No.260
Irys IRYS
the chain that remembers, and can prove it
🎭 an archivist dragon that hoards every scrap of data and stamps each one with proof of where it came from
💬 “Hand me a file, anything, and I'll write it into the chain and stamp it with proof of where it came from. Years from now you can ask my smart contracts to read it back, and the answer will still be there, exactly as you left it.”
- Irys is a Layer 1 datachain: a blockchain built to hold large amounts of data onchain, not just balances.
- Smart contracts can read that stored data while they run, and the network keeps proving the data is still there.
- It used to be Bundlr Network, Arweave's biggest helper, before it grew into a chain of its own in October 2023.
- The token IRYS is capped at 10 billion, and the network burns part of its fees, so coins can leave faster than they arrive.
📖 The Story
March 2021. Josh Benaron started a project called Bundlr Network. It wasn't a blockchain of its own, it was a helper, a Layer 2 sitting on top of Arweave, a chain famous for storing files forever. Bundlr's whole job was to bundle thousands of small uploads together so they reached Arweave cheaply and quickly. It worked so well that, by most accounts, Bundlr was carrying the lion's share of Arweave's daily traffic. The helper had become the busiest part of the house.
October 2023. The team stopped being a helper. Bundlr was renamed and rebuilt into Irys, no longer a layer bolted onto someone else's chain, but a standalone Layer 1 with its own rules. The idea grew too. Don't just store files; store them where smart contracts can reach in and read them mid-task, without copying the data somewhere else first.
November 25, 2025. After a testnet earlier that year, the Irys mainnet went live, and the IRYS token listed on Binance the same day. The child that started life leaning on Arweave now stood on its own feet, calling itself ‘the first programmable datachain’ and pitching itself at data-heavy and AI apps that need their information both stored and usable.
It is, at heart, a keeper. Most chains are built to remember who owns what. Irys is built to remember the things themselves, and to prove, year after year, that it hasn't lost a single one.
📊 Stats
🧩 How it works
When you upload a file, it doesn't get trusted right away. It lands first in a holding area called the Submit Ledger, where the network checks it. Once it passes, it moves into the Publish Ledger, the permanent shelf, and the proof that it was checked correctly is recorded as an ‘ingress proof’. After that, validators take turns proving they still hold their slice of the shelf, which is why Irys can keep promising the file is still onchain.
To take part as a validator you have to stake IRYS. The network calls its mix ‘Useful Proof of Work and Stake’: part of your reward depends on the stake you put down, and part depends on the real work of holding and serving the data you were assigned. It blends proof-of-stake with a job that's genuinely useful, keeping files safe, rather than burning power on puzzles.
🌗 Light & Shadow
- A clear, unusual purpose: storing real data onchain and letting contracts read it during execution, instead of just tracking balances
- It isn't starting from zero. As Bundlr it ran for years and handled a huge slice of Arweave's traffic, so the team has shipped at scale before
- The supply is capped at 10 billion, and the network burns 50% of execution fees and 95% of term-storage fees, so coins can leave circulation as the chain is used
- Very young as a Layer 1. Mainnet only opened on November 25, 2025, so its track record as a standalone chain is still thin
- It walked away from Arweave to compete with it, and Arweave, Filecoin and others have a head start in onchain storage
- Only about 2 billion of the 10 billion were circulating at launch, so a lot of supply is still due to unlock, which can weigh on the price
- The ‘useful work plus burns outpacing emissions’ story is the promise, not yet a proven, long-running result
🧬 Evolution lineage
Irys isn't a fork of another coin. It's the same project as Bundlr Network, renamed and upgraded, that started as Arweave's largest Layer 2 and then left to become its own Layer 1, a sibling and rival to Arweave (AR) in onchain storage.
🧭 Meet other friends
❓ FAQ
- What is Irys?
- A Layer 1 blockchain that calls itself a ‘datachain’. Most chains keep your money; Irys is built to keep your data, large files stored onchain and held there over time, with smart contracts able to read that data while they run.
- Is Irys the same as Bundlr Network?
- Yes, it's the same project. It launched in 2021 as Bundlr Network, a Layer 2 that helped Arweave handle huge volumes of traffic. In October 2023 the team renamed and rebuilt it as Irys, a standalone Layer 1 chain of its own.
- How does Irys prove the data is still there?
- Validators stake IRYS to take part, and they're each handed a slice of the stored data to look after. They have to keep proving they still hold that slice. If they can't show it, they don't get rewarded, so the files stay available.
- How many IRYS are there?
- The supply is capped at 10 billion IRYS. About 2 billion (a fifth) were in circulation when the token launched in November 2025. The network also burns part of its fees, so over time the coins removed may outpace new ones.
- Where can I buy IRYS?
- IRYS listed on Binance on its mainnet day, November 25, 2025, and trades on several exchanges. It is a brand-new token and moves sharply, so only try a small amount. (Information only, not an exchange or investment recommendation.)
⚠️ Not investment advice. All figures are for information only