The decentralised cloud storage is going to drop the bitcoin-based Counterparty protocol and move to the Ethereum platform.

“If you're building a train and they're building a track, one with the larger network, you're going to choose the larger network. It's not only a technical issue of which one do we go to, it's a question of which one is more widely used,” Storj CEO Shawn Wilkinson explained in a comment to CoinDesk.

According to him, the decision was provoked by a decline in the use of Counterparty due to the lack of major updates over the last two years and its insufficient size. Other factors prompting Storj to migrate to an alternative platform were difficulties with multisig wallets and high transaction fees.

After the migration, Storj will be using Ethereum ERC20 token standard, which offers faster transaction confirmations and lower fees.

“In a nutshell, we believe that a simple 1:1 conversion of Counterparty-based SJCX to ERC20 SJCX solves the quality of service issues and allows us to participate in a more active and robust development community,” writes Wilkinson in the company’s blog.

The migration plan will be revealed within the next few weeks.

Storj is a blockchain-based decentralised cloud storage network. The information stored is divided into blocks, encrypted and distributed among the network users called “farmers”. Every registered user has access to up to 25 GB of storage space monthly and 25 GB bandwidth free for 12 months.

Founded in 2014, Storj collected $500,000 in bitcoins in a public crowdsale in the same year. In mid-March, the company finalised beta-testing of its platform.

Elena Platonova