FILUSD
Filecoin / United States dollar
crypto Composite

Filecoin is a decentralized data storage network built by Protocol Labs that allows users to sell their excess storage on an open platform. It acts as the incentive and security layer for IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), a peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing data files. Filecoin turns IPFS' storage system into an "algorithmic market," where users pay storage providers in Filcoin's native token, FIL, to store and distribute data on the network. Protocol Labs introduced many new technologies in its Filecoin whitepaper that could add value to multiple blockchain projects. Filecoin is secured by proof-of-work in the same way that bitcoin is, but this work is specifically related to storage of data Instead of finding a random nonce to make the block hash fit in a target range, the networks proof-of-work is restricted to proving that a miner has stored data for a specific duration and replication. This is achieved with two new types of proof-of-work: proof-of-replication (PoRep) and proof-of-spacetime (PoSt). Proof-of-replication allows a server to convince a user that some data has been replicated to its own uniquely dedicated physical storage while proof-of-spacetime allows an efficient prover to convince a verifier that they are storing some data for a specified duration of time. These proofs allow Filecoin to solve issues with large-scale storage networks made of independent parties, by making it theoretically impossible to falsify data storage records to increase miner rewards. Competitors like Siacoin ($SC) and Storj ($STORJ) lack this functionality, though they have not yet created enough storage demand for this to be a significant issue. Miner proofs are used to create a network based on three primary methods, put, get, and manage. The put and get methods are responsible for putting data in storage and accessing it on client request respectively. The manage method is responsible for managing the marketplace by matching buy and sell orders as well as managing buyer and seller reputation on the platform. These methods are executed across two marketplaces, storage and retrieval, which are managed by the different miners. Protocol Labs believes that miners will often participate in both markets. Storage miners are responsible for receiving put requests and storing client data while also pledging collateral proportional to the data. They will be penalized by losing this collateral in the event of invalid or missing proofs. Storage providers run the manage method in conjunction with clients and auditors. Retrieval miners are responsible for managing get requests and giving clients their data. While retrieval miners do not need to pledge collateral, they are still compensated in the native Filecoin for performing work for the network.