The brief

Analyst view

• Decentralized storage network with thousands of independent providers earning FIL tokens for storing and retrieving data.
• Filecoin Onchain Cloud (March 2026) adds smart-contract payments, dual replication, and onchain proofs.
• 49+ TiB stored across 478 datasets with 81 connected payment wallets in Onchain Cloud's first week.

Technical approach

As reported

Decentralized storage

Peer-to-peer storage network

Filecoin runs a network of independent storage providers who store data for clients and earn FIL tokens; the protocol ensures data availability and retrieval.

Onchain verification

Proof of Data Possession on blockchain

The blockchain verifies that data is stored and retrievable; providers post cryptographic proofs regularly, and faulty proofs result in loss of collateral.

Smart contract settlement

Automatic payments via blockchain

Filecoin Onchain Cloud uses smart contracts to enforce payments and retrieve data; clients send funds to a contract, which releases them upon proof of storage.

Multi-copy redundancy

Automatic replication across providers

Data is replicated to two independent providers; the second pulls from the first and posts its own proof; failure triggers automatic replacement.

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