Siacoin (SC) is the native currency of the Sia decentralized storage network — an open marketplace where anyone can rent out unused hard drive space to earn SC, and anyone can pay SC to store encrypted, redundant files across a distributed network of hosts — offering decentralized cloud storage as an alternative to Amazon S3 and similar centralized providers.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | SC |
| Price | $0.00 |
| Market Cap | $48.13M |
| 24h Change | +2.0% |
| Circulating Supply | 49.75B SC |
| All-Time High | $0.09 |
How It Works
- Storage contracts — Renters and hosts enter into on-chain smart contracts specifying storage price, duration, and host collateral. Both parties lock SC.
- Client-side encryption — Files are encrypted locally before upload. Hosts cannot read the stored data.
- Erasure coding — Files are split into 30 pieces, any 10 of which are sufficient to reconstruct the original file, uploaded to different hosts for redundancy.
- Proof-of-Storage — Sia uses “storage proofs” — hosts must periodically submit cryptographic proofs to the Sia blockchain proving they still hold the data. Failure to submit results in collateral loss.
- Mining — Sia uses Blake2b proof-of-work for block production. SC is issued as miner rewards.
- No maximum supply — SC is inflationary; new SC is continuously issued to miners.
Tokenomics
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Ticker | SC |
| Max Supply | None (inflationary) |
| Consensus | Blake2b Proof-of-Work |
| Launch | June 7, 2015 |
| Block reward | Decreasing from initial reward schedule |
| Use | Pay hosts for storage; host collateral |
Use Cases
- Decentralized cloud storage — Rent storage space from a global host marketplace at rates often significantly below AWS S3 pricing.
- Host revenue — Individuals and businesses earn SC by providing hard drive space and bandwidth.
- Skynet (archived) — Skynet was a decentralized content delivery layer built on Sia by Skynet Labs, since wound down.
History
- 2013 — David Vorick and Luke Champine begin developing the Sia concept at HackMIT.
- 2015-06-07 — Sia network launches on mainnet. Siacoin (SC) issued via PoW mining.
- 2017 — Nebulous Inc. develops the Obelisk ASIC, a dedicated Sia mining chip, controversially centralizing mining power. Sia hard forks to support Obelisk.
- 2018 — Bitmain releases a competing Sia ASIC (Antminer A3). Sia founder David Vorick writes a detailed post on the ASIC controversy, influencing the broader discussion of ASIC-resistance in crypto.
- 2021 — Nebulous Inc. restructures. The Sia Foundation (non-profit) takes over core protocol development. Skynet Labs continues building Skynet.
- 2022 — Skynet Labs shuts down Skynet, citing funding challenges. The Sia Foundation continues developing the core storage protocol.
- 2023–2025 — Sia Foundation continues protocol development. Rental rates on Sia remain competitive with centralized storage. SC supply continues to grow from mining.
Common Misconceptions
“Sia stores files on a blockchain.”
Files are not stored on the Sia blockchain. Files are stored off-chain with individual hosts. The blockchain only records storage contracts and storage proofs.
“Siacoin has a maximum supply like Bitcoin.”
Siacoin has no maximum supply. SC is continuously issued as block rewards, making it inflationary by design.
“Sia requires trust in specific storage providers.”
Sia’s storage contracts, cryptographic storage proofs, and erasure coding are designed to be trustless. Hosts lose collateral if they fail to store data, creating economic accountability without requiring reputational trust.
Social Media Sentiment
Sia is respected in the decentralized storage space as one of the oldest and most technically rigorous projects. It is often compared to Filecoin and Storj. The Skynet shutdown disappointed some followers, but the Sia Foundation’s continued development maintains community confidence. Sia is less “hyped” than many newer projects but has a loyal and technically-oriented community.
Last updated: 2026-04