Foundations

How to Think About Irys

The simplest way to think about Irys is as a data-first base layer.

In execution chains like Ethereum and Solana, execution is the center of the system and data exists to support it. Contract state and transaction data are written so computation can proceed, and anything beyond that is constrained by cost, congestion, or architectural limits.

On Irys, stored data is at the center of the architecture. Applications can write, retrieve and reuse it across different workflows.

The planned Programmable Data interface would extend this model to smart contracts, letting them apply logic directly to stored datasets during execution.

Shared data could then become a common foundation for applications, with each contract defining how to interpret and use it.

Storage, execution, and verification are built into the same base layer, but they do not compete for the same bottlenecks. Storage throughput, execution throughput, and verification processes operate as distinct components within the protocol.