Aptos Labs and Jump Crypto Launch Shelby for High-Performance Decentralized Storage

Aptos Labs, a prominent Layer 1 blockchain, has partnered with Jump Crypto, a subsidiary of the quantitative trading firm Jump Trading, to unveil Shelby, a high-performance decentralized hot storage network. This collaboration is designed to offer developers a decentralized storage protocol that ensures verifiable data flows, catering to applications that require video streaming, social timelines, AI pipelines, or decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) with cloud-level speed.

Shelby leverages global high-performance nodes, fiber backbone, and on-chain programmable architecture to achieve cloud-level read and write speed and reliability. This breakthrough addresses the centralization and performance bottlenecks of traditional Web2 services, offering features such as sub-second response time, pay-as-you-go billing, Token gating, DRM, smart contract permission control, and dynamic pricing capabilities.

Projects such as Metaplex, Story Protocol, and Pipe Network are among the first to integrate Shelby, with NBCUniversal also planning to adopt it in streaming media scenarios. This validation underscores the potential of Shelby's cross-chain real-time infrastructure. The Shelby developer testnet (Devnet) is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2025, supporting multi-chain ecosystems such as Aptos, Ethereum, Solana, and more.

Aptos Labs brings its expertise from top tech companies like Meta to develop consumer-grade blockchain infrastructure. Meanwhile, Jump Crypto leverages its experience in real-time systems and quick trade execution to ensure low latency reads and parallel data flows. The partnership aims to combine the transparency and reliability of decentralized blockchain networks with the seamless speed of traditional applications and media.

Shelby stands out from previous decentralized storage systems, which are often considered "cold" or slow and static. Shelby's "hot" data primitive aims to deliver near-immediate response times for decentralized data sourcing, making it suitable for applications that demand quick access to data. This innovative approach not only enhances technical capabilities but also introduces a new business model for Web3 applications.

A spokesperson from Aptos Labs highlighted the innovative business model that Shelby introduces. Unlike legacy platforms that monetize user content and data, Shelby empowers creators and platforms with control over pricing, access, and monetization. This shift not only enhances technical capabilities but also introduces a new business model for Web3 applications.

The spokesperson further elaborated on Shelby's potential, stating that it enables the creation of apps that Web3 has been waiting for. Creators can launch pay-per-view video, token-gated content, or time-based access with logic enforced directly on-chain. Additionally, AI training can benefit from instant access to datasets, providing a new foundation for programmable, revenue-generating apps.

This collaboration comes at a time when the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Aave has voted to expand to Aptos, marking the first time the lending protocol will operate on a non-Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchain. Jump Crypto has also re-introduced itself as the builders behind some of the most ambitious projects in crypto, with its parent company, Jump Trading, playing a central role in underpinning Terra’s stablecoin ecosystem, which collapsed in May 2022.