Vitalik’s recent rants about DeFi being stuck in a loop might be, by a stretch, a bit too critical.

Still, his avocation for more substantive apps to be built on-chain is well in line with the fact that the true ticket out of the trenches is adoption that comes from more optionality in products being built here.

With a few scrolls through the timeline, it’s clear that many people agree, and as a result, there’s been a resurgence of attention to sectors like DePIN and RWAs.

However, regardless of the attention the DePIN sector received earlier this year and the renewed focus it’s getting now, infrastructural challenges, particularly in accessing efficient, reliable, and secure data, still present significant hurdles to the sector's growth.

Today’s subject, Irys, understands this and is probing the issues with on-chain data storage, verifiability, and user experience.

The idea is that we must take a different approach to solving these issues to achieve adoption through sectors like DePIN.

Specifically, we need a solution for on-chain data storage that’s robust enough to address these challenges without fragmenting network operations.

In line with this, we’ll dissect Irys' mission, its approach to data storage, and why it is particularly useful for pioneering DePIN applications and other important apps on-chain.

What is Irys?

Irys is creating space for various on-chain applications by optimizing for data storage and execution. The protocol is designed as a layer-1 datachain that integrates execution with data storage rather than separating them.

Of course, Irys isn’t some random solution to a nothingburger problem. There are, in fact, a host of issues requisite with the conventional handling of blockchain data that need fixing.

Let’s take a look into some of these issues.

What are the current issues with on-chain data storage?

Well, several. For instance, most existing solutions are fragmented, leading to their own set of limitations.

Fragmenting data across different shards (nodes validating the network) poses challenges when transactions must interact with data stored in multiple shards. Synchronization becomes complex and difficult to manage.

Transactions must also be atomic, but coordinating multiple shards simultaneously can introduce latency issues.

To add, because fragmentation means that no single node holds the entire dataset, data verification becomes hectic and complicated. This can lead to inconsistencies or even a fork if shards disagree on the state of the blockchain.

Security is also undermined when data is fragmented in a network chain, exposing the network to attacks. Should an attacker disrupt one shard, it would disrupt the entire network.

Another area where conventional datachains fall short is their strategy of separating the execution layer from data storage. Applications that rely on real-time data are particularly disadvantaged by this approach, as it doesn’t effectively serve their needs.

Finally, current data storage architectures are mostly inefficient due to their unpredictable storage costs. They also pose centralization risks because a portion of the network is controlled by a few entities.

Based on these problems, Irys is building the first programmable datachain.

Irys as the first programmable datachain

Before looking into solutions to these challenges, it's imperative to understand that a datachain is a blockchain specifically optimized for data storage.

Optimization, the Irys way, specifically addresses the problems mentioned earlier.

The goal is to create a more affordable environment where data is stored, verifiable, and not fragmented, enabling the IrysVM to efficiently utilize on-chain data during computations — in other words, a truly programmable datachain.

This culminates in the perfect environment for DePIN applications to situate, leveraging the entire architecture of a programmable datachain.

In the next few headings, we will outline each moving part of Irys and how they contribute to propelling the DePIN sector forward.

Data Storage

Irys adopts a dynamic storage architecture using a multi-ledger system to support temporary and permanent storage of on-chain data.

The idea is that a buffer is needed to temporarily store data to ensure that only verifiable data is stored permanently. This buffer is the submit ledger, which temporarily stores on-chain data pending verification.

This is particularly useful to DePIN applications that deal with large amounts of data that will not be immediately verifiable in an isolated storage architecture.

It helps such applications prevent clutter, thereby reducing the risk of storing inaccurate data while providing an optimized environment for network operations through load reduction on permanent data storage.

Hybrid consensus approach

Irys guarantees data integrity and decentralization while penalizing malicious behavior by introducing incentives to miners, incentivizing them to store data adequately through a hybrid approach that combines proof-of-work (PoW) and proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanisms.

Combining both mechanisms allows Irys to take advantage of its strengths — ensuring fair competition in mining through PoW, reducing centralization risks, and enhancing security through PoS

This ensures that all applications have a scalable system to operate on and that their data is safe to store.

Unified system

To further address the issue of fragmentation, Irys integrated the IrysVM (more on this later) with the storage layer, bridging the gap between real-time on-chain data access and smart contracts.

