Small Grant: SiaVault

Grants Inactive
1

Introduction

Project Name:
SiaVault — Private, User‑Owned Cloud Storage with a Frictionless Onboarding Experience

Name of the organization or individual submitting the proposal:
Hridyansh (Independent Builder)

Describe your project:
SiaVault is a privacy‑first, decentralized storage platform built on the Sia network. It enables users to store and share files with end‑to‑end client‑side encryption, while removing the usual crypto complexity through a fiat‑first payment layer.

The first 3 months will focus entirely on delivering a lean, usable MVP:

  • Core Sia storage integration with client‑side encryption.
  • Clean, minimal UX for uploads, downloads, and file management.
  • Fiat‑to‑crypto conversion layer so users can pay in INR/USD without touching wallets or tokens.

Future phases will add:

  • Unique Zero Proof — cryptographic proofs for file existence, access rights, and usage.
  • Cross‑chain integrations to expand features and reach.
  • Zero‑knowledge AI tools for private search, summarization, and media generation.

How does the projected outcome serve the Foundation’s mission of user‑owned data?
SiaVault advances the mission by:

  • Giving users full control — encryption keys never leave their device.
  • Making decentralized storage accessible to non‑technical users through fiat billing and a familiar interface.
  • Laying the groundwork for verifiable privacy features (Zero Proof) that will be added in later phases.

Are you a resident of any jurisdiction on that list?
No

Will your payment bank account be located in any jurisdiction on that list?
No

Grant Specifics

Amount of money requested and justification:
$8,500 USD — broken down as:

  • $3,000 — Development (frontend dashboard, backend API, fiat‑crypto conversion)
  • $2,000 — Backend infrastructure (Sia node hosting, redundancy testing, monitoring)
  • $1,500 — Security audits (encryption flow, payment integration)
  • $1,000 — UI/UX design and branding
  • $1,000 — Documentation, grant reporting, and onboarding materials

Goals of this small grant & timeline:

Month 1:

  • Core Sia integration with client‑side encryption.
  • Basic dashboard for upload/download.
  • Fiat billing integration (Stripe/UPI).

Month 2:

  • File management features (rename, delete, organize).
  • Public/Private toggle for file visibility.
  • Basic sharing via expiring links.

Month 3:

  • Usage metering and billing logic.
  • Polished UX and responsive design.
  • Grant‑ready documentation and live demo.

Note: Zero‑Knowledge Proofs, cross‑chain integrations, and AI features will be developed after the MVP launch, based on adoption, funding, and technical readiness.

Potential risks:

  • User onboarding friction — mitigated with email‑first signup and hidden crypto layer.
  • Network reliability — mitigated by Sia redundancy and automated repair.
  • Payment compliance — mitigated by using established fiat payment processors.

Development Information

Will all of your project’s code be open‑source?
Yes — all core code will be open‑source under an MIT license.
Closed‑source components (if any) will be limited to optional UI themes or integrations that are not essential to the core storage functionality.

Link where code will be accessible:

Do you agree to submit monthly progress reports?
Yes

Contact info

Email: [email protected]
Preferred contact methods: Email

Unique Features

  • Abstracted Crypto Layer: Users pay in fiat; crypto complexity is handled behind the scenes.
  • Direct, Private Sharing: Expiring links and contact‑based permissions with instant revoke.
  • Privacy Defaults: Encryption on by default, no model training, no plaintext server custody.
  • Future‑Ready for Zero Proof: Architecture designed for verifiable proofs of storage, access, and usage in later phases.
  • Scalable to Zero‑Knowledge AI: Future integrations will allow private AI tools to operate on encrypted data without exposing it.
2

I don’t have anything specifically against this project except that this kind of project already exists in implementations like SecureSphere & Vup. I don’t really see what value this would add.

3

I personally see this as another storage vault grant, and… as that is the most obvious thing to ask to be funded, it is not very creative/innovative idea wise, and im not sure I see any USP (unique selling point) here.

Additionally the ecosystem is already moving towards solving fiat and onboarding problems.

So I am not against this, but I do see a risk of saturation of X vault type grants, and they all should probably have something that makes them uniquely valuable if funded.

