If I wanted to backup a file onto a blockchain forever, which coin should I use?

[Lorenzo]

Right now I have a 1 MB file stored on my computer. I'd be interested in encrypting this and backing it up onto a blockchain. I already have local backups, and I've considered backups on centralized servers in the cloud as another option, but nothing really beats the sheer redundancy of a blockchain-based method.

Datacoin seems to be the best coin for this purpose but development of the coin has slowed considerably after its lead developer abandoned it many months ago and I'm not sure if the network is still healthy enough to the point where I'd be able to successfully sync every time. It also has a massive blockchain that increases by hundreds of gigabytes per year since any data that is stored using DTC is actually directly embedded into the blockchain itself. Having such a large blockchain also limits the number of nodes in the network which in turn lowers the network security. There is no lightweight wallet either.

(On the plus side, it's very cheap. Storing a 1 MB file using the Datacoin blockchain only costs $0.50 at current DTC prices.)

BURST is mined using hard drives but it doesn't support file storage. According to their main thread, that feature might be developed someday, but it's not really a priority at the moment.

MaidSafe is another coin/platform which I've heard a lot about but never really looked closely into. It seems to have been under development for a very long time (and still is) but I'm not sure if it would be suitable for something like this.

Storj is another option and one that appears to be the most similar to Datacoin concept-wise but it seems to be better suited for non-persistent cloud storage rather than as a long-term backup solution since there are maintenance fees. Unlike Datacoin, it also doesn't store files directly on the blockchain itself but only references to files which it keeps on other peoples' computers. This allows it to avoid the problem of having an unmanageable blockchain but perhaps at the cost of redundancy.

Finally, I suppose it might be possible to backup my file onto the blockchain of a coin that isn't designed for data storage such as Bitcoin but since it's a 1 MB file, I'm not sure how feasible this would be.

Anyone else got any ideas?

[box0214]

i was into datacoin too. but doesn't look like it will survive due to the lack of an active community...

nxt seems to be the only only one with an active community and frequent updates with a production ready file storage system... it's a hidden gem not everyone is paying attention to.

file storage:

[tokeweed]

Clearinghouse's (Viacoin blockchain) notary system...?  Not sure tho.  I never bothered trying it.  But you can try it thru Clearwallet https://clearwallet.co

[Lorenzo]

nxt seems to be the only only one with an active community and frequent updates with a production ready file storage system... it's a hidden gem not everyone is paying attention to...

Thanks for that information.

I wasn't aware of NXT implementing a data storage feature. It does seem to be more suited for short term storage however since it says that files are purged after two weeks although the part about certain nodes having the "purge" feature off is confusing. Does this mean that some nodes will retain uploaded files forever?

One thing I've noticed when syncing with NXT is that it's a relatively fast process since the last time I checked, the NXT blockchain was only about 300 MB in size. Personally, I'd like it to stay that way. I wonder where these files will be located then. If it's going to be on the blockchain then the option to store files should be made optional at least.

Clearinghouse's (Viacoin blockchain) notary system...?  Not sure tho.  I never bothered trying it.  But you can try it thru Clearwallet https://clearwallet.co

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely look into this one as well.

[tokeweed]

No problem. 

[box0214]

nxt seems to be the only only one with an active community and frequent updates with a production ready file storage system... it's a hidden gem not everyone is paying attention to...

Thanks for that information.

I wasn't aware of NXT implementing a data storage feature. It does seem to be more suited for short term storage however since it says that files are purged after two weeks although the part about certain nodes having the "purge" feature off is confusing. Does this mean that some nodes will retain uploaded files forever?

One thing I've noticed when syncing with NXT is that it's a relatively fast process since the last time I checked, the NXT blockchain was only about 300 MB in size. Personally, I'd like it to stay that way. I wonder where these files will be located then. If it's going to be on the blockchain then the option to store files should be made optional at least.

Clearinghouse's (Viacoin blockchain) notary system...?  Not sure tho.  I never bothered trying it.  But you can try it thru Clearwallet https://clearwallet.co

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely look into this one as well.

NXT nodes, such as anyone running the server/client software has the option to disable the 2 week purge feature. By doing this you would be an "archival node" keeping old purged data. By default the server/client has it set at 2 week purge. Once the files have been purged the only thing kept would be the hash of the file for verifying the original file (something like proof of existence). As for archival nodes, in the future they can choose to charge a "fee" to get old data in order to create an incentive for people to keep large amounts of data.

I'm not sure how the other decentralized storage systems are doing. Can you shed some light on that? Storj / MainSafe / etc.

[bathrobehero]

NXT nodes, such as anyone running the server/client software has the option to disable the 2 week purge feature. By doing this you would be an "archival node" keeping old purged data. By default the server/client has it set at 2 week purge. Once the files have been purged the only thing kept would be the hash of the file for verifying the original file (something like proof of existence). As for archival nodes, in the future they can choose to charge a "fee" to get old data in order to create an incentive for people to keep large amounts of data.

I'm not sure how the other decentralized storage systems are doing. Can you shed some light on that? Storj / MainSafe / etc.

Is there a block explorer or something that shows how many archival nodes exist and the amount of data they hold?

