What is Archivas (RCHV)? Hard drive mining consumes no power - AI storage blockchain revealed

Archivas ($RCHV) is a decentralized storage blockchain that redefines data as an evolving asset using space and proof of time consensus, optimized for the AI and Web3 ecosystem. On November 11, 2025, Archivas launched its layer 1 blockchain network, where participants earn the native token $RCHV by allocating available storage space without the need for GPUs or ASICs.

Redefining Mining with Space and Proof of Time Consensus

Archivas is built from the ground up as an independent Blockchain, introducing a sustainable and efficient alternative to Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS) without the need for GPUs, ASICs, or staked capital. Archivas leverages two complementary mechanisms: Proof of Space (farmers create cryptographic graphs for distributed storage) and proof of time (verifiable delay functions ensure fairness and verifiable ordering).

The innovation of this consensus model lies in transforming “waste” into “contribution.” Traditional Bitcoin mining requires a large amount of electricity for hashing calculations, which have no other purpose besides securing the network. Although Proof of Stake is energy-efficient, it requires locking up a significant amount of capital. In contrast, proof of time utilizes the idle hard disk space that people already possess, a resource that consumes almost no additional energy.

The model draws inspiration from the Chia Network research standards while enhancing accessibility, simplicity, and developer readiness. Chia is a pioneer of proof of space consensus, but Archivas has optimized it, particularly for AI and Web3 application scenarios. Built on the BNB Chain, it is able to leverage mature infrastructure and a large user base.

Three Major Advantages of Space and Proof of Time

Energy Efficiency: The energy consumed by hard drive storage is much lower than that of GPU or ASIC mining.

Low participation threshold: Anyone with idle hard drive space can participate, no expensive hardware required.

Resource Utilization: Turning idle storage space into contributions for network security and data preservation.

Archivas (RCHV) is the core answer to what it is: it is an innovative platform that allows ordinary people to participate in Blockchain consensus using idle hard drive space and earn rewards, while providing verifiable data storage infrastructure for AI developers.

Proof of Intelligent Storage Prioritizes Valuable Data

Archivas aims to transform decentralized storage into a smart memory layer. Unlike traditional storage solutions, it verifies and rewards data with intrinsic value, such as AI training sets or research datasets, through Proof of Intelligent Storage (PoIS). This makes it an essential infrastructure for AI developers and decentralized applications that require verifiable and reusable data.

The concept of “smart storage” is key to Archivas distinguishing itself from other decentralized storage projects. Projects like Filecoin and Arweave provide generic storage without differentiating the value and purpose of the data. Archivas, on the other hand, introduces a value assessment mechanism, prioritizing meaningful data (AI models, datasets, research data) over generic storage. This prioritization design ensures that network resources are utilized for the most valuable purposes.

For AI developers, this means they can store training datasets, model weights, and inference results on Archivas, obtaining verifiable proof of data integrity. When AI models need to prove the source and integrity of their training data (which is increasingly important in a regulatory environment), the on-chain records of Archivas provide immutable proof. This verifiability is something traditional cloud storage cannot offer.

Furthermore, the data from Archivas is not static. The network views data as “living, evolving assets,” meaning that data can be updated, version-controlled, and traceable. This is especially important for AI model training that requires continuous iteration. Developers can track each version of models and datasets on Archivas, ensuring reproducibility and transparency.

Deflationary Token Model and Circular Economy

The economic model of $RCHV Token is the core of the Archivas ecosystem. The supply is deflationary: every network interaction (storage, retrieval, governance) will destroy tokens. Farmers earn 20 $RCHV by contributing storage for each Block, thus creating a circular economy driven by demand. The total supply cap is 1 billion coins, and all tokens are already in circulation.

The logic of this deflationary model is clear: the more it is used, the more is destroyed, the less the circulating supply, and the higher the scarcity. This stands in stark contrast to traditional inflationary blockchains (which continuously issue tokens that dilute the value for holders). For early participants, as the network usage increases, the relative scarcity of the $RCHV they hold will continue to rise.

Each block's reward mechanism of 20 $RCHV ensures that farmers have a continuous incentive to contribute storage space. A block time of about 20 to 30 seconds means that approximately 2,880 to 4,320 blocks are produced daily, corresponding to a daily output of 57,600 to 86,400 $RCHV . This predictable yield structure allows farmers to calculate expected returns and make rational participation decisions.

The balance between the destruction mechanism and block rewards determines the long-term supply curve of $RCHV . In the early stages of low network usage, block rewards may exceed the amount destroyed, leading to net inflation. However, as network usage increases, the destruction rate will accelerate, potentially reaching a deflationary balance point. This design encourages early participants to hold long-term, as they know that future supply growth will be offset by demand for usage.

$RCHV Core Elements of Token Economy

Total Supply: 1 billion (all in circulation)

Block Reward: 20 RCHV per block

Burning Mechanism: Each time storage, retrieval, or governance operations occur, tokens are burned.

Cost Level: Approximately 0.001 RCHV per transaction

Deflationary Design: Use to drive demand and create scarcity through burning.

Testnet Performance and Developer Tools

The test environment of the network, archivas-devnet-v4, has been publicly running for over 25 days. During this period, the network processed over 64,000 Blocks and 1,160 transactions, with active farmers contributing over 55 GB of drawing storage capacity. Although these figures are still small in scale, they prove the technical feasibility and stability of the network.

Archivas also provides developers with a complete open-source stack, including core blockchain code, TypeScript SDK, and block explorer. Metrics and network insights are publicly accessible through its Grafana dashboard. The public RPC API (https://seed.archivas.ai) supports CORS, enabling seamless dApp and web integration. This developer-friendly design lowers the barrier to building applications based on Archivas.

For farmers who wish to participate, Archivas offers a permissionless participation model—anyone with storage space can join, without the need for GPU or ASIC. This low barrier to entry gives Archivas the potential to attract a large number of individual users and small data centers to participate. The fair distribution principle means that more storage equals more rewards, with no unfair advantage for early participants or large capital. The predictable revenue structure (fixed 20 RCHV per Block) allows farmers to calculate their return on investment.

“With Archivas, anyone can farm at home, contribute to decentralization, and earn $RCHV simply by sharing storage space,” said the Archivas development team. “Our goal is to eliminate participation barriers without sacrificing security or scalability.”

As Archivas transitions from the public testnet to the mainnet, the project positions itself as one of the most accessible, developer-friendly, and energy-efficient Layer-1 Blockchains today. Whether its unique storage model can attract AI developers seeking data processing persistence and transparency will be key to determining the project's success or failure.