CRUST
Crust Network operates a Layer 1 blockchain delivering decentralized, IPFS-based storage infrastructure with cross-chain interoperability across 20+ blockchain ecosystems, serving Web3 developers, NFT creators, end-users, and enterprises seeking censorship-resistant, self-custodied data storage.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What CRUST does
Crust Network is a Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for decentralized storage, founded in 2020 and headquartered in San Francisco. The company operates a global network of validators, storage providers, and gateway nodes that deliver IPFS-compatible storage with on-chain guarantees. Its core technology stack combines a Substrate-based blockchain with three proprietary mechanisms: GPoS (Guaranteed Proof of Stake) consensus, MPoW (Meaningful Proof of Work) for storage proof verification, and DSM (Decentralized Storage Market) for permissionless storage order placement. The platform is designed for omnichain interoperability via XCMP for Polkadot and Kusama parachains and EVM-compatible smart contracts across Ethereum and major L2s.
The product portfolio spans consumer-facing dApps (Crust Files for personal file sharing, IPFS Scan for storage exploration, Crust Cloud for S3-like storage middleware with NFT-based buckets and gateways), developer infrastructure (EVM Storage with Solidity smart contracts, W3Authed Pinning Service, multi-chain SDKs), and ecosystem services (Crust Swap, Crust Wallet, EthDA data availability). Crust generates revenue through storage order fees denominated in CRU tokens, where usage-based pricing scales with file size and storage duration (temporary or permanent), with prepaid discounts available via pCRU. Its go-to-market is product-led and community-led: developers and builders access APIs and SDKs directly, end-users adopt self-serve dApps, and a global community of node operators maintains the network under a token-incentivized model.
The customer base serves Web3 developers and builders (primary), NFT creators and collectors, end-users seeking self-custodied file storage, and enterprises evaluating S3-equivalent Web3 storage. The project is backed by a broad Web3 investor syndicate including DWF Labs, Web3 Foundation, DFG, NGC Ventures, SevenX Ventures, IOSG Ventures, HashCIB, SNZ, AU21 Capital, Tiger Global, Waterdrip Capital, and Bitcoin.com. Despite operating with a very small core team of 1-10 employees, Crust has integrated with 150+ Web3 ecosystem projects across DeFi, NFT, gaming, and social verticals.
CRUST firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CRUST
- Legal name
- Crust Network
- Website
- https://crust.network
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Crust Network operates a Layer 1 blockchain delivering decentralized, IPFS-based storage infrastructure with cross-chain interoperability across 20+ blockchain ecosystems, serving Web3 developers, NFT creators, end-users, and enterprises seeking censorship-resistant, self-custodied data storage.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CRUST industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Decentralized Storage Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Decentralized Storage Networks (IPFS/Filecoin/Arweave, archival & retrieval) (FSAPALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Layer 1 Base Protocols & Consensus (execution, consensus, security, clients) (FSAPAAAA), Decentralized Data Availability & Storage Verification (DA layers, proofs of storage/replication, audit networks) (FSAPALAH)
Keywords
Where CRUST is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
CRUST business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Storage Order Fees: Users pay fees to place storage orders on the Crust Network. Fees are determined by file size and storage duration (temporary or permanent). The fee is settled via on-chain mechanisms with support for multiple currencies.
- CRU Token Utility: The native CRU token is used for staking (GPoS consensus), paying for storage services, and as an economic incentive for storage providers and validators in the network.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Temporary Storage |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Permanent Storage |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Prepaid Storage Discount |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
CRUST product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Crust Network operates a Layer 1 blockchain that provides decentralized cloud storage infrastructure by incentivizing IPFS storage through its native GPoS and MPoW consensus mechanisms. Users and developers can place on-chain storage orders via the Decentralized Storage Market (DSM) protocol, paying fees in CRU tokens for temporary or permanent storage. The platform offers consumer apps (Crust Files, IPFS Scan), enterprise storage middleware (Crust Cloud, EVM Storage), and cross-chain storage services spanning 20+ blockchain ecosystems including Polkadot, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Solana, and others.
Product overview
Crust Network is a Layer 1 blockchain providing decentralized storage infrastructure. The product portfolio includes the core Crust Network blockchain with its DSM (Decentralized Storage Market) for on-chain storage orders, alongside consumer-facing products like Crust Files (personal file sharing dApp), Crust Cloud (S3-like storage with NFT-based buckets and gateways), and IPFS Scan (IPFS explorer). EVM Storage provides Solidity smart contract integration for Ethereum-compatible chains. The ecosystem is completed by Crust Wallet, Crust Swap for token trading, and Shadow Explorer for network visualization. All products are powered by IPFS with incentivized storage through GPoS and MPoW consensus mechanisms, enabling omnichain interoperability across 20+ blockchain ecosystems.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Crust Files: Web3.0 personal file sharing decentralized application supporting EVM chains for storing, managing, sharing, and owning data in a decentralized way.
- Crust Cloud
- IPFS Scan
- Crust Swap
- EthDA
- EVM Storage
Products and services
- Crust Network A purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain providing composable cloud storage solutions with decentralized physical infrastructure, guaranteed IPFS storage with incentive layer, and omnichain interoperability across 20+ blockchain ecosystems.
- DSM (Decentralized Storage Market) An on-chain storage market where anyone can place storage orders to distribute data on IPFS through a decentralized and permissionless protocol with automatic pricing and replica distribution.
- Crust Files Web3 personal file sharing dApp supporting EVM chains, enabling users to store, manage, share, and own data in a decentralized way.
