Sia / Skynet

Decentralized Storage Networks

Sia is a decentralized cloud storage network where renters form cryptographic storage contracts with hosts on a Proof-of-Work blockchain, paying in Siacoin (SC). Skynet (now defunct as a hosted service, Sia continues) was a layer-2 content delivery and decentralized web protocol built on top of Sia, enabling file sharing via persistent Skylinks.

Fully P2P Foundation Low capture risk

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Details

License MIT / Permissive

Dev Status Defunct

Owner Sia Foundation (nonprofit, Luke Champine) — core Sia protocol; Skynet Labs (David Vorick) — defunct since Nov 2022

Country USA

Start Year 2013

Stack Golang

Funding VC, ICO, Foundation

Last Investigated Mar 10, 2026

Use Case Domains

Platform Evolution & Sovereignty

Affordances

Self-hostable Local-first storage Data portability

Decentralized Storage Network Attributes

P2P Architecture Public blockchain (PoW; host-renter contracts via blockchain; Skynet adds portal layer)

Overlay Network Global

Content Addressing Yes (file shards addressed by Merkle hash; Skylinks encode content-addressed metadata)

Local-First N/A (cloud storage model)

E2EE Yes (client-side encryption of uploaded files before storage on hosts)

Byzantine Fault Tolerance Partial (PoW blockchain is BFT; individual host honesty enforced by cryptographic storage contracts and collateral slashing)

Signature Ed25519

Permissions Cryptographic Capabilities (storage contracts with host collateral; Skynet registry uses public key access control)

Semantic Web Compatability N/A

Smart Contract Yes (storage contracts are on-chain smart contracts in Siacoin blockchain)

Protocol Stack Position Application-layer (built on TCP/IP)

Asset / Value Embedding Native (Siacoin SC embedded at blockchain level; storage contracts settle in SC)

Protocol Maturity / Standardization De Facto Standard (established since 2015; community standard for decentralized storage; no formal standards body)

Update Policy Mutable (versioned) for Sia files (hosts can update via new contracts); Skynet Registry supports mutable entries; immutable content-addressed files via Skylinks

Storage Proof Mechanism Merkle audit proof (hosts must submit cryptographic storage proofs on-chain at contract end; failure results in collateral burn and missed payment)

Economic / Incentive Model Token rewards (native token SC): renters lock SC in contracts; hosts earn SC for proven storage; both parties lose collateral for breach

Retrieval Guarantee Best-effort (incentivized via cryptographic contracts and collateral; retrieval availability depends on host uptime and contract renewal)