Storj

What is Storj

Storj (sym. STORJ) is cryptocurrency and a network which offers decentralised cloud storage network where users can buy and rent cloud storage space from other users.

History of Storj

Storj was conceptualised by Shawn Wilkinson and John Quinn. The team also has Anand Babu Periasamy and Warren Weber as their advisors.

(More coming soon…)

How Storj Works

After signing up for Storj, the user can buy cloud storage. Once he wants to upload a file into his Storj cloud drive, the file is encrypted and then fragmented into smaller pieces. Then the pieces are sent out to the decentralised network where they reside scattered. Once he wants to download the file, it is then downloaded from multiple sources and assembled locally. The user has the decryption key which is then used to get back the original file.
To maintain data redundancy, the same fragment of the file is stored on multiple computers. The user pays charges for the storage space ($0.015 per GB per month) and the bandwidth ($0.05 per GB).
On the other hand, the users who hold the files by renting their hard drive space is compensated by the company as well.
STORJ is the native currency and the prices are mentioned in STORJ as well as the transactions take place via STORJ.

Why Storj

• Perfect Privacy: The data resides in the decentralised network which means nobody has complete access to user data except the user. This is unlike centralised cloud storage companies like Google Drive, Amazon S3 or Microsoft OneDrive where the corporates have complete access to user data.
• High Data Redundancy: The same fragment of data resides on multiple computers in the network so even if few of them are actually inaccessible at any moment, the user can download from other machines.
• End to End Encryption: SHA256 encryption is used to encrypt the data and only the user has the key to decrypting the file. Thus, the data is safe from sniffers as it is almost impossible to break SHA256 encryption technique.
• Fast Data Transfer: As the data doesn’t come from any centralised server, the data speed is actually as fast as the internet connection itself. Storj doesn’t enforce any throttling algorithm to slow it down either.
• Affordable Pricing: The Storage space, as well as the bandwidth, are kept very affordable, compared to the popular storage services. The rates are, for storage space $0.015 per GB per month and for bandwidth $0.05 per GB.