StorJ: What Storj: What is it?

Storj Labs provides encrypted peer-to-peer cloud storage services through an open-source protocol that uses blockchain. STORJ tokens are exchanged for value on the network. Data centers are not operated by the company, but it allows individuals and organizations to share excess storage space. A node is a member of the network and receives STORJ tokens as a reward.

First introduced to the world in a white paper published in December of 2014, Storj is a system that leverages local cloud storage. There was to be a decentralized cloud storage platform that was encrypted from peer-to-peer.

The white paper was updated two years later. Decentralized networks connect people needing cloud storage space with those who have extra hard drive space for sale. Platform launch occurred late last year.

FOUNDER:

Shawn Wilkinson founded Storj in May 2014. Originally from Atlanta, Wilkinson worked in software development. His vision was to create a decentralized cloud storage network by leveraging blockchain technology.

The first white paper was published by John Quinn, who is his co-founder. There have been changes to the concept and the details since then. It has been more than a year since Storj launched its third version, V3.

Quinn had extensive experience in business development, as well as being a blockchain enthusiast. He worked in investment banking before he founded his projects (such as Storj). May 15, 2015, was the date on which Storj Labs Inc. was incorporated.

Wilkinson was in charge of the company’s operations at its inception. The company’s current CEO is Ben Golub, who stepped into his role after stepping down. Wilkinson has been named chief strategy officer (CSO), while Quinn has been appointed chief revenue officer (CRO) as well as a member of the company’s board of directors.

Through a public crowd-sale in 2014, 910 bitcoin were raised for about $460,000. A seed funding round raised $3 million three years after the venture began, followed by a token sale that generated an extra $30 million.

STORJ Token

On the Storj platform, payment operations are managed using the Storj token (STORJ). The farmer receives funds that are used to provide storage and bandwidth to the main platform from the fees paid by tenants.

The Storj verifies the existence of shards sent to farmers as a means of ensuring payments reach their intended beneficiaries. Farmers are required to respond to a request from Storj regarding the audit and verification of their files. According to this system, farmers are sent a Merkle challenge on an hourly basis to prove retrievability. Hard drive shards must remain intact and untainted for them to provide answers.

All payments will be halted if they attempt to delete or modify the file. The Storj team plans to develop a dedicated reputation system for its farmer nodes to expand the existing system with additional incentives to play fairly. Approximately 40k nodes are active on the Storj network as of 2018.

A little above USD 30 million was the market cap for Storj as of March 2019. Out of the 425 million planned tokens, nearly 135 million have been in circulation during the same timeframe. Even though Storj Labs pre-mined its entire supply of tokens, farmers and users can acquire tokens on Binance, Bittrex, and other cryptocurrency exchanges. This cryptocurrency is usually traded alongside other currencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether. STORJ tokens can be stored in ERC-20 wallets since it is based on Ethereum.

 How it is being unique?

In addition to being decentralized, Storj provides several unique features. One of the main differences between Storj and traditional cloud storage systems is that Storj runs on a network of thousands of independent computers, instead of huge data centers.

A user with a few terabytes of extra space can install Tardigrade on the platform to become a node. An internet connection that is strong and constant is all that is necessary.

Because the network is so efficient, the costs of storing data on the cloud are much lower than those who use traditional resources.

Its Bridge System

Due to its central role in decentralizing and securing the platform, Storj’s tenant network and the private key set must remain flexible to meet current technological changes. It is possible that users switching their devices now and then could have an impact on the underlying Storj system. The developers had to develop the Bridge server architecture because tenants’ encryption keys are stored on local devices which may get changed. The management servers can be accessed from other devices in cases when files have not been accessed locally.

Thus, the Bridge server technology was developed and implemented by the Storj team. Dedicated servers hold all relevant information about the encryption keys, which are then securely stored on those servers. It is the team at Storj’s hope to implement this technology in conjunction with a future file-sharing system since both identity verification and storage are conducted in the cloud.

Is it Secured?

Tardigrade, a software program installed on node computers, creates and secures user data for Storj Labs Inc. By using anonymous nodes, the privacy of our data is no longer dependent on cloud service providers.

In addition, the system is peer-to-peer encrypted, which means that all files must be encrypted before they can be distributed among independent hosts. With encrypting keys split among nodes and the host, the nodes only receive random fragments of a whole file. Therefore, they cannot be hacked.

As well as verifying the safety and retention of the hosted files, node operators get rewarded via mining (PoW) in Crypto. This is accomplished by using the Storj token. Data storage is done on the Storj network by individuals or organizations who pay tokens to the nodes in exchange for storage

By using this system, users are protected against malicious attacks and hacks. Moreover, it eliminates dangerous risks associated with storing data in a few isolated data centers – where an attack can be planned to cause mass data loss.