Kudos.

4

Did you know that a self-vote wouldn’t improve your chances?

1 Like
5

I personally see that the UIP is the zero knowledge proofa

6

Then please explain… because cynically I see a lot of buzz words in the proposal including trying to stuff in AI (trends/hype), so if there is something unique, please explain the engineering your planning on doing.

Kudos.

7

Zero Knowledge Cryptographic Proofs mean giving the proof that the computation was done correctly without ever knowing what the actual data is.

Like encryption protects the data from hackers, who have the data but not the encryption algorithm or the key. Zero knowledge is a step up from it, as it protects the data even from the company, people who have access to the data, encryption, and possibly the key.

Though I already try to mitigate the risk by using client-side encryption, so there is no transfer of unprotected data, ZK is the gold-standard of privacy. There are many algorithms available on these, SNARK, STARK, and some others, even some crypto chains. I don’t fully understand how these work myself, at least not to the point of building one myself. Which is why I was planning to use 3rd party like the ones I mentioned above, before building one myself if the need arises.

This is the ultimate, and the truest form of WhatsApp’s “No one knows your data, not even us” as far as today’s technology goes in my knowledge.

8

I am aware of what ZKP is. I was asking what you were planning to do with ZK circuits, and how you planned on doing it. Your answer so far gives me the impression though that you have a lot of ideas, but not a clue currently on executing them.

Given that, and that your MVP has no USP, my original criticism stands.

9

Hey so I was checking out other approved projects to see what kind of project you guys support, and I found this SecureSphere, but from what I could gather, it is not a storage app.

From what I could gather, it is a password and incredibly private information. I don’t plan to store those things, I intend for this app to be an alternative to Google Drive and Dropbox, not apps like BitWarden or Keeper.

As for why I am building this idea, I recently saw this news from India about a woman who gave her image to Nano Banana to make her wear another dress. The point of issue is, Nano Banana showed features of her body which were not visible in the original prompt (specifically a birthmark which was only visible in her sleeveless photos, while the prompt was wearing a full sleeve dress). This resulted in mass panic since this implies that the AI has had access to the pictures she stored on Google Drive, which should NOT have been accessible by anybody.

And thus, people are now frantically looking for alternatives to these AAA (am primarily a game developer, so I don’t know a better alternative) companies, and I am trying to launch a decentralized storage platform before some centralized company takes it place, because AI is also on the rise in India so I KNOW this will happen again, and if people go against storing data online it will cause many problems all around.

So, I am trying to provide a secure place for people to store all their data, not just things like passwords, this will be closely integrated with another app, Talken (check out on reddit r/talken or on the offical website Talken - Home), which is being developed by my friend Shashwat Gupta, and uses things like decentralized servers and peer-to-peer networking. As such, I am building this app.

As such, I plan to create seamless UX not only for users, but also miners (storage providers), so that more people are also able to make passive income from it, without the knowledge needed for crypto handling. All the end-user will see is fiat, no matter at what end.

It is also a step one you can say, which plans to increase the flexibility of the ecosystem, and the user trust in the decentralized scenery. As mentioned in the original definition, I will integrate this with other chains also, to server other purposes, talken or otherwise. Some of these things I have in mind are: -

  • File Sharing: By constantly mutating the data while it is being copied onto the destination allows to share an immense amount of information using only a little bit of space, like accessing the time dimension. I will explain this in detail if you want.

  • Video Streaming: Recently there was this movie that was banned in India, I am forgetting the name. It was about the current government’s shortcomings, and hence was banned, although on the world stage it represented UK for the Oscars. And we all are aware now of what happens when people get tired of government censorship (Nepal vs. Gen Z). Even using VPN is pseudo-illegal and companies are forced to retain all the user information, even after users cancel their accounts. As such, I want to build a video streaming platform where people can share without fearing censorship. I was planning to integrate this with Theta network for peer-to-peer sharing.

So these are some plans I had for this app on the whole, and this current grant was for the 1st stage.

