Hey folks, in today’s article I’m going to be doing a bit of an update on Arweave, which if you’re unfamiliar, I highly recommend that you check out an article I did on Arweave and their native token $AR last November.
For reasons which I’ll dive further into this article, since that time we’ve seen a huge massive run in price action, nearly a 7x, with no real signs of slowing down:
I’m not sure if we’re going to see another 7x, but here are some of the highlights that the Arweave ecosystem has been cooking, and why I’m just as bullish (if not more so) than I was last year.
But first, a quick recap…
What is Arweave ($AR)?
Straight from their website, “the Arweave network is like Bitcoin, but for data: A permanent and decentralized web inside an open ledger.” The data you store with Arweave is permanent, so that means that unlike any cloud storage provider such as Amazon’s AWS, Google Drive, or Microsoft’s OneDrive, with Arweave you pay a 1-time fee and are able to store your data, once again, permanently.
The $AR token itself is native only to Arweave’s network — a token that serves as payment and gas for transactions. And before you go looking on Dexscreener to see $AR’s amazing price action this past year, you’ll notice that $AR is mostly only available on centralized exchanges.
What’s happened with Arweave since last November?
The Arweave ecosystem has evolved considerably since I wrote about it last November, with some major announcements that have unfolded in the last several months.
The Hyper Parallel Computer
Probably the biggest announcement that was announced last February in regards to their new Hyper Parallel Computer:
The hyper parallel computer launches right now. pic.twitter.com/Gyf5F00VYm
— ao (@aoTheComputer) February 27, 2024
If you don’t have the time to nerd out for the full 23 minute video, in a nutshell Arweave essentially has been able to create a way in order to simultaneously process a highly scalable number of computational processes all at the same time. This innovation mixed in with their “ permaweb” and permanent data storage solutions has had many in the community speculating whether or not we’re starting to see the next version of the internet unfold.
Bilders on Arweave AO
While Arweave is still primarily responsible for data storage, with the incorporation of their Hyper Parallel Computer, Arweave’s AO network acts as an interwoven layer-1 that processes all of its dAPPS and smart contract-based transactions, many which have seen insane user growth:
Uncoincidentally, the network as a whole has seen parabolic growth over the last month, reaching nearly a billion transactions in just the month of May:
Mind you this is with many projects still in testnet, and without the release of its own token. Speaking of…
The $AO Token
Another exciting announcement has been for the $AO token, which will have 100% of supply going to the community:
As you can see in the tweets above, similar to $BTC, $AO will have a 21 million token supply with a 4-year halving cycle, and additionally the TGE has been scheduled for June 13th at 11AM EST.
AR.IO
A project being built in tandem with Arweave’s ecosystem is AR.IO, which put simply, is a “decentralized network of gateways that unlocks access to and empowers [Arweave’s] permaweb” The gateways perform the critical functions for how the AO network itself process, retrieves, and indexes data.
$IO token: Like most other blockchains, node runners and validators are incentivized to facilitate the network, usually with tokens, which in AR.IO’s case will be the $IO token. $IO tokens will be required if you’re wanting to run your own node, otherwise you’ll be able to delegate them to a gateway in order to share in part of the incentivized rewards.
Still in testnet, there’s a pretty extensive EXP point campaign which will allow you to start earning EXP tokens, which should later be convertible to $IO. There’s currently several ways in which you can earn EXP (primarily running a gateway), but for all you non-devs out there, the easiest route is simply going through their Zealy quests. (On an advisory note, I’d be extra careful about making sure you correctly answer the questions the first time, otherwise you’ll be subject to a 24-hour cooldown period).
Conclusion
What really impresses me the most about Arweave is that there’s no real glitz or glamour with their marketing — it’s really about the tech, and the tech is clearly speaking for itself. Additionally, we’re talking about an ecosystem where their main token ($AR) is nearly 100% unlocked (meaning little dilution), and where they’ve decided to release 100% of their new native token ($AO) to the community — something which I think really speaks to the ethos of what Arweave is all about.
The items I’ve mentioned throughout this article are really only scratching the surface about what the potential of what Arweave’s AO can be, and if you’re interested in learning about some of the many projects that are currently building on AO, I’d highly recommend going over to 321.io to check out a full comprehensive list.
Additionally, it hasn’t been made clear whether or not holding your $AR on a centralized exchange will qualify you for getting some $AO, but If you haven’t been holding $AR in a self-custodial wallet, then I’d recommend doing so soon, especially since the TGE for $AO is coming up on June 13th.
And as always, thanks for taking the time to read this and be sure to follow me on twitter (https://twitter.com/CryptosWith) to get all my latest updates. Also, looking for a gift for your Crypto-loving/hating friend? Give them a REKT journal to cheer them up!
Disclaimer: And as a final reminder, this is not financial advice and this is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Please as always, do your own research and find what investments are best for you. Cheers everyone! allocation, but I’m also earning some pretty significant yields on my assets at the same time.