Sia - Decentralized cloud storage (Review)

About Sia

Whitepaper https://sia.tech/assets/globals/sia.pdf
Project URL http://sia.tech/
Network status URL https://explore.sia.tech/
More network info http://siapulse.com/
Network launch June 2015
Client V1 June 2016
Blockchain type Proof of Work + Storage Contracts
Listed at Poloniex, Yunbi, Bittrex

Sia is a decentralized cloud storage platform that intends to compete with existing storage solutions, at both the P2P and enterprise level. Instead of renting from a centralized provider, peers on Sia rent storage from each other. Sia itself stores only the storage contracts formed between parties, defining the terms of their arrangement. A blockchain, similar to Bitcoin, is used for this purpose.

So Sia is...

Completely private

Sia splits apart, encrypts, and distributes your files across a decentralized network. Since you hold the keys, you own your data. No outside company can access or control your files, unlike traditional cloud storage providers.

Far more affordable

Sia's decentralized cloud is on average 10x less expensive than current cloud storage providers. Storing 1TB on Sia costs about $2 per month, compared with $23 on Amazon S3. Calculate your savings below!

Highly redundant

Sia stores tiny pieces of your files on dozens of nodes across the globe. This eliminates any single point of failure and ensures highest possible uptime, on par with other cloud storage providers.

Open source

Sia is completely open source. Over a dozen individuals have contributed to Sia's software, and there is an active community building innovative applications on top of the Sia API.

Blockchain marketplace

Using the Sia blockchain, Sia creates a decentralized storage marketplace in which hosts compete for your business – this leads to the lowest possible prices. Renters pay using Siacoin, which can also be mined and traded.

Storage Ecosystem

Sia relies on an ecosystem that facilitates decentralized storage. Storage providers can use the arbitrary data field to announce themselves to the network. This can be done using standardized template that clients will be able to read. Clients can use these announcements to create a database of potential hosts, and form contracts with only those they trust.

Economics of Sia

The primary currency of Sia is the siacoin. The supply of siacoins will increase permanently, and all fresh supply will be given to miners as a block subisdy. The number of SiaCoins created with each block is (300’000 - height). After height 270’000, all blocks will have a reward of 30’000 SiaCoins. Sia’s block time is 10 minutes.

Coin growth supply, according to the Whitepaper:

Year - Growth
1 - 90%
2 - 39%
3 - 21%
4 - 11.5%
5 - 4.4%
8 - 3.2%
20 - 2.3%

Sia vs Amazon S3, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure

Conclusion

Sia is a variant on the Bitcoin protocol that enables decentralized file storage via cryptographic contracts. These contracts can be used to enforce storage agreements between clients and hosts. After agreeing to store a file, a host must regularly submit storage proofs to the network. The host will automatically be compensated for storing the file regardless of the behavior of the client. We believe Sia will provide a fertile platform for decentralized cloud storage in trustless environments.

The Developers

David Vorick (CEO)
Johnathan Howell (Designer, working at Microsoft)
Luke Champine (Co-Founder)
Jane Maunsell (Software Engineering Intern)
Jordan Horwich (Software Engineer)
Ming Luo

Thank you for reading! ;)