Filecoin (FIL) is a public digital currency and payment platform designed for decentralized peer-to-peer storage networks and data retrieval systems. Developed in August 2017 by Protocol Labs along with InterPlanetary File System, the network enables users to rent cloud storage space. Just within 30 minutes from its ICO launching, Filecoin has raised around $200 million.
Source: AS
File Coin Ins and Outs
Filecoin aspires to be a reliable framework that offers a cheaper and speedy data storage and also retrieval method. It also perates as a center that allows users to rent out their storage space. Just like a traditional cloud storage network, Filecoin also enables a client to rent or purchase a hard drive space. However instead of utilization by only one provider, Filecoin uses a universal computer system. The protocol’s decentralized environment safeguards the integrity of data’s location that makes it hard to censor but easy to retrieve.
Source: crypto.com
In the Filecoin environment, there are two types of miners. One is called a storage miner which stores data in the network while. The other one is a retrieval miner who is responsible for providing the bandwidth for the file retrieval.
Communication between the network and its users is made through the Filecoin deal which comes in two types – storage and retrieval deals. A storage deal is an agreement between a client who rents for data storage and the miner who stores the data. In a storage deal, miners are required to consistently provide cryptographic proof of storage to the network to earn rewards. The Proof of Spacetime Storage proves that the miner is still storing the client’s file. It must also be provided throughout the full lifetime of the deal. Failure or a delay in providing proof of storage will penalize the miner.
A retrieval deal, on the other hand, is an agreement that binds the client to pay the retrieval miner for the extraction of data from the platform.
***Main image thumbnail / source: https://filecoin.io/blog/posts/filecoin-news-26/