[box0214]

NXT nodes, such as anyone running the server/client software has the option to disable the 2 week purge feature. By doing this you would be an "archival node" keeping old purged data. By default the server/client has it set at 2 week purge. Once the files have been purged the only thing kept would be the hash of the file for verifying the original file (something like proof of existence). As for archival nodes, in the future they can choose to charge a "fee" to get old data in order to create an incentive for people to keep large amounts of data.

I'm not sure how the other decentralized storage systems are doing. Can you shed some light on that? Storj / MainSafe / etc.

Is there a block explorer or something that shows how many archival nodes exist and the amount of data they hold?

the file storage feature is only about 1 month old so i doubt there is a block explorer out yet that provides this data.

[bb2ebb]

A blockchain is best conceived of as a function-specific database (leading idea here: making either a universal or a multifunction blockchain is a just a recipe for an unmanageable large chain in a short time). So they need to be single-function, and networked together. Networking chains together results in an "internet" of sorts. There's the analogy, IMO.

[Lorenzo]

nxt seems to be the only only one with an active community and frequent updates with a production ready file storage system... it's a hidden gem not everyone is paying attention to...

Thanks for that information.

I wasn't aware of NXT implementing a data storage feature. It does seem to be more suited for short term storage however since it says that files are purged after two weeks although the part about certain nodes having the "purge" feature off is confusing. Does this mean that some nodes will retain uploaded files forever?

One thing I've noticed when syncing with NXT is that it's a relatively fast process since the last time I checked, the NXT blockchain was only about 300 MB in size. Personally, I'd like it to stay that way. I wonder where these files will be located then. If it's going to be on the blockchain then the option to store files should be made optional at least.

Clearinghouse's (Viacoin blockchain) notary system...?  Not sure tho.  I never bothered trying it.  But you can try it thru Clearwallet https://clearwallet.co

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely look into this one as well.

NXT nodes, such as anyone running the server/client software has the option to disable the 2 week purge feature. By doing this you would be an "archival node" keeping old purged data. By default the server/client has it set at 2 week purge. Once the files have been purged the only thing kept would be the hash of the file for verifying the original file (something like proof of existence). As for archival nodes, in the future they can choose to charge a "fee" to get old data in order to create an incentive for people to keep large amounts of data.

I'm not sure how the other decentralized storage systems are doing. Can you shed some light on that? Storj / MainSafe / etc.

Well I don't know much about MaidSafe other than the fact that it's got something to do with decentralized apps but I do know a little bit about how Storj works. Their blockchain is composed of file entries but the actual files themselves are stored on other peoples' hard drives. Those wanting to store data using Storj pay a small but ongoing fee while those who want to offer their hard drive space for others to store their files in run a program called DriveShare that earns them storjcoins which can, in turn, be used to purchase cloud storage.

Files are split into chunks which have three times redundancy. This means that each file/chunk is copied three times and stored in three separate locations. Therefore, you would still have access to your data even if two computers storing the file went offline. I would also assume that whenever one of these copies goes offline, another copy would be created in its place to compensate for it so that you would only lose your data if all three computers were to fail at once (which would be unlikely) - but I could be wrong about this. There is also an option to purchase additional redundancy for an extra cost.

[Lorenzo]

In the near future, SNRG.   Give it a look, super solid dev implementing original code.

Thanks for the suggestion. You mean this coin right?

Additionally, I'm guessing you're referring to this specific feature:

Public Transaction Comments

Public transaction comments, stored in the blockchain, can be entered from the Qt wallet at the top of the send page:

Transaction comments are convenient, but they take up valuable blockchain memory. To compensate for this resource usage, Synergy charges 0.0001 SNRG per character. The charge is effectively "burned" by
the network. In other words, the individual making the transaction pays the fee, but no person collects it.

Can someone spam the chain with transaction comments?   Sure, but it will cost them. Each block is 256 kB. To fill up one block requires 25.6 SNRG. Additionally, those 25.6 SNRG will simply cease to exist,
reducing the money supply as a result.

So while data storage doesn't seem to be one of its "official" features, according to the above info, it should be possible to store a 1 MB file on the blockchain by paying 100 SNRG (worth $1.60 according to Coinmarketcap). Would the devs be OK with their blockchain being used in this way? If so, then my only other concern would be that since the coin is still fairly new and has a very small market cap ($9,700), I personally might not be very confident that the network will still be functioning 1 or 2 years down the road from now.

That being said, I'll definitely take a look at this coin.

EDIT: Is there any limit to how long individual transaction comments can be? Do they ever "expire" or get purged/pruned?

[fartbags]

Once factom is out you can use it to backup a hash of the file on the bitcoin blockchain.

[box0214]

problem with that is where is the data stored? its great for verification. but if it doesn't exists anywhere. its kinda useless imo.

[Daedelus]

Once factom is out you can use it to backup a hash of the file on the bitcoin blockchain.

I asked the devs but they went off on providing negative proofs or such like... is ^this^ the core of what factom is about? Storing the hash of data on a blockchain?

[poloskarted]

for smaller data
http://counterparty.io/docs/broadcast/

for larger files, you can use namecoin
https://github.com/runn1ng/namecoin-files

or bitcoin
https://gist.github.com/shirriff/64f48fa09a61b56ffcf9#file-bitcoin-file-downloader-py
https://gist.github.com/shirriff/bfc4df70a02732493a28#file-bitcoin-insertion-tool-py


Although these networks are not designed for data storage, if it is absolute redundancy you need I would go with one of those blockchains