We have come across multiple obstacles and hardships trying to revolutionize blockchain technology and finding more potential use cases for decentralization other than the validation of transactions and subjection of their data in particular blocks. Sometimes it is not easy to find multiple use cases for a technology that, by design, was developed to serve a single rudimentary purpose that is to validate transactions and nothing else.
But with advancements in these technologies and decentralization becoming widely adopted into the financial realm, multiple other use cases have been designed and orchestrated for multiple blockchains out there. You would find crypto tokens and blockchain technologies that can serve as a storage medium to validate transactions in real-time and help in the development of non-fungible tokens and their trading along with various other blockchain systems working to solve the impending issues of interoperability and scalability for various other blockchain systems out there.
Today we will be talking about Filecoin, which is a decentralized and peer-to-peer digital storage system that incorporates the use of blockchain technology. Being built over the top of an interplanetary file system, Filecoin allows users out there who are in need of storage space to rent out particular disk space over the unused hard disk while earning the native token for this service of theirs. Why people would want to ditch the cloud computing systems and their storage solution and move towards Filecoin is the question that comes to mind.
The answer is because the storage space provided by Filecoin is peer to peer and completely decentralized, which means that it doesn’t exist on the cloud and therefore is not approachable by the common norms of the internet or other file sharing systems. That is why people tend to go for Filecoin digital storage marketplace because it incorporates the use of blockchain technology, making it extremely secure and impenetrable.
What is Filecoin (FIL)?
As explained earlier, Filecoin is nothing but a digital storage marketplace that a user can use for the sake of transferring their data, files, information, or video information for secure and consistent placement. The attribution of decentralization makes the whole endeavor not only worth it but gracious at the same time.
You don’t have to buy dropbox space or cloud storage space from any other vendor, which only provides you with a dedicated amount of storage space for which you have to pay either monthly or yearly, and they still lack the interpretation of blockchain security. If you have proper infrastructure and want good security for your files and digital information, then you must reach out to the Filecoin file storage marketplace and rent out the storage space that works best for your enterprise.
You can either buy the storage on the Filecoin network, or if you have surplus storage, then you can become a selling member of the network and sell the storage space to earn the native token of the Filecoin network. Don’t worry; you won’t be forced to sell your storage space for a dedicated amount of money as you can choose your own prices and develop your own contacts; this is what sets Filecoin apart from various other storage providers and cloud vendors out there.
Filecoin is sometimes referred to as an incentive layer that is present on the top of IPFS. This only confirms that any user with storage to rent out can be incentivized if they patch up with the Filecoin network. Here, they will be able to rent up their storage to particular renters out there over the network and, in return, get paid in the native token of the Filecoin network, which is the FIL token.
The Filecoin network presently works just as any other storage medium out there does; Dropbox, Amazon storage systems, along with many other vendors that work in a centralized fashion, can provide you with everything that the Filecoin network does, minus the decentralization and the utmost security of your content. IPFS, on the other hand, is a peer to peer protocol that works in regards to data storage and its retrieval, and it is completely built on decentralized grounds, which means that it is not controlled by any single person, organization, or state and promises extreme interoperability as well as transparency to the end-user.
It doesn’t follow the conventional protocols that many centralized storage systems use, such as HTTP or HTTPS protocols for the storage of data. Filecoin network has been an utter success from the looks of the overall money it was able to raise back in the day when it launched its ICO; to this date, there are many users that have joined the network, and they continue to do so thus making Filecoin network an incredible success.
Working Mechanism of Filecoin Network
Just like any decentralized entity, the Filecoin infrastructure is completely distributed and a peer-to-peer network organization with a single purpose in mind which is to provide a better and more efficient way for organizations and individuals to be able to store their data in real-time around the globe. It provides you with a simple approach that is to store your data in one place and categorize each and everything according to your liking.
Sure many centralized systems would be providing you with the same level of customizability, but what of decentralization and extreme security that you can only enjoy with Filecoin? This is the reason people are choosing the likes of the Filecoin network over centralized storage systems such as Dropbox and many other competitors.
You might not be someone who wants to rent out storage over a decentralized network, but if you are someone who has plenty of storage available and would want to rent it out, then you can become a miner for the Filecoin network. Your only duty would be to store data over the Filecoin network and make sure that clients are satisfied with the service provided.
You will be paid in the native network token of Filecoin not only for renting out your space and storage of data but also for retrieving it whenever the client demands. Retrieval miners are somewhat different than the other types of miners. They have something unique a responsibility, and that is to make sure that the data retrieval process goes pretty smoothly whenever the client demands the data from the offsite decentralized storage network. They are also rewarded with a native token of the Filecoin network for the service they provide.
Filecoin incorporates the use of end-to-end encryption, which means that only the user to whom the data belongs has complete and utter access to the decryption keys and not the storage providers or people who are renting out their storage to these users.
You don’t ever have to worry about backup because it is an extremely decentralized and distributed system which means that each and every ounce of your data is being replicated and stored across different locations and facilities. It doesn’t matter just how technical or important your data was or is; you would never have to deal with your data being lost because it will be readily provided from either one miner or the other. Essentially there are hundreds and thousands of miners facilitating the infrastructure of the Filecoin network.