- Crust Cloud S3-like cloud storage middleware where every storage bucket is an NFT and every IPFS gateway is an NFT, providing professional-grade decentralized storage for enterprise users.
- IPFS Scan Free, open-source IPFS explorer application allowing users to search and check storage status and details of files on the Crust network.
- EVM Storage Storage smart contract protocol implemented within the EVM ecosystem using Solidity, providing petabyte-level storage capacity with optional permanent storage and native IPFS compatibility.
- Crust Swap Decentralized exchange for trading the CRU token and accessing storage services.
- Crust Wallet Cryptocurrency wallet for managing CRU tokens and interacting with the Crust Network ecosystem.
- Shadow Explorer Blockchain explorer for viewing on-chain data, storage orders, and network statistics on the Crust Shadow parachain.
- EthDA Ethereum data availability solution within the Crust ecosystem providing decentralized data availability layer.
Quantifiable outcome
- Petabyte-level storage capacity available for EVM ecosystem
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use CRUST
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CRUST technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration19 records
Feature7 records
CRUST partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- 150+ Ecosystem ProjectscoreOver 150 projects have partnered with or integrated Crust's decentralized storage solutions across various Web3 ecosystems including DeFi, NFTs, Gaming, and Social platforms.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CRUST competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Filecoin: Filecoin is the largest decentralized storage network, built on IPFS, offering programmable storage deals. Crust competes directly with Filecoin for IPFS-based storage orders, but differentiates via its Layer 1 design and cross-chain omnichain interoperability.
- Arweave: Arweave is a decentralized storage network focused on permanent, one-time-fee data storage. Crust competes with Arweave in the permanent storage use case while also offering flexible temporary storage, an option Arweave does not provide.
- Storj: Storj is a decentralized cloud storage platform providing S3-compatible storage for enterprise customers. Like Crust Cloud, Storj targets the S3-compatible decentralized storage wedge, making it a direct comparable for Crust's prosumer/enterprise product.
- Sia: Sia is a decentralized cloud storage network that rents unused hard drive capacity globally. Both Sia and Crust operate as Layer 1 storage blockchains with a focus on permissionless storage marketplaces.
Emerging players
- Ceramic Network: Ceramic provides decentralized data infrastructure for Web3 identity, social graphs, and verifiable credentials. It overlaps with Crust's Web3-native data storage use case but focuses on composable data streams rather than file storage.
- EigenDA: EigenDA is a data availability layer for Ethereum rollups using EigenLayer restaking. While not a file storage network, it competes for the same Web3 data availability budget and could pressure Crust's DA-adjacent positioning (e.g., EthDA).
- Celestia: Celestia is a modular data availability blockchain for rollups. Similar to EigenDA, it represents an alternative approach to Web3 data storage that may compete for builder mindshare on the omnichain data layer that Crust targets.
- 0chain: 0chain is a decentralized storage platform offering dStorage with features like blobber-based storage and ZCN token economics. It is a smaller, more niche direct comparable to Crust in the Web3 decentralized storage category.
- Bundlr Network: Bundlr (now Irys) provides a permanent storage layer built on Arweave for high-throughput data uploads. It overlaps with Crust's permanent storage offering but operates as a meta-layer rather than a base storage blockchain.
Others
- IPFS (Protocol Labs): IPFS is the underlying file storage protocol that Crust incentivizes via its GPoS and MPoW mechanisms. As the base layer of Crust's architecture, IPFS is a critical enabling technology and ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CRUST social profiles
Digital presenceCRUST financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CRUST leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
CRUST funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors20 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CRUST M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CRUST
What does CRUST do?
Crust Network operates a Layer 1 blockchain that provides decentralized cloud storage infrastructure by incentivizing IPFS storage through its native GPoS and MPoW consensus mechanisms. Users and developers can place on-chain storage orders via the Decentralized Storage Market (DSM) protocol, paying fees in CRU tokens for temporary or permanent storage. The platform offers consumer apps (Crust Files, IPFS Scan), enterprise storage middleware (Crust Cloud, EVM Storage), and cross-chain storage services spanning 20+ blockchain ecosystems including Polkadot, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Solana, and others.
Is CRUST a public or private company?
CRUST is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was CRUST founded?
CRUST was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is CRUST based?
CRUST is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does CRUST make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Storage Order Fees are the primary driver. The others are CRU Token Utility.
Who are CRUST's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Filecoin, Arweave, Storj and Sia. Emerging players are Ceramic Network, EigenDA, Celestia, 0chain and Bundlr Network. IPFS (Protocol Labs) is listed as an others.
Does CRUST have an API?
Yes. Crust provides multiple APIs for decentralized storage integration. The IPFS HTTP API allows developers to upload and pin files using W3Authed pinning service. The EVM Storage API enables developers to place storage orders on Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains using Solidity smart contracts with functions for price querying (getPrice) and order placement (placeOrder, placeOrderWithNode). The Substrate/Polkadot API uses the market pallet for on-chain storage orders (placeStorageOrder, addPrepaid). Multi-chain authentication is supported across Ethereum series, Polkadot series, Solana, Elrond, Flow, and NEAR wallets. Developer documentation is at wiki.crust.network.
What industry is CRUST in?
CRUST's product category is Decentralized Storage Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPALAA, Decentralized Storage Networks (IPFS/Filecoin/Arweave, archival & retrieval), with a secondary code of FSAPAAAA, Layer 1 Base Protocols & Consensus (execution, consensus, security, clients). Its NAICS code is 518210 and its SIC code is 6200.