THE ARWEAVE PROTOCOL: MAKING DATA AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE

cryptoboss12 (40)in #data • 6 years ago (edited)

The importance of information cannot be overemphasized. Individuals , corporate organizations, governmental bodies etc., all rely on information. Little wonder it's often said that 'Information is Key'.

All thanks to the internet that has made access to information very seamless . However , it is disheartening to know that the way and manner in which information is being accessed is still centralized.

For example , access to information on the internet is currently being handled by single entities. This means the owner of a site can decide to pull down an information or the entire site at any time. It could also be as a result of not being able to meet up with the cost attached in maintaining the severs.

Also, if we're to go down memory lane, several cases of loss of information have been observed as a result of maybe fires at libraries and archives, to burning of books in authoritarian states. From the above illustrations , it's quite evident that the permanent storage of data is a big challenge which seems unresolved.

Several companies have tried to utilize blockchain to address these challenges , but it often appears that the typical blockchains also have some flaws as regards data storage.

The regular blockchains require that a full node should maintain a copy of of the whole blockchain so as to verify future transactions. Due to exorbitant cost attached with running an on-chain storage, most typical blockchain companies would rather opt for the integration of new third-party protocols on top of existing blockchains.

However, the disadvantage of this option is that , contents will not be permanently stored and also there will be cost attached to access contents. A typical example is Ethereum, which charges very high fees for storing data on the Ethereum blockchain.

The 21st century is often referred to as the information age , and this means the demand for data will continue to grow exponentially. It is therefore evident that there's a need for a decentralized low-cost storage protocol.

Therefore there was the need for a platform to be built that not only solves the traditional storage problems, but also addresses the requirements of full node integration by the blockchain technology to perform storage functions.

Having carried out extensive research to understand the current dynamics surrounding data storage and it's pitfalls, Arweave is proposing a different model to finally resolve the issues associated with data storage.

Arweave is a permanent data storage blockchain protocol which has its own distributed ledger called the blockweave. The blockchain-like platform is built to provide immeasurable on-chain storage cost-effective manner for the first time.
It is an innovative data storage blockchain protocol based on existing baseline that allows data to be stored permanently on its blockweave for the first time.

FEATURES OF THE ARWEAVE NETWORK?

✳️ TOPNOTCH SECURITY
The team hopes to build a network where data can be stored permanently without having to go broke. Any document stored on the blockweave is automatically linked with other documents on the weave.
Since its blockchain based. It utilizes cryptography to link blocks from one to the other. Therefore If hackers try to steal any document, the system can immediately detect and block such intrusion.

✳️ APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

Developers also benefit from the platform as they can build applications with the REST API on the network. Unlike the typical interface where developers create most of their previous applications, the arweave network will allow all apps to ooerate in a decentralized manner and easily accessible.

✳️ TRUST AND TRANSPARENCY: Since the platform is secured on the blockchain, users of the network will be confident that their information is safe and available to them at all time.
Not that someone else has to give them permission before they can access their data. Such principles will distinguish the arweave network as a transparent and trustworthy platform, where people will feel confident to utilize.

✳️ PROBLEMS THE PLATFORM MIGHT FACE?

• The data storage market is saturated as it is. Take for instance Storj, that claims to provide a decentralized cloud storage, is struggling to stay up to its promises.
We also have Lisk, Maidsafe and Sia as some of its competitors in the market consistently vieing for the top place amidst all.

• As there are many data storage platforms in the market as it is, every platform is trying to outperform the other. Most of them are improving on their systems on a daily basis. This will provide strong competition for the Arweave project

• The arweave concept is entirely new and would be appealing to the society by the time the platform is fully functioninal. This might cause upcoming icos to try and steal its idea.

✳️TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE NETWORK

To perform its excellent data storage functions, the arweave operates as a hybrid of;

i. Blockweave: The blocweave on the network operates by incorperating the hashes of previous blocks, old and new blocks can be tested for efficiency. So any transaction that occur on the arweave is duly verified before been processed.

ii. Proof of Access: The network uses both proof of work and proof of access for the effectiveness of its role. It introduces the PoA so that all data can be carried along without any exclusion. When this is used together with the blockweave, so that new blocks can be redistributed by the miners on the network without having to recall old blocks.

iii. Wildfire: like i said earlier, it is important to allow easy access to all data stored on the network. With the implementation of the wildfire, data is made readily available. There are several incentives on the network put in place, that allows miners share data easily. The wildfire allows request for data access to be granted almost instantaneously.

iiii. Blockshadows: The last part of the hybrid that makes up the arweave is the blockshadows. The traditional storage done on the blockchain wastes alot of data in the real sense. By sharing the mined blocks amongst nodes, the blockchain network is ultimately slowed down. With the introduction of blockshadow, data is conserved and transactions are done faster. This is also the portion of th arweave that ensures cost effectiveness in transaction charges.

✳️ POINTS TO NOTE

• Arweave is trying to solve the data storage problems with the a better utilization of the blockchain technology.

• Arweave provides permanent data storage solutions at cheaper prices which are censorship-free, decentralized, and completely owned and managed by the utilizers

• It’s decentralized for added efficiency

✳️WHY I THINK ARWEAVE WILL DO BETTER THAN ITS COMPETITORS?

Arweave is distinguished to be better than its competitors such as Siacoin, Storj, Filecoin, Bluezelle and others because Arweave will make use of a consensus mechanism based upon the proof of access and proof of work system for storage and/or mining.

It will also address the gaps in the usage of the typical blockchain system through its hybrid features. Not forgetting its REST API that aows developers utilize the platform to build apps.

Its partnership with Charite, a reputable university hospital in Berlin is also a plus for them. The team are very experienced personnel with several of them bagging a doctorate degree in relevant areas of interest. The arweave network is definitely one I will consider investing in.

✳️TOKEN

To use the arweave platform for information storage, tokens are required to be used for settling fees. Whatever token is paid on the network will be used for continual development and maintenance of the weave.

TOKEN INFORMATION
Token Ticker : AR
Token type: ERC20
Token price: 1 AR= $0.75
Hard cap: $8,700,000 USD
Total tokens: 66,000,000

TOKEN DISTRIBUTION
48.5% Crowdsale
26.5% Reserve
19.1% Ecosystem
13% Team
2.9% Advisors

TEAM INFORMATION
Sam Williams (Co-Founder & CEO): His background and interest is in Decentralized systen design

William Jones (Co-Founder & CTO): He is currently carrying out research on development of cognitive systems and neural networks at the University of Nottingham.

India Raybould (CCO): she has a solid background in psychology.

Kyle Beckles (Senior developer): Work experience was at Bright future Software, Ukfast and Boohoo.com. He is a certified software engineer.

PARTNERSHIPS