Sia (SC)

System: Sia — Storage and Indexing

Sia is a decentralised storage network where renters buy time-bound encrypted storage and bandwidth from independent hosts through file contracts denominated in Siacoin (SC). Sia was conceived in 2013 and launched mainnet in 2015; it uses a proof-of-work blockchain, storage proofs, renter-host software and protocol-level accounting for both SC and Siafunds (SF). The system boundary includes the Sia chain, file-contract logic, SC and SF state, core software, renters, hosts, miners, full nodes, SC holders, SF holders, and material Sia Foundation components for code stewardship, subsidy receipt and grants.

Market Data

Price$0.000821
Market Cap$41.15M
Fully Diluted Valuation$41.15M
30d Change65.30%
365d Change-71.90%

Token Functionalities

Service Provision

  • Data Storage: Persistent Storage

    Right to supply long-term storage capacity backed by a cryptoeconomic durability promise. This functionality applies to hosts/storage providers, not proof-of-work miners: hosts must hold and lock SC in file contracts as collateral that can be forfeited if they fail to store data or submit valid proofs.

Collateral

  • Performance-Bond

    Right to post SC as a performance bond for host storage obligations, forfeitable on failed storage performance. Hosts put up SC collateral to support storage contracts and can lose collateral if they fail to remain online, lose renter data or miss valid proof resolution.

Payments

  • Native Resource Fee (Strong)

    Right to consume Sia storage, bandwidth and transaction or file-contract resources by paying SC. SC is the native payment unit for the system’s core resource: renters use it to form storage contracts and pay hosts, and transaction activity is settled through Sia’s native accounting. This functionality is marked as Strong because SC is the system-native fee asset for the storage-contract resource.

System Attributes

Operating Model

<p>Independent&nbsp;hosts,&nbsp;renters&nbsp;and&nbsp;miners&nbsp;coordinate&nbsp;through&nbsp;proof-of-work&nbsp;consensus,&nbsp;file&nbsp;contracts,&nbsp;storage&nbsp;proofs&nbsp;and&nbsp;on-chain&nbsp;settlement&nbsp;rather&nbsp;than&nbsp;through&nbsp;a&nbsp;central&nbsp;operating&nbsp;company.&nbsp;The&nbsp;core&nbsp;storage&nbsp;service&nbsp;is&nbsp;delivered&nbsp;by&nbsp;open&nbsp;participant&nbsp;roles:&nbsp;renters&nbsp;form&nbsp;contracts,&nbsp;hosts&nbsp;provide&nbsp;storage&nbsp;and&nbsp;post&nbsp;collateral,&nbsp;and&nbsp;miners&nbsp;maintain&nbsp;the&nbsp;chain&nbsp;that&nbsp;settles&nbsp;contract&nbsp;outcomes.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Sia&nbsp;Foundation&nbsp;is&nbsp;material&nbsp;for&nbsp;software&nbsp;stewardship,&nbsp;subsidy&nbsp;receipt&nbsp;and&nbsp;grants,&nbsp;but&nbsp;it&nbsp;is&nbsp;not&nbsp;an&nbsp;operational&nbsp;gatekeeper&nbsp;for&nbsp;host-renter&nbsp;contracting.</p>

Value Creation

<p>The&nbsp;storage&nbsp;resource&nbsp;is&nbsp;created&nbsp;off-chain&nbsp;by&nbsp;independent&nbsp;hosts&nbsp;that&nbsp;store&nbsp;encrypted&nbsp;renter&nbsp;data&nbsp;and&nbsp;provide&nbsp;bandwidth&nbsp;over&nbsp;time.&nbsp;The&nbsp;cryptoeconomic&nbsp;coordination&nbsp;that&nbsp;makes&nbsp;this&nbsp;storage&nbsp;market&nbsp;credible&nbsp;is&nbsp;created&nbsp;on-chain&nbsp;through&nbsp;file&nbsp;contracts,&nbsp;locked&nbsp;SC,&nbsp;storage-proof&nbsp;resolution&nbsp;and&nbsp;missed-proof&nbsp;penalties.&nbsp;Renters&nbsp;depend&nbsp;on&nbsp;host&nbsp;infrastructure&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;actual&nbsp;storage&nbsp;service,&nbsp;but&nbsp;the&nbsp;blockchain&nbsp;determines&nbsp;whether&nbsp;contractual&nbsp;outcomes&nbsp;are&nbsp;valid&nbsp;and&nbsp;how&nbsp;value&nbsp;is&nbsp;released&nbsp;or&nbsp;forfeited.&nbsp;The&nbsp;valuable&nbsp;product&nbsp;is&nbsp;therefore&nbsp;neither&nbsp;purely&nbsp;on-chain&nbsp;nor&nbsp;purely&nbsp;off-chain:&nbsp;it&nbsp;combines&nbsp;off-chain&nbsp;storage&nbsp;production&nbsp;with&nbsp;on-chain&nbsp;enforcement,&nbsp;settlement&nbsp;and&nbsp;incentive&nbsp;design.</p>

