Storj (STORJ): Decentralized Cloud Storage for Secure and Private Data

In today’s data-driven world, it’s important to keep your personal and work-related files close by for quick access. Traditional data storage options — i.e., hard drives — tend to be bulky and expensive, especially compared to online options. In response to an increasing need for convenient file storage, many mainstream cloud storage providers have stepped in to offer both free and paid storage services. The cloud market was estimated to be worth $371.4 billion in 2020, with Amazon Web Services (AWS) taking the lead at a 31% market share. 

However, as cloud storage is created to ease the sharing of data, its infrastructure makes it susceptible to data breach and hacking. Additionally, since central cloud providers hold complete control over the stored data, there have been increasing concerns over the intrusion into consumer privacy. 

A decentralized cloud platform called Storj has recently gained popularity for its ability to provide secure data storage without involving big corporations, cloud storage providers and other third parties. This article will help you understand how Storj works.

Key Takeaways:

• Storj is an open-source, enterprise-grade decentralized cloud storage platform that offers multi-layered encryption for maximum security.

• After encryption, data is split into tiny segments and distributed to storage worldwide, with the data’s owner holding the encryption key.

• STORJ is an ERC-20 token used for transactions within the Storj network.

What Is Storj?

Storj is an open-source, enterprise-grade decentralized cloud storage platform that’s AWS S3–compatible with end-to-end encryption. The company behind the Storj platform is Storj Labs Inc., founded in 2014 by Shawn Wilkinson, James Prestwich, Jim Lowry, John Quinn and Tome Boshevski. Storj is split into two parts, with the supply side referred to as Storj and the demand side called Storj DCS.

Storj is powered by a decentralized network of 16,000 anonymous storage nodes in over 100 countries, eliminating the need to trust cloud storage service providers with the task of protecting private data. Anyone can join to operate a node to help store bits of encrypted data in their node and be rewarded in STORJ tokens.

Storj DCS allows customers to upload their data for free, with a monthly storage charge of $4.00 per terabyte (TB), which can be paid in either fiat currency or STORJ tokens. Storj DCS automatically encrypts each file before separating the data and scattering them into the network of various individual hosts. As a result, the system enhances privacy as each node only gets a random fragment of the entire file, with decryption keys divided among each node and the host. 

This decentralized file distribution also helps improve download speed, since data can be downloaded in parallel. Additionally, the system eliminates the risk of storing data in a few isolated storage units that may be susceptible to a planned and coordinated attack, resulting in mass data loss. 

In February 2023, Storj DCS was upgraded with EVM compatibility, enabling users to interact with smart contract–based DApps.

How Can Storj Help With Data Storage and Sharing?

Storj’s decentralized file distribution provides several solutions for companies and individuals dealing with data. 

The Storj network gives users convenient and secure access to backups at a low cost. Videos can be downloaded and shared securely at fast speeds all across the world, with costs reduced by around 80%. 

In addition, the cost of storing data on a blockchain is lowered substantially with the aid of Storj, thereby facilitating DApp development and the advancement of web3. Lastly, as AI technology continues to grow, demand for data storage will increase as well. Storj can address this need by accommodating the storage requirements of increasingly complex AI models. 

How Storj Works

Three main components contribute to the functioning of the Storj network:

• Storage nodes allow users to rent out extra space on their hard drives to store and return data reliably for a fee. 

• Uplinks run on the client’s computer and upload files directly to the network. They also coordinate with peers for seamless storage and retrieval of data.

• Satellites coordinate traffic between the uplinks and the storage nodes. They’re responsible for storing metadata, ensuring the honesty of storage nodes, and disbursing payments. Each user has a dedicated account on a Satellite.

Source: Storj white paper V3

After a user’s Uplink gets permission from their Satellite to store data on the network, the Storj files go through a unique process called segmenting.

Through this process, files are compressed, encrypted, and then shredded or split into 80+ bits and pieces.

The pieces of the original files are subsequently scattered and stored across the network. If a user wants to decrypt and retrieve their files, they must provide the same private key used during the initial compression and encryption process.

If a segment is small enough, it will most likely be stored within a Satellite rather than on a storage node.

Storj offers the concept of redundancy to account for nodes going offline and potentially losing a piece of data. In this case, redundancy means that erasure codes are applied to the encrypted data segments, which assists in recovering deleted or corrupted data at minuscule disk space.

Key Features of Storj

The most important thing to know about Storj is that it employs a fundamentally different method for storing your data than most other cloud storage services. Instead of uploading copies of your files to a handful of servers, Storj uses a fully decentralized file storage architecture. Following are some of the features of Storj that make it a viable storage platform.

