Introduction

What Irys Is

Imagine, for a moment, the dawn of the internet. In those early days, it was little more than a scattered network of static web pages—useful, yet fundamentally constrained. The true transformation occurred when the internet became programmable; that shift unlocked email, social media, gaming, search engines (and more)—enabling a vast ecosystem where data, applications, and people could connect in ways previously unimaginable.

Now, something similar is happening onchain. Until recently, datachains operated only as repositories, like lonely vaults where data was held—static, isolated, untouchable. But what if data weren’t just stored, but dynamically engaged across systems, flowing, adapting and evolving to power applications beyond just storage?

Irys is that vision realized—something beyond a datachain, beyond data storage. It's something entirely new: the world's first programmable datachain, where data doesn't just exist; it becomes active, fluid, valuable across applications. And it's this evolution—from passive to programmable—that marks the true primitive.

Why Irys Exists

The Complexity Problem

Developers face a labyrinth of fragmented storage solutions. Each system adds layers of complexity, leading to higher costs, slower processes, and bottlenecks that stifle innovation. Managing these disparate systems is far more than a simple inconvenience—it’s a major barrier to scaling applications effectively.

The Static Data Problem

Data without support for meaningful interaction is data that’s stuck. Early datachains treated storage and execution as separate worlds. This static nature of stored data limits its potential, making it difficult to build applications that make commitments about that data. It’s a system built for storage, not for innovation.

The Centralization Problem

True decentralization means no single entity holds too much power. Yet, first-generation datachains are dominated by a few players, risking manipulation and reducing the trust and security the system promises. This centralization undermines the very principles blockchains were designed to uphold.

The Unreliable Pricing Problem

Unpredictable, high costs are a developer’s nightmare. Building applications that rely on onchain data should be an economically feasible venture, but fluctuating storage fees make it difficult to budget and plan long-term projects. Without cost stability, innovation is stifled, and many promising ideas never leave the drawing board.

How Irys Solves These Problems

Addressing the Bottleneck of Complexity

Every inefficiency costs time and money. Today, developers wrestle with disjointed systems, piecing together fragmented storage solutions just to get their applications running. This complexity is a drain on resources, slowing progress and driving up costs. Irys offers a clear, straightforward answer: a unified network that is optimized for both storage (data) and execution (smart contracts)—meaning that for the first time, smart contracts can natively access the data stored within the same network.

This integration eliminates the needless back-and-forth between protocols, allowing developers to streamline their workflow, reduce expenses, and focus entirely on innovation.

Addressing the Stagnation of Static Data

At its core, Irys integrates a multi-ledger architecture that optimizes how data transitions from temporary validation to permanent storage. This system is designed to balance efficiency, reliability, and cost-effectiveness, while laying the groundwork for advanced applications that need programmable data.

All data on Irys will first enter through the Submit Ledger, a space where it’s temporarily held for validation. Once verified, it earns its place in the Publish Ledger, where it becomes permanent and, most importantly, trustworthy. Think of it as promoting data through a life cycle, from temporary use to verified permanence, where it becomes part of a larger, interconnected system.

While Irys will launch with two ledgers to start, its protocol is built for adaptability. Developers and users can expect the creation of additional term ledgers tailored to specific needs, whether for short-term or permanent storage. This dynamic approach ensures that as utilization grows, Irys evolves in response to real demand—not assumptions.

In this way, Irys isn’t just prepared for the future—it’s shaped by the needs of the people building it.

Addressing the Threat of Centralization

Centralization undermines the foundation of blockchain’s promise—distributed power, trustless systems, and resilience against single points of failure. When control is concentrated among a few, the system becomes vulnerable to manipulation.

This is a fundamental flaw that first-generation datachains haven’t effectively addressed.

Irys takes proactive measures to prevent centralization through its unique consensus mechanism, blending Proof of Work (PoW) with Proof of Stake (PoS).

Here’s how:

• Stake-Activated Mining: Miners must stake resources to activate a mining address on the network, signaling their commitment.

• Controlled Hashpower Distribution: The protocol enforces that no mining address can control more than 10% of the network’s mining hashpower. This ensures power remains distributed and controls the risk of a single entity dominating the network.

• Graduated Commitments: Adding a new partition to an existing mining address is significantly more cost-effective than creating a new address. This design makes it uneconomical for miners to operate multiple mining addresses, removing any financial incentive to do so.

Addressing the Burden of Unpredictable Costs

In the world of business, uncertainty is a killer. You can’t budget, you can’t plan, and you certainly can’t innovate when costs fluctuate wildly. Most blockchains today leave developers guessing, with storage costs swinging unpredictably and threatening to derail projects before they even get off the ground—Irys puts an end to that. We’ve built a system where pricing isn’t a mystery but a promise. Every block on Irys carries a timestamp and a miner’s best approximation of the USD/IRYS price. These price estimates are tracked over time, and through an Exponential Moving Average (EMA), we stabilize the cost of storage. This means predictable, reliable pricing.

But we didn’t stop there. Miners are incentivized to keep their price estimates accurate. If they report something off, their blocks can be rejected by other miners. It’s a self-correcting system that keeps everyone honest and keeps your costs stable. Builders don’t have to gamble on storage anymore.

With Irys, you know exactly what you’re getting and exactly what it’s going to cost.