To store accurate data forever, what a win this would be for humanity. We are living in an age where data is an integral part of society. The amount of data produced daily by the entire world is staggering. Just think about all the Instagram and Snapchat posts daily, or the daily chats that friends exchange. And if that is not enough, the world’s population is also growing, with each new person being a new source of data generation; even those who pass away generate some sort of data.

Out of an individual’s data, you can be able to deduce a lot about that person which makes data a very sensitive resource that has to be used wisely. Furthermore, consent has to be given by the generator of that set of data. Most people focus on the issues revolving around data sharing while forgetting one crucial aspect of data, data storage.

Meeting the daily data storage demands

Arweave is seeking to create a blockchain protocol that attempts to address data storage issues while providing complementary services that will make the whole data storage experience satisfactory for their clients. Data storage is no exciting thing therefore Arweave targets to build something functional that will serve its purpose diligently.

Now, data storage demands are high and they have to be met because the rate at which data is being generated is only increasing. The demands of data storage are beyond the basic storage of data. Data has to be stored safely, access to this data has to be at the convenience of the owner of this data, this data has to be protected by certain laws and where possible, this data may also be monetized. These are the improved data storage demands that have come as a result of the cyber attacks people have experienced yet there is technology available to protect data from being compromised or deleted.

Decentralization of data

Blockchain technology is the leading tech in decentralization.

• Existing blockchain protocols such as Ethereum offer platforms through which decentralized applications can be built.

• These applications are important as they offer a decentralized form of data storage which makes it a lot harder for cyber attackers to make way with user data.

• The challenge comes when these same platforms that offer decentralized data storage need a place to store their data.

A protocol like Ethereum tried to have a storage option for the decentralized applications on its platform but this never really took off as the prices for the storage of data proved to be uneconomical. Decentralized applications are even turning to cloud storage solutions offered by centralized networks which clearly beats the logic of having a decentralized platform.

Decentralization of data came with one strong positive, security. By distributing data in various blocks, it becomes harder for hackers to get as much information in one hack attempt, in fact, their hacks may even be unsuccessful. Furthermore, immutability of the data stored keeps the records clean. No distortion or deletion of data stored in any blockchain can happen without participating nodes being notified. This sort of security and transparency is crucial if data is to be safeguarded for use in the near future and for posterity.

Improving on blockchain protocols

There are known limitations of the available protocols especially limitations found on the Ethereum protocol. Ethereum is a great way to enter the blockchain space but it may not be the best protocol for growth. Ethereum has underlying issues such as scalability and low TPS rates. This makes it a hindrance to growth of platform. An increase in the number of users of a platform translates to more users sharing the same transfer rates thus making transactions slower.

Now, data storage centers need fast TPS rates and good scalability. Data never stops being generated and it has to be accommodated. Moreover, this data may be needed at any point in time by the uploader of the data.

Arweave is venturing into a space that already has known players like Filecoin. Their improvement on existing blockchains will need to stand out in order to impress their prospective users and shift the scales of the market to lean on their side. Arweave’s concept of an improved platform involves the following technologies;

1. Blockweave
   For any transaction taking place in a blockchain, it has to be validated by a select number of node. Most blockchains require that these nodes posses the entire blockchain to get validating rights on the blockchain. Nodes end up being too bulky, taking up a lot of much needed space for efficient running of the platform. Arweave solves this problem through blockweave which uses block hash and wallet list. These two allow validation to be done by nodes without these nodes necessarily having the entire chain by linking them to these chains. Block hash uses a list that contain all previous hashes while wallet list allows transactions to be verified without having the previous block in which the last transaction was used.

2. Proof of access
   Proof of access is a different consensus mechanism which motivates the miners to reproduce data within the blockweave. For data storage and access, more copies of one data becomes more useful as it can be accessed quickly and easily whenever the request for that data is made. Proof of access seems to be leaning towards solving the scalability challenge that has plagued a number of protocols.

3. Wildfire
   Wildfire spreads fast, so fast especially when aided by wind. This may have been the inspiration behind the naming of wildfire. Wildfire creates a competitive atmosphere where users are the champions. The whole point is to deliver data upon request by a user. Wildfire creates a ranking system which ranks miners based on how fast they respond to data requests. It also takes into account sharing of data with peers. Miners who fail to participate actively in sharing and dissemination of data risk being kicked out of the platform.

4. Blockshadows
   A blockchain data storage platform would most likely host a lot of data. Blockshadow enables entire blocks to be transferred using minimal storage space. It sends a shadow of the block from one peer to the next during a transaction giving peers the ability to reconstruct blocks of data. Blockshadows will also be important in increasing relay speeds of information.

With these technologies, Arweave targets to have a platform that can comfortably conduct a minimum of 5000TPS. Anything below this would be a disservice to their clients.

The Arweave platform will be incentivized. Arweave tokens will be rewarded to miners based on the activities they complete. Incentivizing the platform increases the drive miners have to replicate data and to relay data upon request. This may also help increase the speeds of data transfers.

Do we need Arweave?

Filecoin and other data storage blockchains are already there and they seem to cater for most of the solutions that we need, however, Arweave’s platform has some features that may give it an edge over already existing data storage services.

Journal of raw data

Raw data is probably the most generated form of data.

• This data is mostly generated by institutions which require to keep records of their activities for the entire operational period.

• Such institution includes government offices, hospitals, academic institutions, basically any institution that generates data.

