Filecoin to Spur Data Storage in New Internet Era
- Peer-to-peer data storage and network set for September launch
- Investment of $1.6 million meant to encourage development
The goal of blockchain startups to build a decentralized version of the internet where no single authority is in control always depended on wresting data storage away from giants like Amazon and Google. That missing piece of the puzzle may be solved by distributed storage system Filecoin, which is set to be released publicly in September.
Rather than have websites and data stored on servers owned by Amazon or Google, Filecoin proposes to create peer-to-peer storage much like a Bitcoin transaction is conducted between two individuals. Filecoin was created by Protocol Labs and works in conjunction with a new underlying network that’s also peer-to-peer, making the system impervious to attacks on the internet like when Egypt shut down the web within the nation during the Arab Spring protests in 2011.