Eternal Lines: Why Preserve Books on the Blockchain?
As information becomes increasingly vulnerable to censorship, people are searching for new ways to preserve it reliably. One such solution is blockchain, which allows for the creation of permanent archives.
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Printed content has always been one of the most vulnerable forms of media. It can be altered, destroyed, suppressed, or used as a tool for propaganda.
This is the path that led us to a world where books are quietly disappearing…
A World Losing Its Books
Sometimes reality feels like a dystopia. A single inconvenient thought can result in a permanent ban, and original sources are edited faster than news feeds can update.
It’s time to ask: how do we preserve essential knowledge?
USB drives get lost. Servers crash. Censorship continues its steady march across the globe.
Books have been burned not only in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, but throughout history:
- In the Library of Alexandria
- In the fires of the Inquisition
- In totalitarian regimes of the past and, unfortunately, the present
History textbooks have been rewritten time and again. A change in power or the loss of a war is often enough to make the past appear freshly minted.
After all, history is written by the victors.
In the digital age, a single click can wipe out entire pages of information, as if they never existed. A massive electronic library can disappear after a routine update or a cyberattack.
The question “How do we preserve knowledge for eternity?” is no longer just philosophical. It has become a strategic imperative.
Among all modern technologies, blockchain stands out as a fortress where books could outlive even the apocalypse.
Read more: Top Books to Boost Your Crypto Knowledge
Blockchain as a Knowledge Repository
Imagine a library that can’t be burned, erased, or renamed to honor someone. Blockchain is like a glass vault of books, mirrored across millions of users. To write or delete anything, you need consensus from every other custodian. Without it, changing the record is technically impossible.
Moreover, making retroactive changes would require rewriting the entire history of records, starting from the very first block. The amount of computing power needed for that would be so enormous that the cost would far exceed any possible gain.
The only theoretical loophole for such a breach is the quantum computer. Developers acknowledge the risk, but for now, that kind of machine exists only on paper.
Today, writing something to a decentralized network is the digital equivalent of etching it in stone.
Alexandria
This platform is a digital take on the traditional library, only shielded by cryptography. It runs on the FLO protocol, which allows metadata to be written directly into the blockchain.
Alexandria offers censorship-resistant books, audiobooks, and video content, all published as NFTs. Here, you can already find works that were removed from Amazon and YouTube, along with original texts that never made it into traditional publishing.
The project brings together free speech advocates and tech enthusiasts determined to create an alternative to the cultural monopoly of major platforms.
Bookchain®
Created by Canadian company Scenarex, this platform targets a professional audience, including authors, publishers, and journalists.
It allows users to upload content with precise terms for distribution and revenue sharing.
Bookchain® stands out as a powerful tool for digital publishing, offering:
- DRM support
- Flexible licensing options
- Sales analytics
- Integration with educational institutions
The service has become especially popular among independent authors and niche publishers tired of Amazon’s fees and the restrictions of Apple Books.
Mirror.xyz
This is not just a notebook for Web3 dreamers. It’s a true literary laboratory.
The platform blends the functions of:
- Publishing house
- Crowdfunding platform
- Specialized social media
Authors can turn any publication into an NFT, raise funds for future works, and build DAO communities around their projects.
Everything is open to tokenization, from decentralization manifestos and fantasy novels to collaborative scientific research.
The audience on Mirror.xyz is experimental, forward-thinking, and always exploring new frontiers, from crypto enthusiasts to poets of the digital age.
Arweave
Perhaps the most enduring—and ideologically charged—project of its kind.
Its motto, “Permaweb,” says it all: the web, forever. Upload a text once, and it stays there for centuries. The founders promise 200 years of storage, made possible by a unique system of economic incentives and a specialized storage architecture.
Arweave is actively used by:
- Journalists
- Nonprofits
- Research centers
- Wikipedia archivists
The platform already hosts collections of lost news articles, censored blogs, and literary journals. Storage starts at just $1 per megabyte, but in return, writers receive a kind of digital immortality.
AKASHA
Built on Ethereum and IPFS, this project emerged as a philosophical alternative to Facebook. It’s a decentralized social platform for publishing and dialogue, where articles live within a web of comments and responses, forming intellectual circles around shared interests.
The platform is a hub for activists, theorists, left-leaning thinkers, and champions of open-source culture. Here, you can publish a political treatise or a speculative essay, and know it won’t be removed for breaking community guidelines.
Pros and Cons of Preserving Books on the Blockchain
The benefits are hard to ignore:
- Censorship resistance
Once a text is written to the blockchain, it cannot be deleted or edited. Even if the author changes their mind or the website shuts down, copies remain with every node in the network. This is especially important for political writing, independent research, and stories that don’t fit the current narrative.
- Decentralization
There is no central owner or censor. Anyone connected to the network can access the data. No one can cut out a chapter or block access. This is a fundamentally new way of thinking about the right to knowledge.
- Durability
Services like Arweave promise to store files for centuries. It might cost between $10 and $100 per book depending on size, but in effect, it’s a payment for immortality. That makes it a new model for preserving cultural heritage.
Even the curators of the Vatican Library have taken notice of these benefits.
However, there are also some serious drawbacks to consider:
- Technical limitations
Storing large volumes of text directly on a blockchain is far more expensive than traditional cloud storage. For example, on Ethereum, saving just 1 MB of data can cost hundreds of dollars. The workaround? Store only a link to an encrypted copy, using platforms like Arweave or IPFS (InterPlanetary File System). This dramatically reduces costs but requires a hybrid setup.
- Legal uncertainty
What if a book breaks the law? Who’s responsible—the author, the host, or the blockchain itself? Legal interpretations vary from country to country. With international frameworks still catching up, publishing controversial material on-chain remains a legal gray zone. For authors, it’s a risk. For lawyers, it’s a lucrative niche in copyright defense. For regulators, it’s a clear headache.
- Entry barriers
Users are expected to understand some fairly advanced concepts (how to create a crypto wallet, what gas fees are, how to work with IPFS or smart contracts). For the average reader, it can all sound like ancient incantations. The solution? Use simplified platforms with user-friendly interfaces and clear step-by-step instructions. These platforms are emerging, but they haven’t gone mainstream yet.
Preserving books on the blockchain is like carving text into granite—but within an immutable, decentralized network. It creates a digital archive that cannot be burned, banned, or forgotten.
Of course, nothing is without flaws. As technology advances, so do the challenges. Still, a future where knowledge is beyond the reach of centralized servers or political whims sounds like a worthy chapter in the story of humanity.
So, maybe it is time to write your book into eternity.
If this topic sparks your curiosity, you might also enjoy our article “Can Blockchains Become Immortal?”
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