Irys is a Layer 1 datachain that unifies onchain data storage and smart contract execution into a single network. Traditional smart contract chains handle financial transactions but lack native primitives for working with data at scale. Traditional datachains handle storage but lack integration with smart contracts. Irys serves both. Irys bridges this gap by unifying storage and execution, making data programmable through IrysVM, its native EVM execution layer.
The network offers flexible storage options: users can choose between term storage (temporary, duration-based) or permanent storage (one-time payment for perpetual retention). Both operate at at-cost pricing, made possible by Irys’s multi-revenue model that combines storage fees, execution fees, and programmable data transactions. This design allows Irys to remain competitive on price while maintaining economic sustainability.
Irys achieves instant data retrieval and infinite horizontal scaling. As demand grows, the network expands capacity by adding validators who prove continuous maintenance of their assigned data partitions.
Who are the founders?
Irys was founded by Josh Benaron in 2023 and is based in the UK. Benaron dropped out of computer science at 19 to build Bundlr, a layer-2 data solution on Arweave that helped scale the network from 15,000 transactions per day to 15 million per day over three years, ultimately accounting for over 95% of Arweave’s data transactions.
During that time, he onboarded over 300 projects and raised $3 million for Bundlr. After spending years onboarding data-centric companies onchain, Benaron founded Irys to progress his mission: to create the best possible user experience for builders looking to work with and scale data on blockchain tech.
Irys raised $10 million in 2024 through an extended seed round, and an additional $10 million in 2025 through a series A raise.
What makes Irys unique?
Irys introduces Programmable Data as its primitive flagship feature. Through the IrysVM, Programmable Data allows smart contracts to read, transform, and execute embedded instructions on stored data natively within the network. This creates new categories of applications that now have the capability of building on top of not only their own data but also the data of other protocols on the network.
The network’s at-cost pricing model sets it apart from first-generation datachains. These protocols must price storage significantly above cost to remain solvent, since storage fees are traditionally the primary revenue source for datachains. Irys on the other hand operates three fee markets: storage, execution, and Programmable Data transactions. This multi-revenue structure allows validators to stay profitable even when storage is priced near actual physical infrastructure costs. As more applications use data programmably, node operators earn execution fees, creating a reinforcing economic loop where cheaper storage drives adoption, adoption drives execution volume, and execution volume sustains the network.
Irys also offers infinite data capacity through horizontal scaling. As demand increases, new validators join the network and prove continuous maintenance of their assigned data partitions. Combined with instant retrieval times and flexible storage ledgers (users choose between temporary or permanent storage based on their needs), Irys delivers performance that matches centralized infrastructure while maintaining onchain properties such as immutability and decentralization.
How is the Irys Datachain secured?
Irys uses a hybrid Useful Proof of Work and Stake (uPoW/S) consensus mechanism designed to tie validator economics directly to data reliability. Validators must stake $IRYS tokens to participate in consensus, and they continuously prove they’re maintaining their assigned data partitions. This creates alignment: validators earn rewards for honest behavior and data integrity, but face slashing (loss of staked tokens) for misbehavior or data loss.
The network issues 2% annual rewards to validators and miners, halving every four years. However, Irys’s long-term security model doesn’t rely on inflation. Instead, it’s built on deflationary tokenomics where usage drives scarcity. The network burns 50% of execution fees and 95% of term-storage fees. Permanent storage fees flow to the non-circulating Irys Storage Endowment, which funds perpetual data retention.
As network activity scales, burns eventually outpace emissions, creating a supply shock where the $IRYS token becomes increasingly scarce while demand from storage and execution grows. The more data stored and executed onchain, the tighter the token supply becomes, strengthening security incentives as token value appreciates.