Multi-Layered Encryption

Storj provides end-to-end encryption for all stored data, meaning clients possess control of their encryption keys. Additionally, macaroon-based API keys are used for data access, giving users complete control over their data management.

No Risk of File Loss

As mentioned, when a user uploads a file, Storj splits it into overlapping “pieces” and places each one on separate storage nodes across various countries. When a user wants to download or move their files, Storj only has to access 29 pieces of each file in order to reconstruct the whole file. Thus, it becomes virtually impossible to lose files that you’ve uploaded to Storj.

Maximum Data Storage Security

Storj’s decentralized storage system is designed to make your data more secure, thanks to its zero-trust architecture that splits up files and stores them in different computers, so there’s no single point of failure. Additionally, all file pieces are encrypted on Storj’s servers and can’t be cracked without your private encryption key.

Quick File Access From Anywhere

When users want to access their files, the platform automatically downloads pieces of the files from the servers closest to their location. With over 16,000 servers (or storage nodes) spread across a global network, Storj can reach the pieces quickly, speeding up downloads. This high-speed access is particularly valuable for file sharing — users who need to share large files with a globally-distributed team.

Source: Storj

What Is STORJ Crypto?

STORJ is an ERC-20 utility token, used primarily for payment within the Storj network. Users pay in STORJ for storage space and bandwidth. The tokens are then rewarded to Storj node operators for contributing to the network, and also used for transactions between Satellite operators. 

STORJ Tokenomics

STORJ has a market cap of $55.29 million, with a total supply of 425 million tokens. The total supply of STORJ consists of circulating tokens, and tokens in timelocked and non-timelocked reserves. 

When the Storj network switched from the Bitcoin blockchain to Ethereum, its 2017 token sale created an initial circulating supply of 75.1 million. 

Storj had a circulating supply of 124 million in 2018, distributed as follows:

• Initial circulating supply of 75.1 million 

• 43.1 million STORJ tokens used to replace former SJCX tokens

• 5.8 million STORJ used from operational reserves for payments

Its total supply in 2018 included the 124 million circulating supply, 245 million STORJ tokens in timelocked reserves and 56 million in non-timelocked reserves. 

By the end of Q2 2023, 20.5 million STORJ were in non-timelocked reserves, 91.9 million in timelocked reserves and 312.6 million in circulation.

How to Buy STORJ Crypto Tokens

You can buy STORJ as a USDT Perpetual contract on Bybit (STORJUSDT). 

First,sign up with Bybit to create an account and fund it with USDT. To open a position, click on the Derivatives trading terminal on Bybit, and choose USDT Perpetual from the drop-down menu. Click on Trade to open an order. 

You can select your order preferences (Order by Qty denominates the order in OCEAN tokens, while Order by Value denominates it in USDT). In addition, you can increase or decrease the margin mode of the position depending upon your risk appetite.

STORJ Crypto Price Prediction

After aggregating STORJ price predictions from a range of analysts, the consensus reached is that STORJ will see a bullish trend in the years ahead.

Price Prediction expects that the price of STORJ will close out at $0.83 by the end of 2025 and reach a maximum of $5.15 by 2030. Meanwhile, Digital Coin Price forecasts STORJ’s price to hit $1.43 in 2025 and increase to $4.16 in 2030.

That said, all investments are subject to market risks, particularly in the volatile crypto space. Investors are advised to monitor the price and performance of STORJ carefully before investing.

Is STORJ a Good Investment?

Unlike traditional cloud storage services, which store data in huge data centers, Storj operates on a decentralized cloud storage network of over 16,000 independent nodes all across the globe. One of Storj’s main attractions is that users can buy, sell and control their data independently, reclaiming a service currently provided only by corporate giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon.

While there may be a plethora of decentralized cloud storage platforms, like Arweave and BitTorrent, Storj stands out with its focus on privacy. Its multi-layered encryption process ensures truly secure storage for privacy-oriented users, eliminating concerns that a corporate entity might view their information and target them for ads. This important use case draws potential users to Storj and its cryptocurrency.

Additionally, its high speed and low cost due to decentralized distribution of files make it a great video storage solution. File-storing and file-sharing are cost-effective, allowing for global expansion of video cloud streaming and potentially transforming the video production and streaming industries.

Closing Thoughts

Due to its unique network design and valuable features, Storj has secured itself a place in the world of data storage and cryptocurrency. With more users joining the decentralized revolution, it won’t be long before Storj becomes the go-to platform for storing and transferring data securely, and claims its place as the ultimate decentralized file storage solution.

#Bybit #TheCryptoArk