Introduction of staking and +1000x storage rent fee increase
Staking has been introduced to enable participation in the redistribution mechanism. The mechanism resembles Ethereum’s POS (Proof of Stake), where nodes are chosen to receive all network storage fees periodically. In the coming weeks, storage rent fees will be updated by up to more than 1000x from the current price point.
Fully decentralised rent price oracle is coming in Phase 3
With the iminent Phase 3, which will introduce a fully decentralised storage rent price oracle, Swarm network is now poised to become an economically sustainable Web3 data storage provider. To become a node operator, a standard computer with 20GB of storage and a stable internet connection is required, the most accessible requirements in its class to achieve greater decentralisation.
Daniel Nagy, chief scientist and vice president of Swarm Foundation, commented: “Proper incentives for storing information and making it available upon request are what makes Swarm self-sustaining and viable in the long term, without subsidies or reliance on altruism.”
Swarm Odyssey, the first Web3 PC
Swarm Foundation’s Director, Gregor Žavcer, sees this as just the beginning. The storage incentives project plugs into something much grander — the vision of a Web3 PC. The Web3 PC takes the personal computer and extends it to a Web3 setting.
“What makes it stand out is that it is the first time Web3 has been integrated directly into an existing operating system,” Gregor Žavcer pointed out. Because it runs on Swarm, it also comes with strong privacy features out of the box.
By giving its owner complete control over the data they produce, the Web3 PC can generate real-world value for them and is economically self-sustainable. Strong consideration was given to its ecological footprint as well. Hardware requirements are low and users can re-use existing hardware to run it.
Drop Dropbox, Fairdrive is here
The Swarm Foundation has already taken a big step towards making the vision of the Web3 PC a reality with the second big launch of the event, the Fairdrive desktop app.
Fairdrive, also dubbed “Web3’s Finder”, provides individuals with an interface that allows them to easily use the Swarm network and connect to Web3. Plus, with its open source and interoperable design, developers can easily plug their dApps into Fairdrive, giving users the full Web3 experience from the comfort of their own computers.
The team now plans to release the Swarm Odyssey Beta at the Swarm summit at its Summer Solstice event in 2023.