Datamall Chain - Next Generation Decentralized Storage Public Chain Based on CYFS

A Brief History of Decentralized Storage

Decentralized storage is actually one of the earliest infrastructures in crypto industry. One of the earliest decentralized storage service providers, , was launched in 2018. Stroj is primarily benchmarked against Amazon Web Services (AWS), providing P2P storage services to enterprise users. Although Stroj's file storage is decentralized, it sacrifices some decentralization in its solution for collocating storage service providers and users, which precisely lowers the threshold of use for users with relatively high ease of use.

IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), which is better known, is also one of the earliest decentralized storage solutions, with the first version launched in 2015. Unlike Storj, IPFS is just a underlying protocol rather than a service provider. The traditionalcorresponding protocol for IPFS is the traditional HTTP. Simply put, when storing files using the HTTP protocol, the files stored on the server are assigned a specific URL address, which is the location of these files. When we need to access, we can only access these files by visiting the URL. However, in IPFS, files do not have a single address but are assigned a specific CID and stored on multiple computers participating in the IPFS system. When we need to access, we do not need to visit a particular database using the URL address but instead use the CID to send a request to computers around the world to ask which one has the file we need and then access or download it.

To learn more about how IPFS works, please refer to ""

IPFS is indeed more decentralized, but storing files on any computer requires storage space, and transmitting files to other users also requires additional bandwidth costs. So without economic incentives, why store files for others and participate in the IPFS system? Therefore, , which adds clear economic incentives to IPFS, was born in 2017.

Filecoin's solution is also simple. It opens an on-chain storage service matching market and matches the storage service providers with the storage needs of users through an order book. Through this method, storage providers can obtain fair income when providing services and more and more storage providers are incentivized to participate in the Filecoin network.

However, Filecoin is not perfect. For example, the hardware requirements for building Filecoin nodes are high, long retrieval process due to the design of IPFS, etc.

Datamall Chain' Solution

is similar to Filecoin, and it is a Layer-1 blockchain that serves decentralized storage protocols. It has an on-chain storage service matching market and can provide fair prices for storage services in real-time based on supply and demand. In addition, DMC also supports customizable storage space, and storage users can choose the most suitable storage provider according to their own needs. $DMC is the native coin of Datamall Chain, and storage service providers can become nodes of Datamall Chain by staking $DMC, while storage users can pay $DMC to purchase storage space from service providers.

<figure class="image"> <figcaption> Opration process of Datamall Chain storage market. Source: </figcaption> </figure>

It is worth noting that DMC is not just a single storage ecosystem. It is currently compatible with Filecoin and will continue to be developed in the future with the goal of achieving compatibility with mainstream storage protocols such as Storj and .

In addition to meeting the needs of decentralized storage, DMC will also support smart contracts and expand the DMC ecosystem and attract more users by introducing DeFi, NFT, and other application scenarios.

CYber File System

to DMC is what IPFS to Filecoin, they are both underlying decentralized storage protocols. As we mentioned earlier, when using IPFS, a CID specific to the data is obtained, and a CID is also required when retrieving the data. However, this method makes it impossible to determine the file uploader. CYFS combines the advantages of the traditional HTTP protocol and IPFS. Each participant in the CYFS system is assigned a Device ID (DID), which represents the participant device. When using CYFS to store, both a DID and a CID are obtained. Even if the file is copied by other devices, the DID and CID of the file will not change. This achieves data ownership, and no matter how many modifications or copies the file goes through, the uploader of the file is locked by the DID.

<figure class="image"> <figcaption> DIDs and CIDs that determine the identity of a file in CYFS. Source: </figcaption> </figure>

This storage method, which combines DID and CID, also brings an advantage: In IPFS, as the system scales, the number of storage providers increases, and the volume of files stored increases. As a result, the difficulty of retrieving files also increases exponentially. But in CYFS, when retrieving files, we can use DID to find the file searcher and directly request access from them. Even if the file uploader does not store the file locally, the searcher can be informed of which storage provider the target file can be found in. This makes the retrieval efficiency of CYFS higher, and as the system scales, the difficulty and efficiency of retrieving files will not be affected.

Foggie

is the " Web3 personal terminal" developed by Fog Works, partner of DMC. It provides functions such as wallets, data storage, data sharing, shared storage space for rewards, and purchasing storage space. Foggie is a terminal that participates in data storage on Datamall Chain, providing users with DID, which is key to achieving data ownership.

<figure class="image"> <figcaption> Foggie user interface. Source: </figcaption> </figure>

Compared to Filecoin, Foggie lowers the barrier for users to participate in using DMC. Users do not need high-performance hardware and can participate in the DMC ecosystem with just a regular PC. Even users or service providers without programming skills can use it, making it more user-friendly. In the future, various DApps will be available on Foggie, providing users with a one-stop service experience.

The first DApp to be available on Foggie is Drops, a one-click NFT minting tool. Through Drops, users can easily publish any data uploaded to DMC through Foggie as an NFT without the need for coding. They can also share and trade NFTs. Through the DID ownership mechanism of CYFS, users will also have copyright and control over data access, ensuring data security and privacy.

Closing Thoughts

, marking the introduction of smart contracts and DApps. This represents a transformation and update of the earliest batch of pure decentralized storage service, aimed at providing users with more use cases to attract more users. DMC has not only innovated in its underlying architecture but also improved the user experience and is gradually achieving compatibility with mainstream storage protocols. DMC is about to go live on August 4th, and we await its performance after its launch.