Think AirBnB for hard drive space: Filecoin is a decentralized data storage network that allows users to sell their excess storage to people and businesses that need it. It is an entirely new storage paradigm, which uses cryptographic protocols (secure algorithms, essentially) to verify that data is being stored directly and securely without relying on a central server or cloud provider. The idea is to reduce redundancy, increase permanence, improve efficiency, and lower costs. Users pay storage providers in Filecoin's native token, FIL, to store and distribute data on the network.

Benefits

The Filecoin team believes their system will reduce the price of storage the same way sharing economy companies like Airbnb reduced the price of short-term rentals in marketplaces traditionally dominated by hotel operators. It also allows for new data storage practices: Developers can, for example, set up their programs to store data autonomously. Filecoin’s network comes with built-in Ethereum integration allowing developers to access data on Ethereum’s blockchain and interact with its smart contracts.