Original author: Filecoin Network
Main points
In the third quarter, Filecoins new storage transactions increased by 16% month-on-month, storage utilization increased from 26% in the second quarter to nearly 30% in the third quarter , while storage capacity decreased by 18% month-on-month.
As of the end of the third quarter, more than 2,000 users have stored datasets on Filecoin, of which 518 users have stored large datasets of more than 1,000 TiB.
As of the end of the third quarter, more than 4,500 independent contracts were deployed on the Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM), and the net DeFi deposits on FVM exceeded 20 million FIL ( approximately US$84 million), mainly used for guarantees, liquidity pledges, and DEX.
Filecoin continues to evolve into a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) , creating a decentralized storage market for enterprise adoption and supporting decentralized computing and artificial intelligence.
In the third quarter, the ecosystem expanded through the release of the Filecoin Network Services (FWS) framework, providing a marketplace for verifiable services for developers and users. To expand data solutions, Filecoin established a series of artificial intelligence partnerships.
Filecoin Basic Information
Filecoin is creating a hardware marketplace - the first service is storage. Built on IPFS (Interplanetary File System), Filecoin uses transactions that price storage based on a provider market rather than a fixed pricing structure. A storage transaction is like a contract with a service level agreement (SLA) - users pay storage providers to store data for a specified period of time.
To ensure data security, Filecoin uses a cryptoeconomic incentive model to regularly verify storage through zero-knowledge proofs. To incentivize storage providers to participate in storage transactions, Filecoin will use the networks native token FIL as a reward. If the storage provider fails to provide reliable online time or takes malicious actions against the network, they will also be punished accordingly.
To retrieve data, Filecoin users pay retrieval providers to obtain the data. Unlike storage transactions, which involve on-chain transactions, retrieval transactions use payment channels to settle off-chain payments, enabling faster retrieval. In addition to storage and retrieval, Filecoin aims to provide an open market where computing power can be contracted to run data, providing a more efficient alternative to traditional centralized systems.
Key protocol upgrades to enable data computing services include smart contracts (Filecoin Virtual Machine - FVM) and extensions (Interstellar Consensus). The Filecoin Virtual Machine, launched in March 2023, will introduce Ethereum-style smart contracts to Filecoin, which will promote new use cases including liquidity staking, perpetual storage, and decentralized computing.
Related links
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Key Metrics
Performance Analysis
The Filecoin blockchain is used to decentralize data storage in the following ways:
The demand side refers to storage users who need data storage.
The supply side refers to storage providers with excess network capacity.
network
The amount of data stored in active exchanges between storage users and storage providers measures the demand for Filecoin storage.
Storage Transactions
In the third quarter, the active transaction volume on the Filecoin network exceeded 1,600 PiB, a decrease of 8% from the previous quarter. Filecoins current focus is to increase enterprise adoption and launch new use cases around data services, including permanent archiving, data privacy, and integration with Web2 and Web3 applications.
In the third quarter, Filecoin network daily new transactions increased by 16% month-on-month to 2.9 PiB/day. Given that active transactions decreased by 8% month-on-month, the growth rate of new transactions is currently exceeding the growth rate of expiring transactions. New transactions help improve the utilization rate of the Filecoin network relative to the decreasing storage capacity.
Storage Utilization and Capacity
Filecoin storage utilization relative to total available capacity increased to nearly 30% in Q3, up from 26% in Q2. While this growth is a positive sign for Filecoin adoption through active storage trading, it must be placed in the context of network capacity.
Filecoin’s average raw bytes of storage capacity fell 18% quarter-over-quarter to 5.4 EiB in Q3. The metric has been declining since reaching an all-time high of nearly 17 EiB in Q2 and Q3 of 2022, about two years ago. The decline in storage capacity is further reflected in the decline in the total number of storage providers, which fell to about 2,400 in Q2 2024 after reaching an all-time high of over 4,100 in Q3 2022.
Storage Users
Messaris decentralized storage network guide shows that Filecoin is currently suitable for providing cold storage solutions (such as archiving and recovery) for enterprises and developers, and its competitive pricing helps attract traditional enterprises seeking cost-effective alternatives to store large amounts of archival data.
DeStor, a data storage provider on Filecoin, recently partnered with Qamcom DDS to provide enhanced security, robustness, and scalability for its storage services. Partners include data users such as YayPal and Fieldstream, YayPal is a Web3 game studio with more than 500,000 users for its flagship game, and Fieldstream is an AI marketing analytics platform.
Examples of other client-side solutions include:
GhostDrive: Focused on prioritizing privacy and security through encryption, decentralization, and novel storage optimization techniques.
Seal: Focuses on providing storage services for large users such as UC Berkeley, Starling Labs, and Atlas Experiment Network.
