Swarm, a P2P decentralised data storage network, has announced the mainnet release of its storage incentives programme, a mechanism to reward storage providers, which now also includes staking.
Swarm is building a decentralised data storage and distribution technology. Swarm offers a Web3 base layer infrastructure that allows developers to create, host, and store dApps and all of their associated data, NFT meta-data, and media files. It’s an open-source peer-to-peer network that respects and secures its users’ data by default.
Swarm has been in development for five years. In February 2021, it raised $6 million in a private token sale. The sale saw Swarm’s native BZZ tokens get distributed to venture firms such as HashKey Capital, KR1, and NGC Ventures.
Swarm team recently published an updated network roadmap in September, and their native token BZZ reacted with a price increase of up to 40%.
The Swarm community and anyone willing to share their spare storage space and an internet connection can join the storage incentive programme. In exchange for their resources, the participants will receive financial rewards in the form of Swarm’s utility token (BZZ).
The incentives for renting storage is determined by market forces of supply and demand. Currently, the cost of renting storage is fixed, but in the future, Swarm plans yo introduce an oracle system to automatically update prices, further contributing to the decentralization of the storage network.
Storage Incentives, Staking Introduction and node requirements
Swarm said in a statement shared with AlexaBlockchain that the staking was implemented to allow for participation in the redistribution mechanism. The mechanism used is similar to Ethereum’s POS (Proof of Stake), in which nodes are chosen to receive all network storage fees on a regular basis. Storage fees will be increased up to 1000x from the current price point in the coming weeks.
Who can become a node operator? A standard computer with 20GB of storage and a stable internet connection are required to become a node operator, the most accessible requirements in its class to enable decentralization.
The Swarm said that its data storage network is already operational, and the team anticipates that the incentives mechanism will aid in the expansion of the Swarm economy. The Swarm team expects the network to eventually becoming self-sustaining while enforcing a healthy balance between storage operators and users.
Daniel Nagy, chief scientist and vice president for Swarm Foundation, commented: “Proper incentives for storing information and making it available upon request are what makes Swarm self-sustaining and viable in the long term, without subsidies or reliance on altruism.”
WEB3PC – A personal “World Computer”
Swarm believes that Ethereum’s original concept of the “world computer” is being upgraded with its data storage network. A new computer brand, Web3PC, that is private by design and respects the users’ right to use and create content.
Web3PC will communicate, store, and provide services while keeping personal information private. All data will be completely owned by their rightful owners. Fairdrive, a Dropbox-like solution for file storage in Swarm, is already available as a desktop App and as a Web3PC component.
Fairdrive enables people to use the Swarm network in a familiar Web 2.0 way. Furthermore, because Fairdrive is open source and interoperable, developers can easily plug their dApps into it, providing users with a full Web3 experience from the comfort of their own computers. All data generated by Fairdrive is saved according to a simple rule: Local comes first, followed by Swarm.
Swarm plans to launch a working Web3PC prototype by the first half of 2023.
‘BitTorrent’ of Web3
The Swarm protocol is comparable to P2P storage networks like BitTorrent but differs in that it incorporates economic incentives that make it possible to store data without authorization and to be more censorship resistant.
According to Swarm, the storage contract is a structural difference. Other popular decentralised storage solutions use the storer, which is only suitable for private data. Swarm’s architecture allows for such a deal with the network, delivering the permissionless property and making it suitable for both private and public data.
Swarm aspires to become the serverless internet operating system for hosting and running decentralised applications.
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