ArDrive, a file storage app, seeks to change up the access lines that feed files into Arweave’s blockchain-based data storage. According to information, the company plans to use the $17.2 million it raised to build a decentralised alternative to arweave.net, a vital gateway for uploading content to Arweave’s on-chain hard drive, the “permaweb.”
Almost all of Arweave’s data has come in through the core team’s first gateway service. AR.IO (token), a proposed decentralised network, might change that by enabling anybody with the technical know-how and around one MacBook Pro’s worth of spare processing power to operate their gateway. Arweave is among a few blockchain-based platforms that aim to make decentralised file storage more widespread. Arweave, Fliecoin, Akash, and Storj all provide uncensorable, low-cost file storage, and they’re all expanding quickly in comparison to cloud giants like AWS.
ArDrive’s founder Phil Mataras told sources, “Gateways are the front entrance to the permaweb. All the applications connect to the gateway to push data up, inquire for it, transmit a transaction from one wallet to another and it all goes via the gateway.”
Arweave presently has almost 1,000 nodes, 150,000 users, and 157 million files, according to Arweave co-founder Sam Williams. AR.IO token may play a significant role here. It’ll be distributed using a SmartWeave smart contract, analogous to ArDrive’s currency but without the profit-sharing features. However, the AR.IO token’s principal function will be as a form of gateway collateral. To demonstrate their dedication to the network, operators will place AR.IO tokens against their users’ balances.
