Sia is a decentralized cloud storage platform that utilizes blockchain technology for security. The network utilizes unused global hard drive capacity to create a storage marketplace, providing reliability and cost-effectiveness compared to traditional cloud services. ^[1]

David Vorick and Luke Champine are Sia's founders and the creators of Siacoin.

History

Siacoin, created by developers David Vorick and Luke Champine in 2013, emerged from their collaboration during a hackathon at MIT in September of that year. Vorick introduced the idea of a decentralized file storage network, eventually named Siacoin after the Egyptian god of wisdom, Sia. Following their initial meeting, Vorick and Champine co-founded Nebulous Inc. in May of the following year, securing $750,000 in funding. They subsequently launched a public beta version of Siacoin in March 2015, with the final version of the storage network released by the end of the same year. ^[2]

In 2021, Nebulous underwent a split, creating Skynet Labs and the Sia Foundation. David Vorick led Skynet Labs, while Luke Champine heads the Sia Foundation. ^[2]

Overview

Sia operates as a decentralized cloud storage platform, utilizing blockchain technology to ensure security. It leverages unused hard drive capacity globally to establish a data storage marketplace that offers increased reliability and cost-effectiveness compared to traditional cloud storage services. Sia operates on its blockchain and utilizes a utility token called Siacoin (SC) to facilitate its operations. ^[1]

The primary aim of Sia is decentralizing data storage, providing users complete control over their data to safeguard it against theft, censorship, and unauthorized access. Sia emphasizes the user experience and offers documentation to assist users in utilizing its software suite effectively. ^[1]

When uploaded to Sia, files undergo fragmentation, encryption, and global distribution. Renters upload files, while hosts store them, and the process is automated. The network ensures continuous accessibility by creating multiple copies of uploaded files. Additionally, hosts only receive encrypted fragments of files and never gain access to the complete files. ^[1]

Data on Sia remains private and distributed globally, eliminating single points of failure and ensuring high uptime reliability. Users retain full data ownership as they hold the encryption keys, preventing external entities from accessing or controlling files. The decentralized nature of Sia also protects against de-platforming and makes files resistant to hacking attempts. ^[1]

Sia Foundation

The Sia Foundation, a non-profit organization, works to advance the Sia decentralized storage network. Originating as a startup, Sia has encountered the inherent conflict between its founders' ideals and the profit-oriented nature common to businesses. The establishment of the Sia Foundation addressed this conflict by eliminating the need to prioritize profit, thus enabling it to better adhere to the original principles of Sia. ^[1][3]

The Sia Foundation's objectives include maintaining core Sia protocols and consensus code, supporting developers building on Sia, promoting the platform, ensuring easy acquisition and safe storage of Siacoins, developing network scalability solutions, leading the community through hard forks, and more. ^[1][3]

Sia Network

The Marketplace

The Sia storage network is an open marketplace connecting data consumers with providers. Storage costs are determined competitively by hosts and renters within this market. Hosts may adjust prices to attract more data for storage, while renters may pay higher rates for storage with reliable hosts. Storage prices are quoted in Siacoins, which is necessary for forming storage contracts and uploading data. Hosts set their prices, fostering competition among quality hosts for storage contracts. ^[4]

Storage Contracts

Storage contracts represent a fundamental aspect of the Sia network, enabling interactions between users and storage providers. These contracts, enforced by blockchain technology, establish agreements between parties, automatically resolving when obligations are met. They facilitate agreements with unfamiliar parties for data storage needs. Hosts manage data storage and receive compensation upon successful storage completion. Renters pay hosts exclusively for the utilized data storage. By default, uploading a file automatically creates a storage contract lasting for three months. ^[4]

Renting

Renting on Sia involves uploading files onto the Sia storage network to be stored by hosts and other users who have allocated their available storage space. Renters establish storage contracts with hosts, specifying the amount of data to be stored, the duration of storage, and the agreed-upon payment in Siacoin (SC). ^[4]

Hosting

Hosting on Sia involves providing surplus storage capacity to the Sia network. This contribution ensures that data remains securely stored with its rightful owners – the renters who uploaded it. In return, hosts earn Siacoins, the cryptocurrency fueling the Sia network, which can be utilized to procure storage space or exchanged for other cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies on various crypto exchanges. ^[5]

Hosts control all storage space prices, including storage pricing, contract fees, upload and download bandwidth pricing, and collateral. ^[5]

Sia Wallet

The Sia Wallet is the official cryptocurrency wallet for Siacoins (SC). It provides a secure and intuitive platform for storing, sending, receiving, and managing Siacoin assets.

