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View ChartIt is no exaggeration to say that the world we know today would be unimaginable without the Internet. Thanks to this breakthrough technology, people all over the world can get information immediately with the click of a button or the touch of a screen. But did you know that a few centralized organizations manage most of the information on the Internet? In fact, global technology companies and governments have enormous power to influence what we see, hear, and do on the World Wide Web (WWW).
The birth of blockchain has reversed the situation and stimulated the process of decentralization, including information storage. However, most blockchains rely on external protocols. Because storage on the chain is very expensive, it is not feasible to store a large amount of data.
In this article, we will discuss the cryptocurrency project Arweave, an innovative protocol that allows data to be permanently stored in a decentralized manner. We will also introduce the technical aspects of the AR cryptocurrency, which grew by more than 600% in the second half of 2021.
AR is the native token of the Arweave blockchain. There are many use cases in the ecosystem. In its largest supply of 66 million, more than 55 million tokens were minted in the genesis block when the Arweave mainnet was launched in June 2018. The remaining tokens will be minted as block rewards of the Arweave node. Up to now, there are more than 33 million AR tokens in circulation. With an additional 33 million AR tokens, this cryptocurrency will become deflationary.
To be more precise, Arweave is not a blockchain. While the majority of cryptocurrencies store their data in a chain of blocks that include transactions and other information, Arweave uses a graph of blocks instead.
In Arweave, this means that every block is connected to two blocks that came before it, creating a structure known as a "blockweave." This is different from Bitcoin, where a chain is formed by linking blocks in a specific order.
If you think that big tech companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, or Alibaba are putting too much power in the hands of a few, you might be interested in Arweave.
Additionally, if you share Arweave's vision for the future, you might wish to use it.
In contrast to rivals like Filecoin and Sia, Arweave is centered around long-term storage. If you think digital data needs eternal storage, like a traditional library or museum, then the AR token might be for you.
Additionally, it might be a great opportunity for computer operators to make money by selling storage space and helping to build a stronger, more lasting online.
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TradeHere is a comparison of the key features between Arweave (AR), Filecoin (FIL), and Storj in the decentralized storage sector:
| Feature | Arweave (AR) | Filecoin (FIL) | Storj |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage Model | Pay once, permanent storage | Periodic rental with renewals | Periodic rental with renewals |
| Core Architecture | Blockweave + SPoRA | IPFS + PoRep / PoSt | Decentralized node network |
| Retrieval Fee | Free data retrieval and reads | Charges for retrieval & bandwidth | Metered charges based on bandwidth |
| Compute Ecosystem | AO Ultra-Parallel Compute Network | FVM (Filecoin Virtual Machine) | No native smart contract layer |
Summary: Filecoin and Storj are well-suited for traditional monthly cloud backups, whereas Arweave is the optimal infrastructure for Web3 dApps and on-chain data due to its permanent storage and the AO compute network.
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