10

Regarding other existing grants, Vup (vup.app) is powered by S5 v1: Rewrite it in Rust (Large Grant Proposal) and I expect that the developer will be continuing development after they get their foundations rebuilt in Rust (the main app needs a lot of updates). They are also working on integrating with latest efforts like RHP4 (renting proto), and will support the newer efforts from the foundation, when released, like indexd.

Regarding video streaming, IMO that can be done in a lot of ways, and at the most basic is just streaming from HTTP a fileshare which needs nothing external. If your getting into transcoding though, then Theta or Livepeer might make sense. However another grantee has been doing streaming related R&D for movies and music that you may be interested in as well Profile - juleslai - Sia Forum

I am glad to see a new potential developer who cares about Sia’s values regardless.

Kudos.

11

The main thing I wanted to use Theta for is the pathfinding. I want to use Theta to path find the best peer-to-peer network, and people can of course earn from it. And a basic file share is easy, but finding the best network is the difficult part.

As for the file sharing, to explain it, let us take the example of a 1 GB file, divided into 1 MB chunks. Each chunk is transmitted to the network and take the best path to the destination. Then, the network file is mutated into the second chunk, again take the best path, which maybe different or same, to the destination. So like this the 1 GB file is stored using 1 MB file chunks. I am aware this is also how a simple TCP protocol works. But using a series of intermediary providers, we can have much more data in the air, than with a simple TCP protocol. I feel like I am not able to explain myself fully, but it is not like normal sharing with forceful Sia.

Also, I get that VUP is an extremely useful platform, and works, but the problem is it isn’t for people, or rather the market I am talking about. My parents for example, part of the group which is the most scared by this AI thing, and would be the first to adopt this thing, will be extremly frustrated if the onboarding process is more than the folling steps: -

  1. Sign Up
  2. Buy Subscription
  3. Auto Sync

Anything else and they will be frustrated. But anyways, I feel like this idea is way too close to cut it. Is there anyway I can like cancel it or something, so I may be apply for another thing in the future?

Also thanks for all the help

12

Regarding the path finding stuff, you may want to ask in the discord and/or look deeper into how sia itself works regarding sharding and distributing data to hosts.

if the onboarding process is more than the folling steps: -

Much of the community is aware of this and there have been ongoing efforts to push the ecosystem to enable this. It is not really visible right now outside the ecosystem, but this type of thing is a known issue.

But anyways, I feel like this idea is way too close to cut it.

If you wish to abandon this grant request, you can just state your intention to do so.

Kudos.

13

Hello @Gravity-3d - thank you for your proposal and welcome to the Sia community. Your openness and responsiveness are also greatly appreciated as your idea got some good engagement from other members of the community.

I’ll move this over to the “Ideas” subcategory and you are free to make alternative grants proposals at any time.

14

Hey!

Idm don’t get why my proposal has been moved to the “ideas” category. It was my idea, and I get why it might not exactly be the best at the current stage, but I intend to handle these things myself. I don’t imtend for someone else to handle it, which I assume the ideas category is for.

Please clarify, thanks!

P.S. sorry for the crude typing, I am typing on my phone rn, whike i do it generally on my laptop

15

  1. Yes I intend to do that, which is why I didn’t include it in the initilal 3 month stuff since it requires immmnse research for perfection.

  2. That is why I am building it, because this is how an ecosystem moves forward. Not in that sense of way, but i believe this is why new projects are built. But I also agree, Vup and S5 have made so uch progress that it is no longer a visble UIP. This is now a question of “when” rather than “if”.

  3. I might, but as you said I am researching into Zero knowledge proofs so that I can understand it better. Also, i didn’t notice your “why” question before, because I thought it was rather clear. As the organization in-charge, we would be responsible for seeeing if the decentralized node is handling the data correctly. But to check if the data is available completely, without knowing the data, is where ZKM comes in. We assign proofs to each chunk and then randomly ask for these proofs on random chunks, to the point where is is just easier to do the work correctly than to try and scam ( in layman terms ofc). Now these proofs are where the SNARK and STARK come into play, and how these work, these proofs, is where my current knowledge ends, but I am trying to expand it.

16

Hi @Gravity-3d - I’ll bring it back to the “Proposed” subcategory then and mark internally that you do not want this presented at the next Committee meeting.

1 Like