Value Capture

<p>On-chain,&nbsp;SC&nbsp;is&nbsp;routed&nbsp;through&nbsp;file&nbsp;contracts&nbsp;between&nbsp;renters&nbsp;and&nbsp;hosts,&nbsp;paid&nbsp;to&nbsp;miners&nbsp;through&nbsp;block&nbsp;rewards&nbsp;and&nbsp;transaction&nbsp;economics,&nbsp;distributed&nbsp;to&nbsp;SF&nbsp;holders&nbsp;through&nbsp;the&nbsp;Siafund&nbsp;tax&nbsp;mechanism,&nbsp;and&nbsp;destroyed&nbsp;in&nbsp;missed-proof&nbsp;scenarios&nbsp;where&nbsp;contract&nbsp;value&nbsp;is&nbsp;not&nbsp;validly&nbsp;claimed.&nbsp;SF&nbsp;holders&nbsp;receive&nbsp;a&nbsp;protocol-defined&nbsp;share&nbsp;of&nbsp;file-contract&nbsp;tax&nbsp;revenue,&nbsp;making&nbsp;SF&nbsp;the&nbsp;system’s&nbsp;direct&nbsp;value-distribution&nbsp;token.&nbsp;Off-chain,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Sia&nbsp;Foundation&nbsp;receives&nbsp;protocol&nbsp;subsidy&nbsp;outputs&nbsp;controlled&nbsp;through&nbsp;Foundation-governed&nbsp;addresses&nbsp;and&nbsp;can&nbsp;route&nbsp;those&nbsp;resources&nbsp;to&nbsp;development,&nbsp;public&nbsp;goods,&nbsp;and&nbsp;grants&nbsp;activity.&nbsp;Value&nbsp;therefore&nbsp;flows&nbsp;both&nbsp;within&nbsp;the&nbsp;protocol&nbsp;economy&nbsp;and&nbsp;through&nbsp;Foundation-controlled&nbsp;operational&nbsp;channels.</p>

Governance

Participant-Based: <p>Participant-Based&nbsp;Governance&nbsp;applies&nbsp;to&nbsp;protocol&nbsp;execution,&nbsp;network&nbsp;adoption&nbsp;and&nbsp;operational&nbsp;market&nbsp;participation.&nbsp;Protocol&nbsp;upgrades,&nbsp;consensus&nbsp;rules&nbsp;and&nbsp;global&nbsp;economic&nbsp;parameters&nbsp;require&nbsp;active&nbsp;network&nbsp;participants&nbsp;to&nbsp;adopt&nbsp;compatible&nbsp;software,&nbsp;including&nbsp;miners,&nbsp;full&nbsp;nodes,&nbsp;wallets,&nbsp;exchanges,&nbsp;hosts,&nbsp;renters&nbsp;and&nbsp;integrations.&nbsp;Block&nbsp;production&nbsp;and&nbsp;transaction&nbsp;inclusion&nbsp;are&nbsp;governed&nbsp;by&nbsp;miners&nbsp;operating&nbsp;under&nbsp;proof-of-work&nbsp;rules.&nbsp;Host&nbsp;participation,&nbsp;host-level&nbsp;market&nbsp;terms&nbsp;and&nbsp;renter-side&nbsp;host&nbsp;weighting&nbsp;are&nbsp;also&nbsp;participant-based:&nbsp;hosts&nbsp;set&nbsp;terms&nbsp;and&nbsp;provide&nbsp;storage,&nbsp;while&nbsp;renter&nbsp;software&nbsp;independently&nbsp;scores&nbsp;and&nbsp;selects&nbsp;hosts.&nbsp;These&nbsp;powers&nbsp;arise&nbsp;from&nbsp;operational&nbsp;roles,&nbsp;not&nbsp;token-holder&nbsp;voting&nbsp;rights.</p> Entity-Based: <p>Entity-Based&nbsp;Governance&nbsp;applies&nbsp;to&nbsp;components&nbsp;controlled&nbsp;by&nbsp;the&nbsp;Sia&nbsp;Foundation&nbsp;or&nbsp;Foundation-linked&nbsp;decision&nbsp;processes.&nbsp;This&nbsp;includes&nbsp;official&nbsp;code&nbsp;and&nbsp;release&nbsp;stewardship,&nbsp;Foundation&nbsp;subsidy-output&nbsp;control,&nbsp;subsidy-address&nbsp;updates&nbsp;and&nbsp;grants&nbsp;administration.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Foundation’s&nbsp;maintainers&nbsp;can&nbsp;steer&nbsp;official&nbsp;repositories&nbsp;and&nbsp;client&nbsp;releases,&nbsp;while&nbsp;Foundation-controlled&nbsp;multisig&nbsp;arrangements&nbsp;govern&nbsp;subsidy&nbsp;outputs&nbsp;and&nbsp;related&nbsp;address-management&nbsp;processes.&nbsp;The&nbsp;grants&nbsp;programme&nbsp;is&nbsp;also&nbsp;administered&nbsp;through&nbsp;the&nbsp;Foundation&nbsp;and&nbsp;its&nbsp;grants&nbsp;committee.</p>