Filecoin (FIL)
Filecoin, founded in May 2014, is an open-source, decentralized storage network and marketplace that uses blockchain technology. It serves as an incentive layer for the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), allowing individuals to earn tokens by renting out their storage space. The native currency of the Filecoin network is FIL, used for transactions. The network’s goal is to "store humanity's most important information." It forms a decentralized system as opposed to centralized cloud storage solutions like AWS or Google Cloud, offering a distributed and permanent storage solution across the web.
Filecoin network and currency
| Ticker | FIL |
| Category | Infrastructure |
| Website | https://filecoin.io/ |
| @Filecoin |
Filecoin functions as a decentralized storage network based on the IPFS protocol, promoting a global market for unused storage. Users can pay for low-cost storage, ensuring their files remain distributed and permanently stored across the internet. The network utilizes FIL as its native cryptocurrency, which customers use to pay for storage services, and nodes providing storage are compensated in FIL.
The company behind Filecoin
Protocol Labs
Filecoin was developed by Protocol Labs, an open-source research and development laboratory based in California. Founded in 2014 by computer scientist Juan Benet, Protocol Labs also developed IPFS, libp2p, and other projects. The organization is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and employs a team of 51-200 people worldwide, striving to create essential data infrastructure layers for both blockchain technology and traditional providers like AWS and Microsoft Azure.
Team members
- Juan Benet: Founder and CEO
- Friedel Ziegelmayer: Senior Software Engineer
- Evan Miyazono: Research Scientist
- Jeromy Johnson: Software Engineer
- Karola Kirsanow: Research Program Manager
- Jakub Sztandera: Distributed Software Engineer
- David Dias: Research Engineer
- Nicola Greco: Research Lead
- Jesse Clayburgh: Operations Manager
- Hector Sanjuan: Software Engineer
- Chris Brocoum: Head of Finance
- Colin Evran: Biz Dev & Operations
Fundraising efforts
Protocol Labs raised a total of $3.1 million USD across three funding rounds between 2014 and 2017. The initial seed round garnered $120,000 USD from Y Combinator. In 2016, a venture round secured $3 million USD from investors like Techammer, Stanford StartX, and others. A 2017 venture round, backed by BlueYard Capital, raised undisclosed funds.
Exploring Filecoin’s technology
Filecoin network components
The Filecoin network relies on several key components, including the Filecoin Network itself, Nodes, and Miners. Miners execute deals and submit proofs, verified by clients and other miners, to validate and add blocks to the chain.
Filecoin network
The Filecoin network employs IPFS technology, creating a distributed peer-to-peer network with Filecoin peers engaging in various roles. These peers communicate through secure channels, distributing information, transferring data, and discovering other peers to maintain a well-connected cluster for swift information flow. The network comprises full nodes that validate client and miner actions, assess available storage, and verify storage proofs.
Filecoin nodes or clients
Filecoin Nodes or Clients sync with the Filecoin blockchain, validating messages and managing Filecoin wallets. They can publish messages, negotiate deals with miners, and choose among service providers. Nodes are capable of proposing storage and retrieval deals, paying for services as deals are executed. Running a Filecoin Node is accessible, usually requiring a program to operate continuously.
Filecoin miners
Filecoin Miners are categorized into Storage Miners and Retrieval Miners. Storage Miners store client data and must continuously provide proofs of storage. Retrieval Miners provide data on request and can function as Storage Miners. The Lotus Miner is the most advanced implementation for Filecoin mining.
Storage miners
Storage Miners execute deals, add blocks to the blockchain, and receive FIL tokens as rewards. They decide the space to allocate for storage and must provide ongoing proofs of storage reliability. These proofs are publicly accessible, ensuring miner trustworthiness.
Retrieval miners
Retrieval Miners supply client data upon request, exchanging data and coins using micropayments. They can operate as Storage Miners and facilitate data exchange with clients or other miners.
Filecoin’s economic model
Tokenomics
FIL is the native cryptocurrency of the Filecoin blockchain, with a maximum supply of 2,000,000,000 FIL. It is traded on over 15 cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase Pro, and Kraken.
Token allocation
- Storage Miners Allocation: 55%
- Mining Reserve: 15%
- Protocol Labs: 10.5%
- PL Team and Contributors: 4.5%
- Filecoin Foundation: 5%
- Fundraising - SAFT 2017: 7.5%
- Fundraising - Remainder: 2.5%
Token vesting
The total supply of FIL tokens will be released over time to ensure sustainable growth and network stability. Mining rewards, SAFT investors, Filecoin Foundation, and Protocol Labs have specific vesting schedules, contributing to the long-term development of the network.
The Filecoin virtual machine
Introduction to the Filecoin virtual machine
The Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) allows the execution of smart contracts, or actors, on the Filecoin network. FVM supports user customization and empowers developers to deploy custom smart contracts using Solidity and EVM-compatible tools widely embraced by web3 developers.
Space warp program
The Space Warp program, launched in preparation for the FVM's mainnet release in March 2023, offers financial incentives, hackathons, and competitions valued at over $400k in FIL tokens. This initiative supports the builder community in creating innovative applications on the Filecoin network.
Filecoin software solutions
Filecoin wallets and tools
Filecoin (FIL) can be stored on exchanges or official wallets like Lotus and Glif Wallet. Lotus facilitates node and miner operations. Slate offers an open-source file-sharing network, and Powergate provides a multi-tier storage solution. The Fleek space daemon enables decentralized app development, while Starling offers a command-line interface for decentralized storage coordination.
Filecoin ignite
Filecoin Ignite is a series of Web 3 community events, including hackathons, workshops, and conferences, offering opportunities to engage with Web 3 projects and prepare for the mainnet launch.
Partnerships and collaborations
Filecoin partnerships
Filecoin has partnered with notable blockchain companies like ConsenSys and Huobi to enhance its ecosystem and expand its reach.
Filecoin x Zondax
Filecoin collaborated with Zondax to integrate with Ledger Live, enabling secure FIL transactions on Ledger devices. This development was achieved through a partnership between Protocol Labs and Zondax.
Filecoin x Polygon Studios
On February 16, 2022, Filecoin and Polygon Studios announced a partnership to drive development in the NFT, gaming, and metaverse sectors. This collaboration focuses on creating educational resources, incentives, and events to support developers and NFT projects integrating with