Decentralized Cloud Storage Service Reaches 1 Petabyte Milestone

Storj (pronounced: storage) aims to become a cloud storage platform that can’t be censored or monitored, or have downtime. Storj is a platform, cryptocurrency, and suite of decentralized applications that allows users to store data in a secure and decentralized manner. It uses blockchain features like a transaction ledger, public/private key encryption, and cryptographic hash functions for security.

“it will be way cheaper (10x-to-100x), faster, and more secure than traditional cloud storage services.”
— – Storj

Storj is working hard to solve data security issues with the help of its own web app, MetaDisk, and client app, DriveShare. It is one of the first decentralized, end-to-end encrypted cloud storage platforms that uses blockchain technology and cryptography to secure online files. There is no need to trust a corporation, vulnerable servers, or employees with your files. Storj completely removes trust from the equation.

“The decentralized aspect of Storj means there are no central servers to be compromised, and because of the use of client-side encryption, only the end-users have access to their unencrypted files and encryption keys.”
— – Storj

To best protect users data, files are encrypted before they are uploaded. Each file is split up into chunks, which are first encrypted and then distributed for storage across the network. The network is comprised of DriveShare nodes run by users around the world who rent out their unused hard drive space in return for Storjcoin X (SJCX).

“People running the DriveShare client will never know what files they are hosting, nor will they be able to access them. The person uploading files to the network will be responsible.” – Storj

Test Group A was used to access the network scalability, and collected data on network latency, disconnects, and uptime. Test Group B is the first time Storj was able to reward users for participating in the network, testing the reward mechanisms and expanding the storage capacity of the network as a whole.

“We are thrilled to announce that we have now reached 1 PB of storage on our network in just about a month. We have now completed the all 3 initial milestones for Test Group B. We’ve rewarded participants with over 145,000 SJCX so far!”
— – Storj

SJCX is a token that allows you to purchase storage or earn money for renting your free Hard Drive space. SJCX is a Counterparty asset that uses the Bitcoin blockchain for its transactions.

SJCX will have value as it’s backed by a commodity – storage and bandwidth. Storage is a resource that literally every single computer user in the world requires, whether it be cloud based or local. Bandwidth, while not used by everyone, is also a necessity for the majority of computer users.

Traditional cloud storage providers have costs including employee salaries, server expenses, and heating/cooling systems. The average person would only have electricity costs to cover. This means Storj farmers can offer much lower prices to the network, at whatever price they deem appropriate.

“Right now we rely on manufacturers and corporations to provide these resources to us and, though we can set a market price through our demand, there are massive overhead costs we’ll always pay extra for in a centralized model.”
— – Storj

Utilizing the hard drive space of your peers is sensible and environmentally friendly, but Storj is ultimately a market driven approach that brings down storage costs for everyone. Gone are the days of buying external storage devices for secure memory space, now you can simply redeem some of the tokens you earned when you had plenty of free space.

Since Storj is a decentralized network, the price of data storage will ultimately be determined by market forces. Farmers will compete to win the business of users, and users will only agree to prices they find competitive. MetaDisk will make it a simple process for users to find farmers at competitive rates.