Steeldome: Focuses on enterprise data archiving, backup and recovery.
In addition to cold storage, others include solutions provided by companies such as Lighthouse, RIBS, retriv and Flamenco.
As of the end of the third quarter, 2,034 users have stored datasets on Filecoin, of which 518 users have stored large datasets (i.e., datasets with a storage size of more than 1,000 TiB). In order to encourage usage through active transactions, Filecoin provides a variety of storage services, including CID Gravity, Titan storage, and Decentrally.
According to Filecoin Client Explorer statistics, major users include Starling Lab, NFT platform OpenSea, and Layer-1 network Solana.
Other noteworthy organizations using the Filecoin network include:
Victor Chang Heart Research Institute maintains and shares research data
Democracys Library stores datasets collected by the Internet Archive at the end of its administration
SETI Institute uses Filecoin to store astronomical research data
UC Berkeley and Seal Storage collaborate on storage physics research
GenRAIT uses Estuary to store critical genomic data on Filecoin
Research center Starling Lab stores sensitive digital records of human history
Ewesion (Chinas fastest growing graphics file host) uses Filecoin for data storage
DeSci Labs uses decentralized data storage on Filecoin to enable research to be replicated and independently verified by other researchers
Opscientia (OpSci) is using Filecoin to make it easier for scientists around the world to share data.
Destor and Seal Storage are working on an AI data integrity improvement research project with Cyber SMART, an industry-academia partnership funded by the National Science Foundation and industry members
An overview of Filecoin’s featured users can be found here.
Search
To meet the needs of hot storage use cases, more and more Layer 2 and protocols are being created on top of Filecoin and IPFS. Examples include:
Basin: Focuses on decentralized AI/ML.
Akave: Providing an on-chain data lake for decentralized AI.
Storacha: Previously web3 storage, now focusing on DePIN Gaming.
As a content distribution network (CDN) for Filecoin and IPFS, the Saturn project has completed closed testing. The project has been integrated with Web3.Storage and will build its hot storage layer as the Storacha network. The goal of this integration is to create a combined product and network for fast storage and retrieval. At the same time, tools such as the Station application bring decentralized retrieval capabilities to the desktop, and the SPARK and Voyager modules allow retrieval checks on the network. Specifically, Station uses idle computing resources and provides FIL rewards.
FVM Usage
The Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) was launched in the first quarter of 2023, bringing Ethereum-style smart contracts to Filecoin. As of the end of the third quarter, more than 4,500 independent contracts were deployed on FVM, facilitating more than 3 million transactions.
Token staking and leasing activity is expected to continue to grow as GLIF, the DeFi protocol that drives a lot of FVM activity, offers users a new way to participate and earn GLIF points, called quests. These quests are designed to promote community-driven activities, including social media interactions and partner project collaborations, such as the first quest on Galxe or partner quests. As of November 25, 2024, more than 82 million GLIF points have been distributed to GLIF users and will be redeemed one-to-one with GLIF tokens in the fourth quarter.
Decentralized lending is another growth area for FVM. The FILLiquid lending platform allows FIL token holders to earn interest on deposits and provide loans to storage providers (SPs). After reaching more than 20,000 unique wallets during the testnet phase, the platform launched FIG staking, a new product that allows users to earn yield by staking the platforms governance token FIG.
According to FVM Explorer, FVMs average DeFi net deposits in the third quarter accounted for more than 20 million FIL (about 84 million US dollars), mainly used for staking, liquidity staking and DEX. Among them, the liquidity staking protocol GLIF accounted for the majority (62% by the end of the third quarter), followed by SFT protocol (10%), FilFi (10%) and others (16%).
Meanwhile, according to the FVM DeFi rankings, the average net borrowing amount in DeFi in the third quarter was 13 million FIL (about $53 million). Driven by the overall risk-averse market environment, both deposits and borrowing showed resilience in the third quarter.
Financial
Filecoins revenue framework is similar to Ethereums, as its gas system is designed based on the EIP-1559 mechanism. The gas system consists of network fees, which are burned to compensate for the resources used. Both storage users and storage providers generate protocol revenue.
income
According to Messari revenue analysis, Filecoin protocol revenue includes the sum of the following four items:
Base fees — Depending on message congestion, any storage proofs required.
Batch fees — used when packaging storage proofs in batches.
Overestimation fees — used to optimize gas usage.
Penalty fees — Penalties imposed when a storage provider fails.
Filecoin base fees increased 11 times month-on-month to nearly $110,000. At the same time, forfeiture fees fell 85% month-on-month to $600,000, reaching the lowest value in the past five quarters. This development indicates that storage providers have improved service reliability.
award
Filecoin rewards include:
Block rewards distributed by the network to storage providers.
“Tips” fees are used to speed up transactions.