Now you might be thinking what are the terms or features that set apart the Filecoin network from other centralized competitors? The only answer that would be sufficient to this question is decentralization. Because it is a decentralized and peer-to-peer storage solution, this single reason is enough to outweigh any other competitor to Filecoin. Peer to peer storage systems is known for their discretion, interoperability, transparency, extreme security to the end data points, as well as making sure that the service is charged politely rather than infusing so many taxes and various other essentials as the user proceeded to check out when it comes to centralized services.
If you choose to go with the Filecoin network, then you as a user would be able to benefit yourself in the end and not the network. Sometimes you will need the storage space, and sometimes you would have storage space and would want to make some money out of it; whatever your situation is, you can work with the Filecoin network, and you won’t be disappointed either way.
Importance of Filecoin (FIL)
People have come a long way trying to store their data on their computer systems or hard drives. This is not how things are done now because cloud computing has made it so simple for people to store their data on a cloud-based server with the promise that they will be able to access the information no matter where they are in the world with just an active Internet connection and a device that can connect with the internet.
This is how simple it is in today’s world to store your data, but what if someone was to tell you that there exists an advanced level technology with better security, more transparency, better interoperability as well as extreme customizability so that you can not only store your information out there but categorize or interact with it however you desire. Businesses are no longer using on-site storage or building their own data centers as they prefer to rely on cloud computing systems or companies who or providing them with cloud storage feasibility.
The Filecoin network is the very emblem of diversification and evolution when it comes to data storage. Your data is stored in a peer-to-peer fashion over cross-distributed channels. Here simple renters are the people who are taking the responsibility of storing their data, but they don’t get to have the decryption keys because the user who stores their data will get them, and the Filecoin network makes sure of it. This is how advanced and elementary the whole system and its infrastructure is.
You don’t have to rely on a centralized body for the sake of delegating the task of storing your data and then trading it whenever the need arises. Something interesting to add here would be the uptime that these centralized storage services promise.
If you have done business with any of them in the past, then you might have come across their advertising of uptime which is strictly limited to 99%; no one goes for 100% ever because there are outages and routine checks or maintenance related elements that need to be taken care of promptly.
But with the Filecoin network, you won’t ever run into such issues because your data is literally present on each and every miner or validator of the network connecting with it in a peer-to-peer fashion. What is the backup plan for your data, and how many times has it been backed up, do you ask? Each and every miner who is connected to the network has your data backed up on their local storage, which is connected to the network itself; it only means one thing in case your data is corrupted somehow from the promised mining facility or a networks user hard drive, it will be made available to you from some other source.
Rest assured, you won’t have to go through completely losing your data because this is not happening here. Filecoin network has given rise to a much more competitive cloud storage market, and at the end of the day, users will be benefiting from this whole endeavor and not the network itself.
How to Store FIL Token
If you are doing business with the Filecoin network one way or the other, you would have to come around to the possibility of storing the native token securely. Because, this is the very token you use for the sake of either spending or covering the fees that you are paying to store your data on-site or earning the same native token if you are lending your personal storage space to the system.
It is never a great idea to convert your Fiat currency into the FIL whenever the mood takes you and then pay for your outstanding fees in terms of the storage space. You require a crypto wallet for safely staking your tokens away until the moment you require them to either pay for the fees or use them for your personal effect. There are three models that are recommended by Filecoin for storing the native token.
The first one is the Lotus wallet; it can be used not only for the storage of the FIL token but can also be used for the sake of running nodes for the Filecoin network. You can simply hook the wallet to the Filecoin ledger and see all of your payments coming and going through this wallet. Glif is another web-based wallet that is recommended by the Filecoin network for the safe storage of the native token. If, for any reason, you are not comfortable working with Lotus, then you can work with Gilf as it is web-based, making this whole endeavor worth it.
Another wallet that is recommended dearly by the Filecoin network is the Filfox wallet; it is another web-based wallet that can ensure the safe storage of the native tokens without having to pay any heavy maintenance fees, and the conversion rate is also very decent. Another rather beneficial way of storing your native token from the Filecoin network is to store them on your Binance wallet. This way, not only will you be able to enjoy the safe infrastructure that the crypto exchange hosts, but at the same time will be able to earn plenty of rewards.
Conclusion
The Filecoin network has really outdone itself in providing the globe with a rather intricate and well-reserved solution for file and data storage. There are two different types of miners, people who are put in charge of storing the data and then retrieving it when the client demands. People who are kept in charge of placing the data into the storage media are different compared from the people who are put in charge of retrieving the said data when a client requires it. Remember, these miners are never given the decryption keys because these belong to and are only provided to the end customer or the user to whom the data belongs.
This simple yet effective business idea helps the Filecoin network to become not only a great service provider among the data storage enterprises but an incredible solution to the overwhelming condition of security and trust among the centralized service providers. In the coming days, when the idea of web three will not remain a stranger anymore, the prospect of this kind of technology and business vision would suddenly gain much more adoption and trust from the community.
As the whole world is slowly moving towards decentralization and peer-to-peer correspondence so why not give Filecoin network a try? In the long run, it would become much easier to get on with this transition if you have tried the likes of it before.
