What is Arweave（AR）? Welcome to permanent blockchain storage

What is Arweave(AR)? Arweave is a decentralized data storage crypto project that seeks to provide users with an unlimited platform of storage for any content they wish to store, in a decentralized infrastructure. Think of a Web 3-based Dropbox or Google Photos, but not regulated by a single entity. It does so through its web-hosting technology called the “permaweb”.

What are the challenges for permaweb? Criminal activity and illicit material, the same issues present on the worldwide web since always. However, unlike the traditional internet, the permaweb possesses tools for democratic moderation of its content which is incorporated at the core of the protocol. Also, Arweave’s core development team is working closely with the Internet Watch Foundation to provide Arweave miners with the tools and technology needed to keep the permaweb away from abusive and illegal material.

The AR token - Used for governance and to finance the protocol through private sales of its units and also as the transaction fee for users to have their content stored in the permaweb. There are currently 50 million AR tokens in circulation, while the project has a limited cap supply of 66 million ARs.


Meet Arweave: a cryptocurrency project dedicated to hosting data in the decentralized worldwide web. Sounds simple enough, but it is actually one of the most ambitious projects of the entire crypto markets ecosystem. It was also one of the assets that appreciated the most back in 2021, and quite honestly doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves for leading the pack in an extremely important facet of digital decentralization.

So with that in mind, this article explains what Arweave is, details around the AR token and why it’s such an important project for the future of Web 3.

What is Arweave (AR)?

---

As mentioned previously, Arweave is a decentralized data storage crypto project that seeks to provide users with an unlimited platform of storage for any content they wish to store. In a way, it’s often referred to as a collective-property hard drive that can never be erased. Therefore, the data you pick is stored permanently in the Arweave blockchain - unless you decide to delete it, of course.

Arweave’s concept operates through the permaweb - the name given to the decentralized blockchain platform for its data storage protocols, the “permanent web.” Within the permaweb, there will be several apps available for users to take advantage of as they wish. Think of Dropbox, Google Photos, iCloud, you name it - different storage and styled options all inside a fully-decentralized blockchain.

The permaweb became a reality through the blockweave technology, name given by Arweave to its blockchain. It works very similarly to Bitcoin’s blockchain but, in this case, Arweave utilizes Proof of Access technology instead of Proof of Work. In Proof of Access, unlike a traditional blockchain model, miners exchange energy resources through their hardware and are also compensated by simply inputting and copying valuable data from the world wide web in exchange for AR tokens.

This mechanism compensates miners, which in this case could be titled writers, by feeding the permaweb with essential information - slowly but surely growing it to a valuable source of the digital world. In return, they receive the project’s native crypto for storing relevant information.

It’s also important to note that Arweave had a different name up until June of 2018: Archain. The name change was due to the blockweave technology itself, which stayed under the same name throughout the project’s development. In June of 2018, developers finally decided to changed the name for something more relatable to their original blockweave model - thus, Arweave was born.

What are the challenges surrounding permaweb?

---

Much like the traditional worldwide web, a decentralized internet storage platform can present several different issues that range from criminal content to fraudulent information. These problems have been around since the dawn of Web 1 back in the early 1990s and don’t seem to be going away anytime soon. However, unlike the traditional internet, the permaweb possesses tools for democratic moderation of its content which is incorporated at the core of the protocol - putting the web control back to its users and enthusiasts, in a way that Web 1 and 2 never could.

When someone sends data to be stored in the Arweave permaweb, data storage protocols have the option to replace the associated data. The network miners are then capable of filtering the transaction however they choose - verifying if it contains illegal material, using software scanners to verify hidden information, etc. If criminal content is found, the miners are compensated with rewards in AR tokens.

Also, Arweave’s core development team is working closely with the Internet Watch Foundation to provide Arweave miners with the tools and technology needed to keep the permaweb away from abusive and illegal material. Not only so, but the data storers can also opt to not store any material in the network, for any reason, if they find the content to be against the project’s frameworks. If the data sender wants, they can try to send it again and see if it goes through this second time.

Arweave’s investments

---

According to its whitepaper, Arweave seeks to guarantee the collective capacity to store and share data amongst individuals, throughout time and future generations, That’s a very unique goal compared to what other crypto projects are doing - and institutions seem to have noticed.
In March of 2020, Arweave announced an $8.3 million dollars funding round from Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and even Coinbase Ventures - which was the second round of investments for Andreessen and Union Square, which had injected some millions back in 2019. Besides the previously mentioned investors and the Internet Watch Foundation, Arweave also has partnerships with Techstars, USV, 1kx and MultiCoin Capital.

The AR Token

---

Currently, with 50 million AR tokens available in the market and a capped supply of 66 million, Arweave developers state that the network is completely decentralized - meaning they no longer have any authority on token governance or distribution.

The network’s native token is used as a way to finance the protocol through the gradual sale of its units, where the profit is destined towards improving Arweave’s ventures which consequently improves the token’s value as well and therefore creates a cycle of appreciation (hopefully).
According to information made available on Arweave’s official website, the protocols token distribution happens as such:

• 19,5% was geared towards private sales
• 2,9% distributed to project advisors
• 13% to the core team (with a five-year block, followed by a 20% release of the funds per year)
• 19,1% for developing the ecosystem
• 26,5% for future use of the project - also subject to the same conditions as the core team’s funds.

Arweave is also very safe. Its previous mining protocol, RandomX, has been consistently audited with success by four major firms in cybernetic security, Trail of Bits, Kudelski Security, Quarks Lab and X41 D-Sec. Since February 2021, Arweave upgraded its mining directives to the SPoRA protocol, which has also been audited several times by the NCC Group and frequently complimented by long-time supporters of the project.



Author: Gate.io Researcher: Victor Bastos
* This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all other cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.