What Is Arweave (AR) And The AR Token

As the internet keeps growing there have been a lot of emerging technologies that have made life better and easier. A lot of people are wondering what is Arweave.

Arweave is a blockchain-based cloud computing project and we are going to answer all the important questions you have regarding the platform. Cloud computing was one of the innovations that were developed as a result of the internet.

The industry has witnessed huge growth and birthed some huge cloud computing brands like Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Amazon Web Services to mention a few. It is an ever-growing market that grows at 22.3 percent each year and it could reach 137.3 billion by 2025.  

Arweave is focused on permanent file storage which is an aspect that cloud computing companies have failed to thrive. The main aim is not to compete but rather to create something that others have failed to do.

They aim to do that by using permission-less crypto incentives. Through this method, once you pay upfront you can be able to save your data and files forever. Arweave has its token is known as AR token we will explain more about it in a bit.

Arweave is not the first to explore a blockchain-based file storage system there are brands like Sia, Filecoin, and Storj.

They have been around since 2016 but lately, a lot of people have been interested in knowing the concept of Arweave.

We have all the in-your-mind questions lined up and we will answer them in the best way possible for easy understanding.

What is Arweave?

Arweave shares similarities with platforms like Sia and Filecoin they create marketplaces for users to buy and sell data storage using cryptocurrency.

The platform is different from its competitors because of its commitment to storing data permanently through its unique incentive built around the AR token.

Arweave is trying to disrupt a market that is already dominated by Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. The platform is designed in a way that allows people receive incentives and revenue from the files they stored even after their initial payment.

Arweave is offering users a decentralized storage option which means it is governed by no one.

Files stored on Arweave are available and can be accessed through native web browsers.

Even though the service is based on the blockchain you don’t need any special wallet to access files.

Users on the platform also have the right to vote against illicit content. This is a new way of preserving history and valuable information since it is going to be available on the platform forever.

Arweave History

Arweave was founded in 2017 and it was initially known as Archain, the name was changed to Arweave in 2018. The name was changed while the company was on course to complete the Techstars Berlin mentorship program.

Their primary goal right from the beginning has been to make permanent, low-cost storage a reality. Blockweave is what the Arweave network aims to use in reaching its goals.

Blockweave supports the Arweave permaweb, a collection of data, websites, and applications that are hosted on the blockweave.

The platform is built on the HTTP protocol, this means you can access Arweave on browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome. You store data on the platform in exchange for AR tokens and your data is stored forever on the Arweave network.

The Arweave network main net was launched in June 2018 with a selected group of 1800 handpicked users from various countries. Before the launch, the team at Arweave organized a token sale limited to whitelisted individuals only.

In November 2019, they secured a $5million funding round from several venture capitals in exchange for $5 million in AR tokens.

Six months later they raised another $8.3 million in exchange for AR tokens. After the second round of funding the company announced that they would use the new funds to improve community adoption and growth.   

Who is the Founder of Arweave crypto?

Arweave was founded by Sam Williams and William Jones both of them are Ph.D. holders from the University of Kent.

Sam William is the chief executive officer at Arweave and he is a specialist in decentralization, cryptocurrency, and operating system he graduated with first-class honors in computer science at the University of Nottingham. He then proceeded to Kent University for his Ph.D. and went on to meet his Co-founder William Jones.

William Jones is the Chief technical officer at Arweave and he is responsible for building the Arweave blockchain project. He is a specialist in AI and Machine Learning Engineering. He graduated from the University of Kent with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Masters degree in Computer Science. William Jones did his Ph.D. in Computer science with a focus on Statistics, machine learning, neural works, and cognitive work.

They have a team of 8 executive officers and other staff that help run the company successfully. The company has 15 staff in total and we know as they continue to grow more personals will be involved in running the company.

Who are Arweave’s Investors?

Ever since Arweave was founded in 2017 the company has completed seven funding rounds. They have over 21 investors that have participated in the different funding rounds.

Some of the biggest investors include the popular crypto exchange Coinbase Ventures. Other investors include A195 Capital, Block0, BR Capital, and Blockchain Capital.

Some of the investors also include Union Square Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Multicoin Capital, and most recently Karnika Yashwant and FJ Syndicates.

The company is offering something different and some investors are ready to pump their money into Arweave. They normally take cash in exchange for the AR token during most of their funding rounds. The most recent one they exchanged $8.3 million for the AR token.

What is AR Token?

AR token is the currency of the Arweave Network if you wish to store data or files on the Arweave network then you must buy an AR token. The AR token is what computers on the network accept as a method of payment.

So, if you want to store your valuable data or file then you need to exchange your money into an AR token before proceeding to buy your storage space.

On the Arweave network you only pay for storage once and your data is saved on the network forever. The AR Token is limited with only 63, 190, 435 in supply. Market capitalization for the AR token is over a billion dollars at the time of writing this.

The price of one AR token is $52.37 and sometime in May this year the token appreciated by over 50%. If you are interested the token can be bought on Binance, Houbi Global, and some top crypto exchange platforms.

What is AR Tokens Utility? Who will be Using it?

A utility token is a type of token that helps in financing projects for startups. It is a means of safeguard for participating in sales or seeding rounds to raise capital for projects. They allow investors to have future access to a brand’s product and services.

Arweave used this method during their seeding rounds and their investors offered cash in exchange for the AR token. The AR token is a multi-utility token that is used throughout the Arweave platform.

AR token is very important to the security of the network through incentivization. The AR token is used to reward miners and also used in paying for data uploads on the network.

The token can be utilized by the investors and it can also be used by users that are trying to use the Arweave network. The token is limited to 66 million and currently, there are over 63 million in circulation.

Arweave Competitors

Arweave offers a unique service that is quite different from what its competitors are offering. It’s a pay-once forever platform in the sense that once you pay to upload a certain data or file it’s there forever. It is easier to use than most of the platforms it is competing against.

Filecoin is one of the brands competing with Arweave and it is also built on a blockchain system. it offers data storage but users have to constantly pay to renew their rent.

Sia is also another competitor that utilizes blockchain and they generate more than 200% of Arweave total revenue. The brand was founded in 2015 and they are some of the leading blockchain storage services available.  

Where to Buy Arweave

If you are interested in buying Arweave (AR) it is listed on several top crypto exchange platforms like

It can also be traded against Tether, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. Binance is one of the top crypto exchange platforms and you can buy it there or exchange it with other cryptocurrencies.

Rounding Up

Arweave is coming up with a unique solution because as we continuously use the internet we will certainly need more space to save our files and data.

The platform is on a journey to revolutionize cloud computing and take care of censorship to a certain level. we hope you are able to understand what is Arweave with this article.

This is not a complete review of Arweave but rather answering some of the most asked questions around Arweave and the AR token in the easiest way possible. In case you have any other questions feel free to drop them in the comments as we will reply to you with more answers.

Previous Articles:

• Steam bans Blockchain games that issue NFTs or cryptocurrencies
• USA: The First Bitcoin ETF “Enters” The Market
• Putin: Crypto Has Value But It Doesn’t Do For Oil Trade
• Former UK Finance Minister Takes Over As Advisor To Cryptocurrency Investment Firm
• El Salvador Will Use Bitcoin Profits to Fund Veterinary Hospital