ArDrive seeks to shake up the access rails that feed files into Arweave’s blockchain-based data storage.
The company informed a news outlet that it plans to use the $17.2 million it raised to build a decentralized alternative to arweave.net, a vital (but currently controlled) gateway for uploading content to Arweave’s on-chain hard drive, the “permaweb.”
According to Phil Mataras, ArDrive’s founder, gateways are like the main door to the permaweb. All of the apps connect to the gateway to push data up, query for it, or transfer a transaction from one wallet to another.
ArDrive seeks to shake up the access rails that feed files into Arweave’s blockchain-based data storage.
The company informed CoinDesk that it plans to use the $17.2 million it raised to build a decentralized alternative to arweave.net, a vital (but currently controlled) gateway for uploading content to Arweave’s on-chain hard drive, the “permaweb.”
According to Phil Mataras, ArDrive’s founder, gateways are like the main door to the permaweb. All of the apps connect to the gateway to push data up, query for it, or transfer a transaction from one wallet to another.
Almost all of Arweave’s data has come in through the core team’s original gateway service, according to Mataras. AR.IO, a proposed decentralized network, might change that by allowing anyone with the technical know-how and around one MacBook Pro’s worth of spare computing power to host their own gateway.
Arweave is one of a few blockchain-based platforms that aim to make decentralized file storage more mainstream. Arweave, Fliecoin, Akash, and Storj all offer uncensorable, low-cost file storage, and they’re all growing fast in comparison to cloud giants like AWS.
Arweave presently has over 1,000 nodes, 150,000 users, and 157 million files, according to Arweave co-founder Sam Williams. Every day, the network adds around 1.5 million files.
The token’s primary purpose, however, will be as a type of gateway collateral. To demonstrate their dedication to the network, operators will stake AR.IO tokens against their users’ balances. Naughty operators risk having their collateral slashed, like with other staking-based consensus processes.
Users, who are wanting to keep their data in a permanent, decentralized form, will be able to define their own terms, charge their own fees, and fine-tune their services for gateway operators. The technical entrance hurdle is intended to be low, although Mataras stated that “we’re prepared” for corporates who choose to run “large, scalable gateway gear.”
