Skynet Hackathon - Build your dapps using a truly decentralized storage backend

Apps Storage (Gaia)
#1

Skynet is a decentralized file storage and CDN platform launched last week as the storage foundation for decentralized applications - https://blog.sia.tech/skynet-bdf0209d6d34

Skynet stands out in terms of performance and speed. A typical time-to-first-byte when downloading a skyfile is between 300ms and 500ms. And a typical throughput for larger downloads is around 1 gigabit per second. The current implementation allows for app devs to access Skynet storage for free via Skynet webportals similar to this one - siasky (dot) net. The list of all webportals is also provided on this website.

Instead of using a centralized cloud service, build your dapps using Skynet to make them truly decentralized.

Prizes:
Grand Prize 1,000,000 SC!! (est $2,700)
There will also be three runner-up 250,000 SC prizes
On top of all that, all entrants who produce a substantially interesting Skynet application or upgrade will win a consolation prize of 25,000 SC

You can sign up for the hackathon on Gitcoin: https://gitcoin.co/hackathon/onboard/skynet/

#2

Very nice! I know people here ask all the time about the current centralized aspect of Gaia storage backend. However, Muneeb and others have been consistent in saying that performance, robustness and reliability are paramount. I’ve heard Muneeb say that they can’t have a situation where decentralized hosts just decide to go off line, and data is lost. What’s more, there hasn’t been a decentralized solution that offers anywhere near the performance of centralized cloud systems. On top of that, decentralized storage doesn’t really offer free tiers as far as I know, meaning that app users would have to figure out how to micropay in crypto just to use their apps.

I’ve been following Sia for years and I understand that with the release of Sia Skynet these issues are overcome - it’s similar in performance to centralized cloud solutions, it offers reliability because hosts are economically incentivized to stay online, and there is 3x redundancy (or maybe 10x?). And, for the moment, use of Sia Skynet does not cost, because it is being subsidized by various people.

Looking forward to see if this can be an option for Gaia storage.

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