What is Arweave?

Chances are you use the cloud. The cloud is the storage of data on another server, which you can access via the Internet. Cloud storage offers many advantages over local data storage. For example, you can access the cloud storage anywhere and anytime as long as you have an internet connection. This is in contrast to local storage, where you must have physical access to the device. Arweave (AR) is a blockchain developed for data storage. So it is a cloud that can be used by anyone. We explain to you in this article what Arweave is and how this blockchain works. What is Arweave (AR)? Arweave is a blockchain intended for the storage of data. With this, it is similar to cloud storage, only the data is not stored on a central server. Instead, the data is stored on nodes in Arweave's network. You don't have to worry about the security of your data because everything is encrypted with cryptography. This means that only those who are in possession of the correct public and private keys can access this data. The way Arweave stores data is unique. Arweave invented block weave, which is a new type of structure for storing and processing data. How block weave works exactly, we will explain further in this article.

Of course, there are many different cloud storage providers. Think for example of Google Drive, Dropbox and iCloud. Yet there are a number of drawbacks to these services. By storing your data with these types of providers, they are in complete control of your data. After all, the data is on a server that is managed by them. When you think you have removed your data from the cloud, you have to assume that this is really the case. No one can verify this. Also, you often pay high monthly fees to use the cloud. In many cases, a large part of the available space is not even used, while you do pay for it. Arweave thinks they have solved these problems with their own cloud storage.

Block weave is a new variant of blockchain devised by the developers behind Arweave. Normally, the nodes of the blockchain must check all previous blocks to be sure that a transaction can be validated. With block weave, every random block can be checked to find out if a user can make a particular transaction. This ensures that a transaction can be processed faster. Users store their data on the so-called permaweb. This is the layer that runs on Arweave's blockchain, and serves as an application for storing data. Users have the option of storing all kinds of data. Think videos, music, movies, documents, NFTs, web pages and dApps.

Arweave's network uses the Proof of Access and Proof of Work consensus mechanism. A consensus mechanism is a group of rules that determines how a network should work. In the case of Arweave, the network consists of miners who add new blocks to the blockchain, for which they receive a reward. Proof of Access, however, ensures that miners do not have to access the entire blockchain, but only one willing block, to validate a transaction.

Arweave's blockchain also uses a protocol called Wildfire. With this, nodes are chosen based on how quickly they can respond to requests from other nodes in the network. The faster a node responds, the faster users can access their data. If a node does not respond fast enough for a longer period of time, they can be blacklisted. This means that they are no longer eligible to operate as a node in Arweave's network.

AR is the token of Arweave that you can buy at Coinmerce. On our crypto exchange it is possible to buy AR tokens with iDeal, SEPA, Giropay, Sofort, EPS and MyBank. So we support the most widely used payment methods of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. To be able to buy AR tokens at Coinmerce, you first need an account on our crypto exchange. Creating an account is quick and easy. If you have an account, you can go to the Coins page after logging in, to search for Arweave using the search bar. It is also possible to go directly to Arweave's buying page. On this page, you can quickly, safely and easily purchase AR tokens using the above payment methods.