• For any institution to thrive, the results they obtain from studying the data they generated can be quite crucial.

For example, students doing research on health issues may find the data securely stored in its original form quite informative and may even help lead to discoveries of better ways of combating certain illnesses. It can also help clear up misleading information that arises from doctored results as the data stored through the Arweave platform remains authentic all through.

Government institutions will also find that storing citizens’ data on Arweave is a better way of preventing any form of corruption through manipulation of data. The journal of raw data will maintain content fed into it. Once data has been submitted, it becomes immutable and Arweave preserves it for as long as it is in operation.

Academic institutions will be great beneficiaries of Arweave. Cases of manipulation of results have been rising in select countries and this can be a good way of preventing such types of data manipulation. Grades can be stored in the journal of raw data and if doctoring of results is suspected, then a quick check is all that needs to be done. It can also play a huge role in the fight against plagiarism around the world.

A permanent internet archive

The widest pool of knowledge that we have is the internet. Nearly everything, if not everything, can be found on web pages. From articles to pictures and videos, the internet is a great place to source data from. Arweave hopes to archive sections of the internet periodically in a bid to preserve the content that has been submitted there. The internet is a public space and all information, especially those intended for the public, should be left for the public to access at any time of their choosing.

There has been noticeable interference by various institutions that do not want certain information about them, which may be crucial for the public to know, to be exposed on the web. Gag orders may be given especially when these individuals are in power. Gag orders have been seen in places like Australia where a gag order was issued to prevent reporting of corruption allegations for any international political leader within the nation. This information was leaked by Wikileaks in 2014. Various countries have also issued gag orders especially on members of the press and sometimes even forcing them or forcefully deleting stories that have been published.

This form of forced censorship cannot survive in Arweave’s platform. By archiving the internet, any story that will have been published before the archive will remain accessible to the public whenever they want to access it. Furthermore, if the stories are in any format, they will retain their authenticity with claims of manipulation not holding any water.
The internet also risks losing valuable data say, for example, when a website is deleted, it goes with all its data. Archiving the internet will prevent the loss of data when such instances happen accidentally or by design.

Legal document storage

Technology is convenient. Its is far much easier to organize documents through devices such as computers than manually in a library or a storage room. Most documents are being converted into digital formats for easier storage and also to help maintain the authenticity of the documents issued, especially legal documents. Arweave’s platform provides a storage option for these documents. The documents are safely secured thus no one can manipulate data or use this data for their own gains. The challenge of losing legal documents will be a thing of the past. Digital tokens stored on Arweave will never be lost and can be maintained in the platform for as long as the platform is up and running.

Verifiable democracy

Does your vote really count? This question plagues nearly every citizen of a democracy. Subversion of democracy is retrogressive and outrightly disgusting in this day and age. Sadly, some elections that have been held in the recent past leave more questions than answers and most questions unanswered. The true value of democracy cannot be appreciated if citizens cannot freely express their will through their votes. Arweave brings a private voting solution for governments which they can use to run any election within the country. Every vote is cryptographically linked with other votes within the system in such a way that any unrecognized vote that makes is way into the system never gets counted as a legitimate vote. This would help preserve the authenticity of every election thereby preserving the democracy that nations have long been fighting for.

Developers’ paradise

Arweave’s platform will include the REST API to make its platform welcoming to developers.

• Arweave is building a protocol and it would beat logic to have all these capabilities and not provide a way for developers to express their creativity.

• Arweave projects can be done by developers using the language they best prefer thus opening its gates to as many developers as possible.

The limitation of Arweave is the imagination, as long as developers think it can be done and it can be useful, they can make it happen in Arweave. Developers can also help Arweave with some of their programs by coming up with Dapps that support Arweave’s features.

The services that Arweave is going to provide once its platform is fully running will require payment in the form of Arweave tokens. Part of Arweave’s targets include providing its data storage service at very low cost. This may also be their other distinguishing feature from the rest of the blockchain storage solution platforms available. Payments made on the platform will be through the Arweave tokens.

Focused on product delivery

In the blockchain space, most blockchains or Dapps usually release their literature and marketing material to their potential client, hold ICO events then start working on the products or services they mentioned in their write ups and videos. Arweave is taking a different approach. The full ICO details for the Arweave platform has not been released yet but Arweave has already had its testnet and is soon releasing their mainnet.

Arweave will soon have part of the products they are willing to deliver. Their dedication to their project is something that is rarely seen in this market and it may probably be a good sign of things to come form them. These are the types of actions that attract investors and make ICOs successful even before the token sale starts.

Should you follow Arweave?

The Arweave project has its own uniqueness. It is tackling an issue that does not seem exciting but is of utmost importance especially in this digital age. The internet of things is on the rise and devices are producing more data that need secure storage that can last well beyond the machine’s lifetime. Digitization of documents is also happening worldwide and if the digital trend continues, the manual documents may be done away with. The need to preserve crucial historical data is also there. Future generations may benefit greatly from studying how we lived our lives. The need for an accurate voting system, especially in third world countries, is enormous and may help quench the thirst for democracy in these countries.

There is a need for a platform such as Arweave. If they can execute their ideas as envisioned then Arweave stands to be a world leader in data storage solutions and other services. Should you follow Arweave? This is solely up to you. You are the judge of how great this project may be from the information that has been provided in this article. Data is valuable and Arweave can help protect it!

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