So, if you're a developer reading this, know that Irys allows your smart contracts to access and manipulate data directly.

This eliminates the limitations that have previously restricted the development of more advanced DePIN applications. For example, recording an off-chain action such as the movement of unused bandwidth in a city’s mobile data network.

Merkle proof verification

Additionally, the introduction of Merkle inclusion proofs enables fast and efficient verification of on-chain data and reduces computational overhead, making on-chain interactions more feasible and cost-effective.

For perspective, Merkle inclusion proofs are cryptographic proofs utilized to verify data integrity. They demonstrate that a specific piece of data is part of a larger dataset represented by a Merkle tree.

To better understand its utility, picture a smart city IoT network with various interconnected points for on-chain applications such as public safety systems, traffic management systems, healthcare systems, and transportation systems—the computational requirements for all of these to function on-chain will be a nightmare!

That’s where Irys’ use of Merkle inclusion proof comes in. It allows the smart city's touchpoints to interact as on-chain applications cost-effectively without sacrificing data integrity.

Mining on Irys datachain

As we mentioned a few paragraphs above, Irys supports mining through a hybrid consensus mechanism that combines useful proof of work, staking a mining address, and pledging individual partitions. These mechanisms feature two important elements: 2D packing and efficient sampling.

To explain, 2D packing is the addition of cryptographic fingerprints to stored data that proves miners provide unique resources.

Efficient sampling complements the preparation of storage partitions by utilizing 2D packing, reading data from partitions, and generating proofs, in its mining process.

Both methods help Irys achieve lower storage fees, consistent verification times, improved security, and efficient scalability across devices while reducing mining costs, decreasing the barrier to entry, increasing miner profitability, and lowering user fees.

Talk about an all-in-one combo.

Now that we’ve explored Irys' moving parts, the big question is: What does the actual execution environment for the projects deploying on Irys look like?

Enter the IrysVM

As you might have already figured, the Irys virtual machine (IrysVM) plays a key role in bringing all of this together.

The IrysVM is an EVM fork that leverages the Irys blockchain, integrating access to its advanced storage layer.

This enables developers to adequately store, manage, and utilize data, consequently unlocking the potential for programmable data through the interaction of smart contracts and stored data.

Through the IrysVM, a lot can be achieved with respect to diverse execution models.

For example, off-chain computation will be tenable, allowing architectures that perform calculations off-chain to be able to post snapshots for verification.

It’ll also enable the execution of arbitrary WASM-compiled codes and other flexible execution models.

Ultimately, the IrysVM, though in its developmental stages, will open the door for complex and advanced applications to utilize the Irys datachain to build seamlessly.

Other use cases for the Irys datachain

Apart from DePIN, Irys has a whole suite of other potential use cases it can unlock.

Truly, Irys will open the floodgates to applications that desperately need unified platforms that allow builders to create without worrying about storage, liquidity, and scalability issues.

One use case for the Irys datachain is at the intersection of data and AI. To distinguish between original and fake/AI-generated content, efficient data verifiability/provenance is needed.

Irys' solution will be able to combat deep fakes since only verified data is stored permanently. Irys will enable the tracking of content, showing when it was created and if it’s been altered, and be able to do this on-chain, devoid of human interference or error.

Additionally, as social-fi platforms continue to grow, verifiable on-chain data is important in elevating their uniqueness.

It helps combat stolen content (intellectual property protection) and incentivizes verifiably honest content creation.

Closing thoughts

If you’ve been desperate for meaningful development in these markets, Irys is surely one that meets the mark.

It uniquely solves a desperate problem—the need for better storage architecture to enable more exotic and foundational applications on-chain.

Irys’ design allows for predictable pricing and reliable uptime for both temporary and permanent data while being cost-efficient, serving as an irresistible magnet for developers creating data-intensive, cutting-edge applications.

One thing to laud here is that the team isn’t just doing this out of the blue; they’ve got skin in the game in this niche, having successfully operated as a scaling solution for Arweave.

It's still early days for Irys, but all the signs of a remarkable project are there. We believe this is one to keep a close eye on. Thankfully, you can do so via the project’s X or joining the discord.