Today at the Aptos Experience, Aptos Labs and Jump Crypto announced Shelby Devnet, marking the next milestone in building the decentralized data layer for real-time applications.
Shelby is a new decentralized data layer built for real-time performance. It allows applications to store and serve data quickly, making decentralized systems feel as fast as traditional cloud infrastructure. Built on the Aptos blockchain, Shelby removes centralized points of control and introduces cryptoeconomic guarantees that ensure data availability and integrity across independent operators.
That’s where the DoubleZero network comes in.
While the Devnet runs on a closed network today, Shelby’s long-term architecture is designed to operate over DoubleZero, the global, high-performance fiber network purpose-built for distributed systems. Acting as the networking layer in the decentralized cloud stack—Networking (DoubleZero), Data (Shelby), and Compute—DoubleZero will provide the deterministic bandwidth and low latency needed for hot storage at global scale.
Speaking about the collaboration, Pranav Raval, Head of Infrastructure at Aptos Labs and Lead for Shelby, emphasized how fundamental DoubleZero’s role is to Shelby’s long-term vision.
“High bandwidth connectivity is the foundation of any high-performance data infrastructure. Shelby aims to be at par or faster than current big-clouds. As such, dedicated bandwidth offered by DoubleZero network is a key technology pillar enabling Shelby’s ambitions.”
By pairing Shelby’s novel storage architecture and cryptoeconomic incentives with DoubleZero’s verifiable network infrastructure, the two systems will together enable predictable, high-throughput performance that rivals traditional cloud providers.
Together, Shelby and DoubleZero deliver decentralized infrastructure that performs competitively with today’s leading clouds at a lower cost – proving that decentralization and performance are not opposing forces –they are the foundation for the next era of the internet.