Author: Alex Liu, Foresight News
On the evening of June 24, Aptos announced a collaboration with crypto giant Jump Crypto to launch a new storage protocol, Shelby. This is Jump Crypto's first major move since its return to crypto on June 19. The news triggered a swift market reaction—APT surged by 30%, rising from 4.2 USDT to a peak of 5.13 USDT, marking its best performance recently.
Jump Crypto participated in Aptos Labs' $150 million Series A funding round in 2022, known for its 'gathering' capabilities and engineering expertise; for example, Jump is a major contributor to the highly anticipated Solana validator client Firedancer. As the first high-profile project since Jump's return, Shelby has brought attention back to Aptos, as well as an 'imagination space' for ecological linkage and prosperity.
But there are also doubts. Sui was the first to launch the storage protocol Walrus; is Aptos's move a copy of its competitor's strategy? Let's delve into Shelby.
Shelby, 'hot storage protocol'
From cold to hot: The change in Web3 storage paradigm
In the narrative of Web3 infrastructure, decentralized storage has always been an unavoidable topic. But for a long time, this field has been dominated by 'cold storage': suitable for storing data that is accessed infrequently and needs to be preserved for a long time, such as NFT metadata, backups, etc. Typical representatives include Filecoin, Arweave, etc., which emphasize durability and cost optimization but may not be competent for high-frequency, high-real-time scenarios.
Shelby is the 'hot storage' solution proposed for this pain point.
According to the official definition, Shelby is the first 'cloud-grade infrastructure' in the Web3 world, featuring sub-second reading, native incentive mechanisms, and chain-agnostic compatibility. It not only allows data to be stored but also makes data flow, available, and quantifiable, serving applications with high real-time requirements in Web3, including video streaming, AI output, dynamic NFTs, and game assets.
Currently, Shelby takes Aptos as the preferred settlement layer, utilizing its 600 milliseconds final confirmation, 30,000 TPS, and ultra-low Gas fees to coordinate real-time data streams. Shelby will launch a developer testnet in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Aptos Labs CEO Avery Ching pointed out in a personal article: 'The exchange of Web3 assets can already be done in seconds, but data still remains in a static and difficult-to-use state; solving this key bottleneck is what Shelby aims to do.'
With Jump as its backing, Shelby is not simply 'fast.'
If Aptos is known for its high concurrency and high throughput, then Jump Crypto is a veteran in high-frequency trading and real-time systems. The reason Shelby dares to claim 'hot storage' lies in the characteristics of its underlying architecture:
High-speed synchronization supported by a dedicated fiber optic backbone globally;
Ensuring content localization and reading speed as fast as sub-second through an edge caching system;
Implementing a Clay code redundancy mechanism to reduce replication costs while ensuring repair efficiency;
A crypto + paid reading mechanism that natively supports usage-based monetization logic;
Supporting smart contracts to define access control and DRM, providing one-stop processing from data distribution to copyright protection.
This design is not just about creating a faster IPFS (the most famous decentralized storage network), but attempts to merge the performance standards of Web2 with the decentralization principles of Web3, creating a programmable, monetizable, and scalable data circulation network.
Top-tier projects joining, community discussions are heated.
The APT price quickly surged by about 30%, not only due to Jump Crypto's endorsement but also because of the luxurious lineup of ecological projects attracted by Shelby—Metaplex, Story Protocol, DoubleZero, etc. They are not only the most active data-intensive applications in the industry but also representatives of various chains exploring the usage value of Web3 data.
Metaplex is rooted in Solana, while DoubleZero was founded by Austin Federa, former strategy head of Solana. The Solana ecosystem projects in which Jump is deeply involved are also contributing to the Aptos ecosystem construction. Does this indicate that there is indeed something behind Shelby, gaining recognition from everyone?
The community's interpretation of Shelby is also exceptionally positive.
Some compare it with the Walrus Protocol, pointing out that the purposes served by the two are vastly different: Walrus leans towards cold storage and archiving, while Shelby focuses on real-time use and revenue distribution; the former relies on low-frequency access and audit incentive mechanisms, while the latter transforms each data reading into a payment behavior, fundamentally incentivizing the improvement of data readability.
Moreover, some viewpoints suggest that Shelby's crypto + paid reading mechanism provides a paradigm breakthrough for the long-standing 'reading incentive' problem in the field of data availability. Compared to projects like Celestia and Walrus, which still rely on external funding subsidies to maintain services, Shelby directly incorporates user behavior into an economic closed loop, encouraging nodes to actively maintain data availability.
A higher vision: Not just Aptos's comeback.
The launch of Shelby is certainly an important move for Aptos in seeking ecological breakthroughs, but its broader significance may lie in its first attempt to deeply integrate content economy, creator economy, and on-chain infrastructure under the concept of 'data as a native asset.' This not only serves Aptos itself but also radiates to the entire multi-chain world through its 'chain-agnostic' feature.
Aptos Labs has repeatedly emphasized the composability and cross-chain capabilities of Shelby in its announcement: whether you are deploying dynamic NFTs on Solana or building RAG models on Ethereum Layer 2, Shelby can achieve rapid access and revenue linkage through standardized interfaces. In the future, it will also expand to on-chain environments such as Cosmos and Modular Stack.
By integrating Aptos's existing Global Trading Engine value transfer engine, Shelby complements the capabilities on the value generation side: the former allows assets to flow freely, while the latter enables content to become assets with measurable value. The two complement each other, and Aptos is attempting to create an on-chain economic closed loop.
Written at the end: Possibilities and challenges of a turnaround
From technical design to cooperative lineup, from ecological landing to market sentiment, Shelby is undoubtedly a high-scoring answer sheet handed in by Aptos at the infrastructure level. During the large airdrop of Walrus, igniting the wealth effect of the Sui ecosystem, Aptos was once seen as a 'bystander'; now, with Jump's backing, Shelby may be the breakthrough point for it to reclaim the central narrative.
Of course, challenges still remain: difficulties in performance realization, developer migration costs, early ecosystem cold starts... these will all be real issues Shelby has to face next. But at least from market and technical perspectives, Aptos is no longer satisfied with being a 'faster and cheaper public chain,' but is seeking innovation and change, betting on a new paradigm of on-chain economy driven by data.
When hot data really starts to flow, perhaps the next wave of Web3 will also embark from here.
