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Arweave is a decentralized data storage protocol specifically developed to allow users to store documents and applications on what is known as the permaweb. The company's protocol is built on a consensus mechanism that makes permanent, low-cost data storage available anytime. And this is based on the blockchain-like structure called the blockweave.
The Arweave protocol works to match people with hard drive space with individuals and organizations that need to store data or host content permanently, achieved through a decentralized network and with all stored data backed by a sustainable endowment to ensure it is available. On top of the core Arweave protocol is the permaweb.
The permaweb is a collection of data, websites, and decentralized applications (dApps), which forms a permanent, decentralized web that is accessible through regular internet browsers. The permaweb is comprised of a set of modular and interchangeable protocols and works to solve the problem of memory on the web, as it allows developers and users to share a knowledge base replicated in vast numbers across the web. The permaweb is powered by two fundamental components: a scalable blockchain-like structure using a new mining system and a sustainable endowment to ensure the availability and permanence of data.
The blockchain uses a proof-of-access (PoA) consensus mechanism to provide digital storage. This proprietary consensus mechanism is designed to use a proof-of-work (PoW) style consensus mechanism for the mining of new blocks but uses a randomly selected block from a previously mined node to check the new node. If the new node passes the check, it is added to the network, reducing the time and energy necessary to mine new blocks while maintaining the security of the PoW mechanism.
This process then releases Arweave's native token, and the more data a miner stores, the greater the likelihood they will increase their potential endowment from the blockchain, with every joule of energy used in the process matching some quantity of expenditure on data access.
The Arweave token (AR) is used on the network to, as noted above, reward miners for engaging in the network and maintain copies of data and to pay for transaction fees across the network. Arweave has a maximum token supply of 66 million AR, of which 55 million was minted on the blockweave's genesis block and the additional 11 million gradually introduced as block rewards. AR can also be traded or purchased on cryptocurrency exchanges and can be traded against stablecoin Tether, Bitcoin, and Ether.
The Arweave network builds on content distribution mechanisms utilized in BitTorrent, or similar peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, but expands upon this to encourage participants in a game called "optimistic tit-for-tat." This game is proposed to have nodes share data reciprocally with other nodes and attempts to improve upon the notion of peer assessment and optimistic bandwidth-sharing by creating a more generalized form of "karma." In Arweave's version of this game, nodes track the "favors" performed by other nodes. The primary "favor" is nodes providing access to the Arweave's dataset by serving data from the network to others upon request. Network participants can then track these favors and use the information of these rankings to determine how to share resources.
SmartWeave is a smart contracting platform built on the Arweave network. It is designed to allow users and developers to build programs with trustable and decentralized execution. One feature of the SmartWeave is the process of lazy evaluation, which moves the processing of the smart contract from the node to the user, meaning instead of running each code on every machine on the network, the contract states are computed on the machine that requests them and no others.
Gateways allow users to view content on the permaweb and enable users to point an unmodified web browser to a transaction ID in the Arweave network and have the content rendered locally. Gateways also allow for the hosting of web applications on the permaweb. Further, gateway incentivization is excluded from the core Arweave protocol, which allows users to choose the mechanism they find most appropriate to mediate access to the network. For example, one user may prefer an ad-supported model for network access, while another may prefer a subscription model. Gateways on the Arweave network also offer a GraphQL interface for querying tags associated with Arweave transactions.
