Filecoin is a peer-to-peer network for storing files with built-in economic incentives to ensure reliable storage over time.

In Filecoin, users pay to store their files with storage miners. Storage miners are responsible for storing the files and proving over time that they have stored them correctly. Anyone who wants to store their files or earn rewards by storing files for other users can join Filecoin. The available storage space and prices are not controlled by any single company. Instead, Filecoin facilitates an open market for storage and retrieval that anyone can participate in.

FilecoinStorage provides the best view of the Filecoin storage market and can be accessed through a web application and API. Its aim is to make price discovery for storage on the Filecoin network simple and transparent.

The FilecoinStorage application consists of a simple searchable marketplace that allows ecosystem participants to have a comprehensive view of the Filecoin storage market. It enables customers to filter, categorize, and find the best miners that suit their needs. Filecoin miners offering data storage services can announce their prices and availability to customers browsing the market through the application, and customers can collaborate with miners through storage deals and data retrieval.

The FilecoinStorage application is powered by Codefi Activate, a platform that facilitates the launch of decentralized networks and accelerates network user participation. Its mission is to eliminate the complexity of participating in decentralized networks by fostering interactions between network users, supporters, and creators.

1. What is the FilecoinStorage application?The application monitors the Filecoin network and collects information about the best storage miners, their prices, and completed transactions. Users who want to store content on the network can query the web application or API to determine the best miners for their use case and obtain function calls to initiate storage proposals. Miners can see their prices and reputation compared to other companies in the storage market and make adjustments accordingly to win more deals.

2. How does FilecoinStorage work?The application gathers information from miners on the Filecoin network, including off-chain data about miners and other network participants. It then aggregates miners, prices, and reputations through a user-friendly interface and API.

3. What does reputation represent?Reputation represents the score of storage providers' performance. Specifically, it reflects their ability to provide ample storage, maintain zero to low faults, transact, and maintain competitive prices. The score ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 represents a failed storage provider and 100 is the best score.

4. What types of files can customers store?Customers can store any type of file on the Filecoin network. In fact, no one can prevent customers from storing any file. Typical file types include archival data (hence can be preserved permanently) or decentralized web applications (called "dapps").

5. What is a "verified client"?Filecoin introduces the concept of a "verified client" where clients can verify storage miners to actually store useful data. Storage miners receiving storage from verified clients can also increase their expected block rewards. Anyone running an IPFS pinning service supported by Filecoin should become a verified client.

6. How is storage paid for?The Filecoin network has its native cryptocurrency called FIL, which is used to pay for storage fees. Prices are typically displayed as the amount of FIL per unit of time per storage unit (such as Gibibytes).