Siacoin (SC)

Siacoins (SC) are utility tokens driving the Sia network, which is important in facilitating network operations. They serve a singular purpose, primarily enabling various activities on the network. For instance, users utilize Siacoins to pay for storage when uploading files to Sia. Additionally, individuals earn Siacoins by storing data for others and can transfer them by sending or receiving them at their wallet address. ^[6]

Tokenomics

Siacoins (SC) have an unlimited supply, reflecting the vast amount of data humans generate. As Sia aims to establish itself as the primary storage layer of the internet, a substantial number of Siacoins will be necessary to fulfill associated contracts. These coins are continuously generated through proof-of-work mining, circulating over 40 billion Siacoins. New coins are created per block based on a formula, ensuring a steady supply. However, a network hard fork introduced a minor adjustment to support the Sia Foundation, including continuous funding and an initial offering of approximately 1.57 billion Siacoins. Despite temporary inflation resulting from the fork, it remains an integral part of Siacoin's design. It ensures network integrity by providing block rewards to miners and accounting for factors like the Proof-of-Burn mechanism and lost coins. ^[2][7]

Siafunds

Siafunds function as tokens used for revenue sharing within the Sia network, where a 3.9% fee from each storage-related transaction is allocated to Siafund holders. Initially, approximately 1,400 Siafunds were distributed to investors through securities sales, while Skynet Labs currently holds the remaining ~8,600 Siafunds. When transactions conclude on the network, 3.9% of various funding sources, including renter fees and host collateral, are set aside for Siafund holders, who receive a fair share of this reserved amount upon contract completion. The creation of Siafunds aimed to establish a sustainable funding model for Sia network development, encouraging developers and investors to contribute to its growth by sharing its revenue. As the user base expands and more users participate in storage transactions, Siafund revenues rise, offering additional support for ongoing Sia-supported software development. ^[8]

The total number of Siafunds ever to be issued stands at 10,000, all created during the launch of the Sia software in 2015. As the volume and value of contracts on the Sia network increase over time, the revenue per Siafund rises proportionally, given that the quantity of issued Siafunds remains fixed. Initially, Nebulous, Inc. owned all 10,000 Siafunds, but they have since sold some to support development efforts. Following a rebranding to Skynet Labs in 2021, Nebulous still holds approximately 8,600 Siafunds, while the remainder have been distributed to external parties. ^[8]

Partnerships

Handshake

On August 3rd, 2020, Sia unveiled a partnership with Namebase to enhance the hosting experience for Skynet users. A subsequent upgrade to the Skynet portal was launched, enabling users to resolve any Handshake domain linked to a Skylink. This development allows developers and users to host their content on Skynet, utilizing a human-readable link that consistently displays current content. ^[9]

Gitcoin

Sia announced a collaboration with Gitcoin and Open Web Collective (Near) on November 30th, 2020. This collaboration offered more opportunities for developers to create and enhance new Web3 products, help lay the groundwork for new startups, access mentorship from the Web3 community, and potentially secure funding. ^[10]

Akash Network

In June 2021, Skynet Labs and Akash Network collaborated to advance a new decentralized internet infrastructure. By merging Skynet's decentralized storage and data-sharing features with Akash Network's decentralized cloud computing capabilities, developers could create comprehensive decentralized applications that compete with and often surpass centralized tech giants' services. Lower costs and increased reliability were among the evident benefits, but the true advantage lay in the enhanced political stability offered by this partnership. ^[11]

Akash Network introduced cloud servers and computing power, enabling the operation of databases, APIs, and application backends without needing physical server rentals or dependence on traditional cloud providers. Robust storage options were essential for servers and applications, a gap that Skynet effectively addressed. Skynet offers various functions, including database backups, user data storage, content delivery, and website hosting. Together, these platforms eliminated the barriers present in the traditional web, providing access to its full potential without intermediaries. ^[11]