Filecoin (FIL) is more than a popular altcoin. It is a decentralised file storage network that incentivises reliability and good behaviour on the network with the Filecoin token, which has a value. Anyone with free disk space can join the network and earn Filecoin.
The Filecoin token has a monetary value and is tradable on several popular crypto exchanges. If you want to find out more about how it works and how to buy it, you're in the right place.
What is Filecoin?
Filecoin is an open-source cloud storage marketplace, protocol, and cryptocurrency. Protocol Labs founded Filecoin and launched its token to allow users to trade their excess storage on the distributed cloud storage network to third parties without going through the company itself. Filecoin enables anyone to participate as a storage provider and monetise their open hard drive space.
Filecoin provides global open source storage. The platform acts as an incentive for token holders and a security system for the IPFS (Inter-Planetary File System), a peer-to-peer file sharing and storage platform.
Essentially, FIL tokens turn the firm's storage facility into an "algorithmic marketplace," where token holders and users pay the company for storage on the platform. The token lets users distribute and store data on the network without transacting in fiat currency.
Filecoin incentivises its IPFS by rewarding its storage retrievers and providers for contributing their resources to the closed system. The Filecoin network also uses Ethereum integration, permitting developers to access their data on the Ethereum blockchain while interacting with ETH smart contracts.
Founded in 2014 by Juan Benet, Filecoin and IPFS released in tandem, using seed equity financing rounds to capture the funding the firm needed to launch the project.
In 2017, Filecoin launched its initial currency offering (ICO), raising around $205 million, making it one of the largest ICOs of the year.