In the second quarter, block rewards accounted for more than 99.9% of supply-side revenue, while tips accounted for only a small part. The new FIL token minting mechanism relies on the following two:
Exponential decay mode (30% of total): To encourage participation, the block reward is highest in the early stage. Over time, it decays exponentially.
Baseline mode (70% of total supply): block rewards are distributed as storage capacity increases.
The combination of these two models helps maintain participation after the early block reward distribution period of the network ends (see exponential decay model), and also helps to continuously reward the additional value brought to the network by the increase in network storage capacity (see baseline model).
Supply-side rewards fell 30% from $53 million in Q2 to $30 million in Q3 due to the fall in FIL/USD price. On the FIL side, rewards fell 15% from 9 million FIL in Q2 to 7.8 million FIL in Q3. FIL reward issuance is likely to continue to decline in the coming quarters. For an in-depth discussion and various simulations of future FIL issuance, please refer to Messari’s recent research on FIL circulating supply.
Ecosystem Overview
As of September 2024, Filecoin Ecosystem Explorer has included more than 180 known projects, a non-exhaustive database of community network projects. Although Filecoins ecological activities have historically focused on data storage, its ecological expansion and AI integration work in the third quarter aims to provide infrastructure for applications in areas such as decentralized AI, data management and analysis, gaming, and communications.
Data Management and Analysis
Projects like Lighthouse and Destra use Filecoin to provide permanent data storage for a one-time payment. Triton One completed the initial phase of the Old Faithful project, making Solana’s ledger history available to the community. Seal Storage provides an immutable data solution for businesses and individuals seeking secure, long-term storage. Cryptosat uses microsatellites for secure verifiability, aiming to enhance space-based data collection and verification.
In decentralized computing, Basin powers platforms like Tableland and WeatherXM with data-intensive analytics and operations. Akave enables the creation of on-chain data lakes.
Other projects providing data services on Filecoin include:
Fluence: Empowering developers to scale their Web3 projects.
Storacha: Decentralized hot storage network, focused on DePIN Gaming.
Ramo Network: Monetizing idle computing power.
Bagel: GPU refactoring and AI infrastructure.
IoTeX: An open, modular infrastructure for DePIN.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
A key development in Filecoin’s integration with AI and machine learning applications is its collaboration with SingularityNET. This collaboration focuses on protecting metadata through Lighthouse, with the goal of ensuring verifiable model training and promoting ethical AI practices.
Another important development is the collaboration with Theoriq AI to develop an AI agent for analyzing the declassified CIA dataset. The project aims to enable efficient research of more than 1 million documents, combining AI with decentralized storage to perform complex data analysis. The result of this collaboration is the Filecoin AI agent, which is trained on Filecoin documents and GitHub repositories.
At the same time, Filecoin is integrated with Eternal AIs model storage, EQTY Lab uses IPFS and Filecoin to verify the AI model lineage, Bagel Network provides GPU market and AI infrastructure, Aethir and Ramo Network monetize idle computing power, and Nuklai Data provides a collaborative ecosystem for private data networks.
consumer
The gaming industry is also using Filecoin’s capabilities. OP Games provides NFT minting services for games, Fluence helps developers scale Web3 projects, and Storacha Network focuses on decentralized hot storage for DePIN games. File Market creates Web3 stores and marketplaces.
Decentralized Communications
Huddle 01 provides a decentralized video conferencing solution using Filecoin’s infrastructure, meeting the need for a secure and private communication platform.
Qualitative analysis
Key Developments
Key technological advances achieved in the third quarter included protocol upgrades, new services, and software improvements that enhanced Filecoin’s capabilities in decentralized storage and computing.
Filecoin Waffle Upgrade
The Filecoin Waffle upgrade was released on August 6, 2024, introducing improvements to network efficiency, security, and core infrastructure. The Waffle upgrade incorporates six Filecoin Improvement Proposals (FIPs) that address specific aspects of network functionality. Among them, the following are worth noting:
FIP-0065 simplifies the network circulating supply calculation by excluding the locked balances of built-in market actors, paving the way for direct data commitments without the need for market transactions.
FIP-0079 implements BLS aggregate signatures in FVM, which may improve the verification efficiency of smart contract interactions.
FIP-0092 introduces the non-interactive PoRep (NI-PoRep) protocol in this upgrade, which represents a change in Filecoins proof system that may lower the entry barrier for new storage providers and improve network efficiency.
Filecoin Fast Finality (F 3)
Following the Waffle upgrade, Filecoin released the Filecoin Fast Finality upgrade, which aims to reduce transaction finality time to less than one minute and address the limitations of Filecoin’s previous consensus mechanism. F3 will be implemented in two phases:
In the first phase, the Easy Finality Calculator was introduced, which reduced finalization time to approximately 15 minutes using existing data without requiring protocol changes.
