Arweave

Arweave is a decentralized storage network designed to provide permanent data storage. Built on a novel data structure called the blockweave, Arweave enables a permanent web, or permaweb, by distributing data across a network of nodes and keeping it accessible long term.

The network uses a Proof of Access consensus mechanism, where miners prove they can retrieve a random previous block to mine new blocks. Participants who store data and serve retrieval requests are compensated in the network’s native cryptocurrency, AR. This design aims to incentivize long-term data preservation by ensuring data is replicated across multiple nodes.

A key concept is the permaweb, a collection of permanently stored webpages, files, and applications accessible through Arweave gateways or directly via arweave.net. Data stored on Arweave is intended to remain available indefinitely, subject to redundancy, network health, and economic sustainability.

Economically, storing data requires an upfront payment that funds a perpetual storage endowment. The endowment is designed to cover future storage costs by providing ongoing rewards to miners as data is accessed, ensuring long-term availability without ongoing payments from users.

Developers can build on Arweave using SmartWeave contracts, which enable programmable interactions on the permaweb. Common use cases include archiving web content, preserving records, and creating tamper-evident digital artifacts.

The project was introduced in 2017 as a decentralized protocol with ongoing development and community participation. AR is the token used for transactions, storage payments, and incentives within the network.