Blockweave: An Arweave-Based Decentralized Storage Solution to Tackle the Blockchain Trilemma

Abstract

Blockchain technology faces a fundamental challenge known as the trilemma: The difficulty of achieving scalability, security, and decentralization simultaneously. Existing decentralized storage systems struggle with scalability, especially during high transaction volumes. This paper introduces Blockweave, an Arweave-based decentralized storage solution designed to resolve the trilemma. Our approach employs three key innovations: Lightweight 48-byte Transaction Anchors (TAs) that reduce on-chain storage by 89% compared to Bitcoin; Adaptive block sizing (1–200 MB) to scale throughput from 162 to 7200 transactions per second (TPS); and A Proof-of-Access (PoA) consensus mechanism that ensures 99% data redundancy and resilience against attacks. Evaluation results show that Blockweave achieves the highest level of decentralization (Tier-S: 25,000 nodes with no entity controlling $>1$% of the network). It reduces storage requirements by 3426$\times$ versus Bitcoin (0.236 GB for 867,541 blocks) and prevents double-spending/Sybil attacks. Experimental results demonstrate high scalability (7200 TPS), robust security, and low-cost participation ($300 nodes), representing a significant improvement over existing decentralized storage solutions.