The hot storage network is designed to deliver cloud-level performance for applications with features such as video streaming and DePIN.
Layer 1 blockchain Aptos and Jump Crypto, a subsidiary of quantitative trading firm Jump Trading, have teamed up to create a performant storage network, Shelby, according to a press release shared with The Defiant.
Shelby will offer a decentralized storage protocol with verifiable data flows for developers who are building applications that rely on video streaming, social timelines, AI pipelines, or decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) that operate with cloud-level speed.
Per the release, Aptos Labs is leveraging its team’s experience at top tech companies such as Meta to produce consumer grade blockchain infrastructure, while Jump is applying its history of real-time systems and quick trade execution to ensure low latency reads and parallel data flows.
The collaboration aims to marry the enhanced transparency and reliability of decentralized blockchain networks, while maintaining the seamless speed of traditional applications and media.
Many attempts at social media or streaming platforms running on blockchain have failed to reach escape velocity. One of the most notable was friendtech, a social-fi platform launched in August 2023 that allowed users to buy access to other users’ rooms. While friendtech’s original launch led to tons of platform activity from real users, the app was riddled with bugs and slow response times, and it ultimately fizzled out after its token launch in 2024.
Compared to its predecessors, which are mostly considered “cold” or slow and static decentralized storage systems, Shelby’s “hot” data primitive aims to deliver near immediate response times for its decentralized data sourcing for applications that use it.
A spokesperson from Aptos Labs told The Defiant, “Legacy platforms weren’t built with ownership in mind. They monetize your content, your data, and your audience, but Shelby flips that model. It matches Web2 performance, but gives creators and platforms control over pricing, access, and monetization. It’s not just a technical shift, it’s an entirely new business model.” The Aptos Labs representative continued:
“Shelby makes it possible to build the kinds of apps Web3 has been waiting for. Creators can launch pay-per-view video, token-gated content, or time-based access with logic enforced directly on-chain…AI training no longer needs to wait to download data from the marketplace- with Shelby, they can get instant access to datasets. It’s a new foundation for programmable, revenue-generating apps.”
Earlier today, The Defiant reported that top DeFi protocol Aave has voted to expand to Aptos, marking the first time the lending protocol giant will operate on a non-Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchain.
Jump Crypto recently resurfaced publicly, re-introducing itself as “the builders behind some of the most ambitious projects in crypto.” Its parent company, Jump Trading, played a central role in underpinning Terra’s roughly $40 billion stablecoin ecosystem, which collapsed in May 2022.
