Implementing a Polkadot-native system parachain for data storage: Phase 2/3

Hey everyone, I wanna start by saying thank you to the community for the overwhelming support of OpenGov referendum 494. Since then we have been heads down working on the storage network and have now completed phase 1 and some extra parts.

If you weren't aware we have been posting weekly updates on the forum

Check out the book https://eigerco.github.io/polka-storage-book/ It contains lots of technical details and some nice instructions on how to test it. Work continues uninterrupted on phase 2 tasks.

During this time, in addition to the work on the storage network, there's two more projects we have been working on that contribute to Polkadot:

We integrated Move to Substrate. Allowing builders to integrate the Move VM and execute Move smart contracts. Anyone can now create a Move parachain on Polkadot. https://x.com/Polkadot/status/1816109501394637034
We have a full team working on Strawberry our client implementation of JAM and are very close to the first milestone. More updates on that soon.

Links:

Full proposal https://docs.google.com/document/d/16SZXvXyBRd-oEMIbgAid_vaxTuKzDlxuNc9CwSq3Lq0/edit
JAM DA integration https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L1jlMI9-KOfxMYUMQVeq0tPNtz1fitxTXlg6gKwjXnM/edit?usp=sharing
Initial research pre-implementation https://github.com/eigerco/polkadot-native-storage/blob/main/doc/report/polkadot-native-storage-v1.0.0.pdf
Forum discussion https://forum.polkadot.network/t/polkadot-native-storage/4551
Forum development updates https://forum.polkadot.network/t/polkadot-native-storage-updates/7021
OpenGov Phase 1/3 https://polkadot.polkassembly.io/referenda/494

Edit: Adding some notes on the value proposition and our integration with JAM as we had looked at this months ago but realized that we hadn't shared it here.

Why PolkaStorage, adding native storage offering to Polkadot:

Uses DOT exclusively as the fee token where anyone in the eco thru XCM can store and retrieve data. No new tokens to take away utility from DOT.
Inspired by Gavins presentation about the Ubiquitous Supercomputer, storage offering is critical: cores for execution, storage for data. Now with JAM, the same storage offering is needed.
Reliance on other networks is a weakness. Other solutions use their own token and are just incentivization models on top of IPFS. This would be exclusive native storage for the DOT ecosystem. Bringing in storage providers to the ecosystem, service fees paid in DOT.
Although we use some Filecoin libraries to speed up development and not waste developer time reinventing the wheel, this custom implementation allows us to tailor the solution to what is needed in DOT, we are adapting it around JAM (We have a separate team working on Strawberry our client implementation) and bring in other use cases like data availability on top of this storage. (We built the Celestia rust stack, read about our work and experience in DA).

Integrating Eiger’s Polka Storage with JAM's Preimage Lookup System and Data Availability

Providing access to larger data capacity that doesn't fit in account state and being the underlying storage layer for resupply of unrequested data that needs to be provided to validators on request.

Fully synchronous execution: ETH L1. All app data is stored on-chain and easily accessible. Not scalable.
Incoherent system: App data in different rollups, scalable but not composable, rollup model.
Best of both worlds: JAM with DA. Where apps can access this data and only keep crucial parts on the JAM state. We are building the underlying storage layer for that data.

Read our notes on this topic at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L1jlMI9-KOfxMYUMQVeq0tPNtz1fitxTXlg6gKwjXnM/edit?usp=sharing

OpenGov referendum 494 has received a lot of support from the community. The storage network has completed phase 1 and some extra parts. Weekly updates are posted on the forum. A book with technical details and instructions on how to test the storage network is available online. Work continues on phase 2 tasks.

Two additional projects are being worked on that contribute to Polkadot:

Move has been integrated into Substrate, allowing builders to integrate the Move VM and execute Move smart contracts. This means anyone can now create a Move parachain on Polkadot.
A full team is working on Strawberry, the client implementation of JAM, and is close to the first milestone.

PolkaStorage is being added to Polkadot as a native storage offering. It uses DOT exclusively as the fee token and is inspired by the idea of a ubiquitous supercomputer. PolkaStorage relies on other networks less and brings in storage providers to the ecosystem, with service fees paid in DOT. It uses some Filecoin libraries but is a custom implementation tailored to the needs of the DOT ecosystem.

Eiger's Polka Storage is being integrated with JAM's Preimage Lookup System and Data Availability. This provides access to larger data capacity that doesn't fit in account state and serves as the underlying storage layer for resupply of unrequested data that needs to be provided to validators on request. This allows for the best of both worlds: JAM with Data Availability, where apps can access this data and only keep crucial parts on the JAM state.