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About Arweave
Key Points
- Arweave is a decentralized storage network that seeks to offer a platform for the indefinite storage of data.
- The network uses a native cryptocurrency, AR, to pay “miners” to indefinitely store the network’s information.
- Arweave was founded by Sam Williams and William Jones in 2017, and officially launched in June 2018.
- The project has received $8.3 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, and Coinbase Ventures.
- Arweave has a maximum token supply of 66 million AR.
- The Arweave network is built on a modified version of blockchain technology called “blockweave,”
About Arweave: A Pioneering Decentralized Storage Network
Introducing Arweave (AR): The Pioneering Blockchain for Permanent Data Storage
Arweave is a decentralized storage network that endeavors to provide a platform for the perpetual preservation of data. Dubbed “a collectively owned hard drive that never forgets,” the network primarily serves as the foundation for “the permaweb” — a permanent, decentralized web replete with a diverse array of community-driven applications and platforms.
Delve into the intricacies of Arweave by exploring our comprehensive overview of this innovative project.
The Arweave network employs a native cryptocurrency, AR, to incentivize and compensate “miners” for perpetually storing the network’s data.
In August 2017, the project was initially unveiled as Archain, before undergoing a rebranding to Arweave in February 2018, ultimately culminating in its official launch in June 2018.
The Visionaries Behind Arweave: Meet the Founders
Arweave was co-founded by Sam Williams and William Jones, two Ph.D. candidates at the University of Kent, who brought their unique expertise to the project. Williams, with his background in decentralized and distributed systems, had developed an operating system called HydrOS as part of his academic pursuits. Jones, on the other hand, specialized in graph theory and neural networking. While Williams opted to forgo his graduate studies to dedicate himself to the company, Jones departed the project in mid-2018 to complete his Ph.D.
According to Williams, the inspiration for his innovative concept struck while ascending a mountain in Scotland, which he subsequently refined with Jones, with whom he meticulously fleshed out the technical intricacies. Following the successful launch of Arweave, Williams was appointed as an advisor to Minespider, a pioneering company specializing in blockchain-based supply chain tracking for the raw materials industry, and has also served as a mentor for the esteemed Techstars accelerator program.
Notwithstanding its centralized origins, Arweave took a pivotal step towards decentralization in January 2020 by establishing a decentralized autonomous organization, comprising core community members, to propel the development and expansion of its network and ecosystem.
Unveiling the Unparalleled Attributes of Arweave
According to its yellow paper, Arweave aspires to safeguard the “collective capacity to store and share information between individuals and across time, bequeathing it to future generations.” To achieve this ambitious goal, its flagship permaweb is constructed upon Arweave’s innovative “blockweave,” a blockchain technology variant wherein each block is intricately linked to both its immediate predecessor and a randomly selected earlier one. Arweave posits that this design incentivizes miners to store more data, as they must be able to access random previous blocks to add new ones and receive rewards.
Arweave is dedicated to fostering a sustainable ecosystem surrounding its network. In June 2020, the platform introduced “profit sharing tokens,” a novel concept that enables developers to receive dividends whenever network transaction fees are generated from their application. Furthermore, Arweave hosts incubators designed to support the development of permaweb-based applications. The project also collaborates with startups through its “Boost” program, offering complimentary storage and access to the Arweave team, as well as connections with industry investors.
In March 2020, Arweave secured a substantial investment of $8.3 million from a trio of esteemed investors, comprising Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, and Coinbase Ventures. This notable infusion of capital followed an earlier investment in November 2019, also led by Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures, with additional support from Multicoin Capital.
What Is the Circulating Supply of Arweave (AR) Coins?
As outlined in its yellow paper, Arweave boasts a capped token supply of 66 million AR. Notably, 55 million AR were minted at the inception of the blockweave’s genesis block in June 2018, with an additional 11 million slated for gradual introduction as block rewards.
In August 2017, Arweave hosted a token pre-sale event, during which 10.8% of the initially generated token supply was successfully sold. This was followed by two public sales in May 2018 and June 2018, resulting in the sale of 7.1% and 1.1% of the supply, respectively. The company allocated a further 19.5% for private sale, 2.9% for project advisors, and 13% for the team, subject to a five-year lock-up period with 20% released annually. Additionally, 19.1% was earmarked for ecosystem development, and 26.5% was reserved for future project use, also subject to a five-year lock-up period with 20% released per annum.
The Arweave Network’s Robust Security Mechanisms
The Arweave network is built upon a modified iteration of blockchain technology, dubbed “blockweave,” which employs a novel “proof-of-access” consensus algorithm – a nuanced variation of the traditional proof-of-work mechanism. This innovative approach entails that each new block is linked not only to its immediate predecessor but also to a randomly selected previous block, with both blocks being hashed to generate the new one. Notably, miners are not obligated to store the entire blockchain, but they are incentivized to store more information, thereby demonstrating their ability to access the requisite old blocks necessary to mine a new one.
The mining protocol employed by Arweave, RandomX, underwent a rigorous audit by four esteemed cybersecurity firms — Trail of Bits, Kudelski Security, X41 D-Sec, and QuarksLab — in August 2019. Furthermore, the project intends to transition to a novel mining algorithm, dubbed SPoRA, slated for implementation in early 2021, which, as announced in December 2020, has undergone a thorough audit by NCC Group.
Where to Acquire Arweave (AR): A Comprehensive Guide
AR can be acquired on prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, including MXC.COM, Bilaxy, Huobi Global, and Hoo, among others. It is tradable against the stablecoin Tether (USDT), as well as the leading cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
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