People rent lots of stuff nowadays. Think about it – you can rent an apartment, a car, a bike, equipment, and whatnot. But can you rent someplace on your computer? Well, Filecoin is here to allow everyone to do that. We have added Filecoin (FIL) to Swapzone recently, so the timing is great to break down all the basic notions of this currency, why and how it was created, and, of course, how to get it.
What is Filecoin?
It comes as no surprise that Filecoin is a decentralized protocol. This protocol has been created to let all the users rent some space out on their computers. Anyone participating can, too, buy some storage. The fact that absolutely anyone can join the network and start participating makes Filecoin a strong competitor in the data storage field – the project can grow quickly and become a massive force in storing information.
Filecoin was launched by Protocol Labs, a company building “the next generation of the Internet” and run by Juan Benet.
Filecoin’s native asset FIL is used to power the data storage and form the core of the Filecoin project. The supply of the coin is capped to 2 million and will be distributed through block rewards as time passes.
What are Filecoin’s Advantages?
There are some fantastic points about this newly launched and hyped-up project. Compared to the products we are already used to, centralized data storage solutions, Filecoin is:
- Cheaper. Filecoin is creating a free larger market for data storage, which should decrease the price of this service.
- More scalable. Millions and millions of computers are joining together to create a data storage network. The system created as a result of this union will be huge and almost self-maintained, creating a scalable and sustainable web.
- More economical. Filecoin is not building a new system but takes advantage of computers that already exist. Hence, making the idea come to life is much cheaper.
- Safer. We have heard of numerous cases of Dropbox, iCloud, GoogleDocs and other cloud storage solutions being hacked. Can’t do that with Filecoin!
The main question that concerns users now is whether using Filecoin is generally safe. Not from the point of hacks, but from the point of storing one’s data on someone else’s computer. Fortunately, Filecoin managed to make up a way around it and find a solution to secure storage. The system splits up the files (in a way your office shredder does), so nobody without access can put the file back together. When a user with access requests a file, Filecoin arranges it back together.
Are there any drawbacks to Filecoin?
Some issues might pop up when using Filecoin. One of them is speed. Filecoin needs to access multiple servers to get a hold of needed documents. This, of course, means that all these servers need to be available and online, and the Internet connection needs to be stable enough.
There is an entry barrier to the network, as Filecoin currency is required to process the transactions. One needs to buy some FIL or exchange other currency to it to start using the storage. How to get FIL is another question that we need to cover.
How to get Filecoin FIL?
Filecoin is now supported on the majority of custodial and non-custodial exchange services. Getting some FIL should not be too much of a problem, but the existing variety of services create complications – what is the best deal to choose, how to get the best price, and which exchange platform is more reliable. This is where services like Swapzone step in to help users make an informed choice.
This is how you swap available currencies to Filecoin:
1. Go to Swapzone – a cryptocurrency exchange aggregator.
2. Select the currency you'd like to exchange and enter the amount in the Deposit list.
3. Pick the option to receive Filecoin (FIL) in exchange.
4. Choose the deal you would like to proceed with from the list — all the available offers from our exchange partners will be listed there. You can sort the offers out by best rates, best swap time, and the rating of the service provider.
5. After picking the offer that suits you best, click the Exchange button to proceed.
6. Enter the recipient’s address on the next screen. Make sure you have entered the information correctly – the currency will be sent to this address.
7. Check the information once again. If all the data is correct, click Proceed to Exchange.
8. Send the necessary amount of cryptocurrency to the address the service provider has generated. After the deposit is received, our partners will exchange it to FIL.
9. Exchanged FIL coins will be sent to the address you have entered previously.
After you have performed an exchange, all you need to do is use your FIL coins!
