platform that offers permanent data storage services.
🚒 Arweave uses key technologies such as Blockweave, SPoRA, Wildfire, and Blockshadows to provide fast, efficient, and permanent data storage.
👨‍💻 Arweave launched AO Testnet, a scalable blockchain network built on the Arweave data storage platform. Arweave AO is touted as a hyperparallel computer.
🪙AR is the native token of the Arweave platform. Following the announcement of Arweave AO on February 27, 2024, the price of the AR token surged by as much as 140%.

What is Arweave (AR)?

A decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePin) has been one of the narratives in the spotlight lately. One of the DePin projects that has caught the crypto community’s attention is Arweave. Arweave is a decentralized data storage provider platform, akin to a global hard drive that efficiently stores vast amounts of data. It operates similarly to centralized cloud services like AWS and Google Drive, but with a decentralized approach.

Learn about DePin in the article What is DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network)?

Arweave was created to solve the problem of long-term data storage. Technically, Arweave can permanently store data for up to 200 years. Therefore, many large infrastructure projects use the Arweave protocol to create applications with permanent data. According to Zerocap, Solana, Avalanche, Polkadot, and Cosmos use Arweave to store their blockchain data securely.

Arweave distinguishes itself with its ‘pay once, store forever’ model. Users make a single payment that covers indefinite data storage, without incurring additional charges for data retrieval.

Arweave's storage fee currently fluctuates around $33 per GB, which may seem costly compared to Amazon's (AWS) fee of $0.276 per GB. However, it's important to note that Amazon's fees are annual, whereas Arweave's fees cover permanent storage for up to 200 years.

Also read: What is Decentralized Cloud Storage?

Who are the founders of Arweave?

Arweave was established in 2017 by Sam Williams and William Jones during their doctoral studies in distributed computer systems and networking at the University of Kent. Observing a demand for additional tools to authenticate news, Sam suggested the development of a decentralized permanent storage network to William.

They departed from university and initiated Minimum Spanning Technologies Ltd. to build Archain (now Arweave). Archain underwent a name change to Arweave in February 2018, and the mainnet was subsequently launched in June 2018.

How Arweave (AR) Works

Arweave has four key technologies that help it deliver high throughput, low cost, and permanent data storage.

Blockweave

Arweave stores data on Blockweave, which is a decentralized data structure that enables permanent and distributed storage. Blockweave utilizes a globally distributed network of nodes to store verified copies of data. Any data entered into this platform will be distributed across multiple nodes in the network, ensuring redundancy and reliability.

Blockweave is Arweave’s first breakthrough in blockchain technology. In contrast to blockchains that confirm data sequentially, blockweave enables more efficient data verification by requiring only one random piece of data. Blockweave changes the data structure from a linear chain to one like a three-dimensional spider web.

Succinct Random Proof of Access

SPoRA (Succinct Proofs of Random Access) is a new type of consensus introduced in Arweave in February 2021. It replaces the previous mechanism, Proof of Access (PoA), which used history network data references. The two main changes brought by SPoRA are:

Mining Incentives: SPoRA ensures that miners (nodes) are incentivized to replicate data faster thereby reducing CPU dominance in the network.
Reduced Energy Consumption: SPoRA significantly reduces energy consumption while maintaining the network while still contributing to data storage and retrieval. It creates a more efficient and balanced system between resource usage and blockchain utility.

Wildfire

Wildfire is Arweave’s incentive system for nodes that encourage the provision of fast data access. It’s a ranking system that facilitates fast block creation and data distribution. Well-performing nodes are highly ranked, while poor performers are removed from the network. Wildfire creates a fair and efficient system for data storage and retrieval.

Blockshadows

Blockshadows is a data communication system created by Arweave. It enables the network to minimize the data transmitted with each block while ensuring nodes can attain consensus and validation. Consequently, this platform can achieve a theoretical throughput of up to 5,000 transactions per second.

Use Cases and Advantages of Arweave

Permanent data storage

Arweave’s primary service is permanent data storage. Users can store various types of files on the Arweave network (documents, mp3s, PDFs, movies, digital art, and more).

