Filecoin

Developed by Protocol Labs, this is a fully decentralized platform that seeks to act as a storage platform built on the blockchain technology and with a native crypto coin. This platform makes use of the IPFS (Interplanetary File System) and also the Hypermedia P2P (peer to peer) to move and address various contents while at the same time providing surrounding verification, incentivization and auditing structures. On the Filecoin network, clients spend a certain number of tokens on the storage and retrieval of data, while the miners earn these tokens by either storing or servicing the retrieval of data and also for mining blocks and also processing all transactions on the network.

Image Source : https://filecoin.io/

On the Filecoin network, data retrieval and storage requests are handled on two separate decentralized market. The platform incentivizes the vendors on the network to ensure that they provide quality data on the network at competitive prices. To ensure that one party is not cheated, the network only pays miners when it has fully confirmed that the service provided was done correctly. The platform makes use of a proof of replication algorithm.
Storage of data is the power that runs this decentralized platform, and the rewards that are gotten are always proportional to the number of storage services offered. To ensure that miners on the network are fast, the network also rewards those who offer fast services. This means that miners who are close to clients on the network would always get the largest rewards if they provide storage services. With the help of certain technologies like the Erasure Coding, this decentralized platform can detect missing network nodes and allocate them to various miners who are capable of reconstructing them.

This platform's ICO has been considered the highest in history, with a whopping $257 million gotten from investors. In less than an hour after the ICO kick-off, over $180 million was realized.
Features of Filecoin

Some of the main features of this platform include :

1. Dual nodes : the platform makes use of two nodes; the storage node and the retrieval node. On the storage node, Filecoin allows individuals to rent specific portions and store files. The retrieval node, on the other hand, is close to the storage node and miners are paid when they retrieve files for various users on the network.
2. Marketplace : Filecoin is a marketplace where clients can store and retrieve various necessary data.
3. Incentivization : as mentioned above, this decentralized platform incentivizes the miners on the network by rewarding them for either storing or retrieving relevant data for clients on the. To ensure that these miners offer clients fast services, the network gives highest rewards to those miners that offer fast services to clients.

Pros:

• The Filecoin website is easy to use and looks solid as well
• Rewards miners for their services
• The platform, in general, is easy to understand
• It is a secure platform
  Cons:
• The platform is taking too long to be implemented
• Most people are of the opinion that there is no clear product