Table of contents
What problem does Shelby solve? How it worksThe infrastructure partnersWhat’s available on day oneEarly adopters
Shelby, a verifiable global object storage platform built for AI reading workloads, has opened early access to the public. The platform was co-developed by Aptos Labs and Jump Crypto and runs on DoubleZero’s special fiber optic network. It allows teams to store data once and access it from any region through a single global namespace, with cryptographic proof on every read. Full production is expected later in 2026.
The early access phase runs on testnet, giving developers and AI teams the opportunity to integrate Shelby into real workloads before full launch.
What problem does Shelby solve?
The short version: Traditional object storage is built for write-intensive workloads. AI completely reverses that pattern.
A single user action in an AI-powered product can trigger dozens of background reads across multiple data sets and regions. The standard solution is replication: copy data closer to the computer, add caching, manage consistency between copies, and pay to save everything three or four times. Each solution fixes the last thing that broke while creating the next one.
Then there is the provenance. The moment licensed, proprietary, or user-approved data enters the context of a model, you must prove what was offered, when, and under what rights. Most teams handle this with a patched together log configuration that persists until someone actually requests proof.
Two compound problems, and Shelby is built to address both at the architectural level rather than with workarounds.
How it works
Shelby continues running Double Zeros dedicated fiber optic network with deterministic bandwidth and predictable routing. Write data once to a single address and read it from any region using the same path: no regional buckets, no replication, no post-facto routing stitched together. Egress costs are expected to be approximately 70% lower than traditional cloud providers.
Provenance is built into the read path itself. A cryptographic receipt can be returned from each object served: what was delivered, when, from where and under what rights. Permission, attribution, and licensing terms are included with the item. That verifiable record is entrenched Aptuscreating an immutable on-chain proof. Enforcement takes place at the storage layer, not in a compliance layer that is added afterwards.
The real field is not a cheaper storage. It’s access to data that most teams can’t currently use at scale. Organizations that can legally and verifiably use proprietary or approved data in their models are building something that their competitors cannot easily copy. The same architecture also serves for streaming, ThePINand token-gated content distribution, wherever ownership and access rights must travel with the data itself.
The infrastructure partners
Three crucial infrastructure partners, three different layers.
Double zero provides the physical network: dedicated fiber optic spanning more than 30 cities on 5 continents, built for distributed systems with deterministic bandwidth and predictable routing. Delivery within a second is a guarantee, not a best case.
Jump Crypto provides a storage infrastructure hardened for quantitative trading environments, where unpredictable retrieval patterns and zero tolerance for latency spikes are the foundation. That experience translates directly to the demands of AI workloads at scale.
Aptus acts as the coordination and verification layer, providing the on-chain control plane for data ownership, provenance, and rights enforcement. Every cryptographic receipt that Shelby generates is anchored there.
What’s available on day one
Developers who request early access will receive:
- S3 Compatible APIs
- Cross-stack SDKs for React, Ethereum and Solana
- The Shelby Media Kit for distribution and delivery of GenAI content
- AI agent tools via the Shelby MCP Server and Shelby Skills
- Full documentation
Early adopters
Organizations already exploring integrations include NBCUniversal, Metaplex, Story Protocol, and Pipe Network. The name NBCUniversal stands out: a major broadcaster with large licensed content libraries that test verifiable data infrastructure signals far beyond the crypto market.
Sources:
- Shelby Early Access Announcement — Official launch article covering the platform architecture, infrastructure partners, and day one feature availability
- Shelby — Official product website for the Verifiable Global Object Storage Platform
- Aptos Labs – Blockchain coordination and verification layer supporting Shelby’s provenance receipts
- Jump Crypto — Co-developer of HPC storage infrastructure
- Double zero — Dedicated fiber optic network provider that powers Shelby’s global delivery