The second phase, F3, aims to provide finality within one minute through verifiable certificates.
F3 integrates a new consensus protocol designed to accelerate finality times. This hybrid approach combines finality gadgets with BFT protocols to improve speed, security, and resistance to various types of attacks.
For developers, F3 enables the creation of more responsive applications. Exchanges benefit from faster transaction confirmations, which improves transaction efficiency. Bridge builders benefit from trustless and low-cost operations.
Filecoin Network Service (FWS)
Filecoin announced the launch of Filecoin Network Services (FWS) at the 2024 Brussels Summit, expanding its offerings beyond decentralized storage and aiming to create a composable framework for protocols created on decentralized clouds.
The goal is to simplify services like unified billing and encourage reuse of storage primitive components. These features focus on lowering the barrier to entry for developers, increasing network revenue, and improving overall network functionality. For developers, this could make it easier for them to access decentralized services, potentially enabling the creation of more complex decentralized applications. For users, this could mean a more seamless experience when interacting with Filecoin-based services.
Lotus software updates
In the third quarter, the Lotus software implemented as the Filecoin network underwent multiple updates, focusing on enhancing network functionality, improving Ethereum compatibility, and addressing performance and security issues. The main updates include:
Lotus V1.27.2 (July 17, 2024) introduces improvements to RPC methods and upgrades lib p2p to V 0.35.3.
Lotus V1.28.1 (July 25, 2024) implements the Filecoin Waffle upgrade, including support for traditional Ethereum transactions (FIP-0091).
Lotus V1.28.2 (August 15, 2024) fixes a critical issue that caused excessive bandwidth usage and improves F 3 performance improvements.
Lotus V1.29.0 (September 2, 2024) enhances Ethereum RPC functionality.
These updates represent changes to Filecoins technical capabilities, enhancing its interoperability with Ethereum-based tools. On September 16, the Filecoin network reported a network outage, causing many Filecoin nodes to fail to sync due to beacon verification failure. Following the incident, Lotus patches V1.28.3 and v1.29.1 have been released, the affected nodes have been restored, and Filecoin will continue to monitor the network.
Important Events
Join Grayscales Decentralized AI Fund
Filecoin’s institutional visibility has increased with the launch of Grayscale’s Decentralized Artificial Intelligence Fund on July 17, 2024. The fund is open to qualified investors and includes Filecoin (FIL) as well as other well-known projects in the decentralized artificial intelligence space. As of October 25, FIL accounted for 17% of the fund’s composition.
Grayscale Investments’ decentralized AI fund is open to qualified investors and focuses on AI-centric cryptocurrency and blockchain projects. The fund represents market recognition of the role Filecoin plays in decentralized AI infrastructure.
Developer Summits and Events
The 2024 Filecoin Developer Summit was held in Brussels in July 2024. The event explored the evolution of the Filecoin protocol beyond its core data storage function, pointing to potential expansions in network functionality. Key areas of focus included:
The Filecoin Protocol Evolution track examines the latest developments, upcoming features, and the long-term vision for the network.
Dedicated security conference aimed at building cyber resilience.
Key governance decisions
Filecoin’s governance model continued to evolve in Q3, with several developments aimed at increasing decentralization and community involvement in the decision-making process.
Community Roadmap
The community roadmap meeting held during the 2024 Filecoin Development Summit brought together participants from different backgrounds to work together to update the community roadmap. The community input collected will be incorporated into the future development roadmap of Filecoin.
Evolution of the Fil+ Program
The Fil+ initiative continues to grow, with more than 50 active allocators currently working on DataCap updates. This development shows that Filecoin is working hard to improve its governance structure, especially in terms of managing and allocating network resources.
Summarize
In the third quarter of this year, Filecoins new storage transactions increased by 16% month-on-month. Storage utilization increased from 26% in the second quarter to nearly 30% in the third quarter, while storage capacity decreased by 18% month-on-month. As of the end of the third quarter, more than 2,000 users stored data on Filecoin, of which 518 users stored large data sets of more than 1,000 TiB. More than 4,500 independent contracts were deployed on the Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM). DeFis net deposits on FVM exceeded 20 million FIL (about 84 million US dollars), mainly used for guarantees, liquidity pledges, and DEX.
Filecoin continues to develop as a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN), creating a decentralized storage market for enterprise adoption and enabling decentralized computing and artificial intelligence. The ecosystem expanded in the third quarter with the release of the Filecoin Network Services (FWS) framework, providing a market for verifiable services for developers and users. At the same time, Filecoin established a series of artificial intelligence partnerships to expand data solutions. In addition, Filecoin implemented the Waffle upgrade and announced Filecoin Fast Finality (F 3), addressing challenges in scalability and efficiency.
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