To begin storing data, you can create an Akord wallet, create a permanent vault, and then upload your data. All of these actions can be carried out at https://akord.com/use-arweave.

Permaweb

Permaweb is a permanently connected collection of applications and documents, similar to the commonly used World Wide Web (WWW). However, unlike the traditional WWW, all content in Permaweb is permanent.

Permaweb operates on top of Arweave’s core data storage layer, and users can access it on the regular web. Once data is stored on Permaweb, it remains unchanged and accessible from anywhere in the world.

Arweave’s Permaweb ecosystem provides everything needed to build decentralized web applications. It includes UI hosting, database queries, and domain name services – all completely decentralized. With this, you can build web applications with blockchain natures: permanent, neutral, and transparent.

Arweave Endowment

Arweave’s payment system allocates a portion of the fees paid for data storage into an endowment. The Arweave Endowment funds derive from a part of the fees collected for storing data on the network, and it covers data storage costs based on the interest it generates.

The Arweave endowment has accumulated a substantial amount (over 44,000 AR as of January 2023), guaranteeing payment for data storage well into the distant future.

Layer 1 Blockchain

Arweave is an L1 blockchain on which other technologies can be built on top of. It provides a permanent database layer that can validate and settle transactions without the need for another network. It also has a robust stack infrastructure and multi-layer applications on top of it.

Modular blockchain

As a modular blockchain that separates the execution layer from the data availability and consensus layers, this platform is an ideal blockchain for developers. Developers can build scalable, efficient, and decentralized dApps.

AR as an Investment

AR, Arweave’s native token, is crucial to the Arweave ecosystem. Users pay all transaction fees on the network using AR tokens. Additionally, its nodes receive AR as compensation for permanently storing network data.

Arweave collaborates closely with Solana, particularly within Solana’s dApp Store. This platform permanently stores Solana transactions. It creates a historical correlation between the price of SOL and AR. This correlation became evident during FTX’s failure in 2022, where the decline in AR price coincided with Solana’s. Similarly, the surge in SOL prices towards the end of 2023 also impacted AR.

Also read the article The Solana Renaissance: Solana DeFi Projects 2.0.

On February 27, 2024, Arweave launched the AO Testnet for developers and early users to explore hyperparallel computers. Hyperparallel computers are computers that can run multiple processes in parallel at the same time.

AO is a scalable blockchain network built on Arweave’s data storage platform. AO is designed to support all types of smart contracts and blockchain protocols. Besides having high speed, Arweave AO has an advantage over other blockchains by supporting large-scale data storage such as AI models.

Following the announcement, the price of AR surged by 140% within a week, climbing from $16 to $39. Furthermore, in terms of token supply, AR has a maximum supply of 66,000,000 AR. Presently, 65,454,185 AR tokens, or 99% of the total supply, are in circulation. If the demand for AR tokens continues to rise alongside their utility and with limited supply, this could serve as a potential catalyst for future increases in AR prices.

Conclusion

Arweave is a decentralized data storage platform that offers permanent services. Compared to traditional cloud services, this platform is more decentralized and uses a “pay once, store forever” model. It also provides the Permaweb ecosystem that enables the development of web applications with blockchain natures.

As the demand for secure data storage rises alongside the increasing use of data platforms, Arweave emerges as a compelling platform to monitor this year. Its expanding usage and the limited availability of AR tokens contribute to its growing interest.

How to Buy DYM Tokens on Pintu

After knowing what Arweave is, you can start investing in AR by buying it on the Pintu app. You can buy another cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, FIL, and others safely and easily on Pintu. Pintu diligently evaluates all its crypto assets, highlighting the significance of being cautious.

Pintu is also compatible with popular wallets such as Metamask to facilitate your transactions. Download the Pintu app on the Play Store and App Store! Your security is guaranteed because Pintu is regulated and supervised by Bappebti and Kominfo.

Aside from buying and trading crypto assets, you can expand your knowledge about cryptocurrencies through various Pintu Academy articles. Updated weekly, all Pintu Academy articles are made for knowledge and educational purposes, not as financial advice.