Filecoin (⨎)[a] is a cryptocurrency intended to be a blockchain-based cooperative digital storage and data retrieval method.[2][3][4][5] It was developed by Protocol Labs and shares some ideas from InterPlanetary File System allowing users to rent unused hard drive space.[6][7] Filecoin is an open protocol and uses a blockchain to record participation in the network.[8] Transactions are made using the blockchain's currency, FIL. The blockchain is based on both proof of-replication and proof of space-time.[9]
 Prevailing filecoin logo | |
| Denominations | |
|---|---|
| Plural | filecoins |
| Symbol | ⨎ |
| Code | FIL |
| Subunits | |
| Development | |
| Original author(s) | Protocol Labs, Juan Benet |
| White paper | "Filecoin: A Decentralized Storage Network", 2017-07-19 "Filecoin: A Cryptocurrency Operated File Storage Network", 2014-07-15 |
| Implementation(s) | go-filecoin, lotus, forest |
| Initial release | 15 July 2014 |
| Code repository | https://github.com/filecoin-project |
| Website | |
| Website | filecoin |
Filecoins are paid to miners (termed "storage providers" - SPs) who provide storage for clients, as opposed to Bitcoin where miners secure the network and maintain consensus.[10] The payment amount depends on the network schedule, storage sectors quantity and size, adherence to FIL+ and deals made with clients, and participation in the network requires putting tokens in collateral.[11]
History
editFilecoin, as a cryptocurrency and file storage network, was defined in a white paper published in July 2014.[12]
The project was launched in August 2017, and raised over $200 million within 30 minutes via an initial coin offering.[8][13]
In 2020, the project set up the Filecoin Foundation under the leadership of founding officer Megan Klimen to support the development of the protocol, and the Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web to support other projects contributing to the ecosystem of the decentralized web.[14][non-primary source needed]
In April 2021, the storage capacity of the network did cross the Baseline Target, which was interpreted as a transition from a "capacity building" stage of the network to one on which scale was achieved[15]. However, the network growth in 2022 was slower than the Baseline Target[16], which caused the capacity to become smaller than the target by February 2023[17].
Their Board of Directors and advisors include Brewster Kahle (Founder of Internet Archive), Joe Lubin (Founder of Consensys & Cofounder of Ethereum), and Denelle Dixon (CEO of Stellar Development Foundation).[18]
Philanthropy
editIn April 2021, the Filecoin Foundation donated 50,000 filecoins worth $10,000,000 to the Internet Archive.[19][20] In addition, Internet Archive's founder Brewster Kahle and director of partnerships Wendy Hanamura joined the boards of advisors of Filecoin and the Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web.[21]
In 2020, content from Internet Archive started to be stored in Filecoin, with the purpose of creating a decentralized prototype of the digital library.[19] By October 2023, one petabyte of data had been uploaded to the Filecoin network.[22]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ This is an "integral with double stroke" unicode character with the designation U+2A0E.[1] It is in the Supplemental Mathematical Operators Unicode block.
References
edit- ^ "Unicode Character "⨎" (U+2A0E)".
- ^ "Showdown in the Cloud: Dropbox IPO, Meet the Filecoin ICO". Observer. 2017-07-11. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
- ^ Tepper, Fitz (10 August 2017). "Filecoin's ICO opens today for accredited investors after raising $52M from advisers | TechCrunch". Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
- ^ Vigna, Paul (2017-08-11). "Latest Hot Digital Coin Offering: $187 Million in One Hour for Filecoin". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
- ^ "Investors poured millions into a storage network that doesn't exist yet". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
- ^ "IPFS and Filecoin". Filecoin Docs. Archived from the original on 2022-09-05. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
- ^ Johnson, Steven (2018-01-16). "Beyond the Bitcoin Bubble". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
- ^ a b Corbyn, Zoë (2018-09-08). "Decentralisation: the next big step for the world wide web". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
- ^ Bravo-Marquez, Felipe; Ugarte, Martin; Reeves, Steve (April 2009). "Proof-of-Learning: a Blockchain Consensus Mechanism based on Machine Learning Competitions". 2019 IEEE International Conference on Decentralized Applications and Infrastructures (DAPPCON). 2019 IEEE International Conference on Decentralized Applications and Infrastructures (DAPPCON). p. 119-124. doi:10.1109/DAPPCON.2019.00023. hdl:10289/12900. ISBN 978-1-7281-1264-0. S2CID 199440961.
- ^ Gupta, Pranay; Tham, T. Mandy (2018-12-03). Fintech: The New DNA of Financial Services. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-5474-0090-4.
- ^ Bernardineli, Danilo (2023-04-11). "Understanding the Filecoin Consensus Pledge". BlockScience Blog. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ filecoin.io (15 July 2014). "Filecoin: A Cryptocurrency Operated File Storage Network" (PDF).
- ^ "What are initial coin offerings?". The Economist. 2017-08-21. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2019-09-05. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
- ^ "Protocol Labs Collaborates with Consensys to Bring Filecoin to Ethereum". Consensys. Archived from the original on 2024-04-20. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
- ^ Bernardineli, Danilo (2021-05-19). "Filecoin Network Crosses Baseline Sustainability Target for First Time". Filecoin. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "Baseline Crossing - full analysis". HackMD. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ Kalghatgi, Vik (2023-02-15). "Filecoin Network Crosses Baseline from Above". CryptoEconLab. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "Filecoin Foundation Announces Board of Directors". fil.org. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ a b Hanamura, Wendy (2021-04-01). "Filecoin Foundation Grants 50,000 FIL to the Internet Archive". Internet Archive Blogs. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "Filecoin Foundation donates $10M in FIL tokens to Internet Archive". Cointelegraph. 2021-04-02. Archived from the original on 9 Jul 2023. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
- ^ Thu, Apr 8th 2021 3:39pm-Mike Masnick (8 April 2021). "Filecoin Foundation Donates $10 Million Worth Of Filecoin To Internet Archive". Techdirt. Archived from the original on 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Joyce, Jamie (2023-10-20). "Celebrating 1 Petabyte on the Filecoin Network! | Internet Archive Blogs". Retrieved 2025-01-14.