Filecoin creator Protocol Labs launches storage platform for NFT

The creators of Filecoin have launched a new platform with which NFT can be stored forever.

The Filecoin project wants to offer nothing less than a decentralized, censorship-resistant storage network for “the most important information of mankind”. The project is a supplement to the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a peer-to-peer storage protocol that connects devices without an intermediary server (as known from HTTP). Both the IPFS and Filecoin are a creation of the American programmer Juan Benet and his company Protocol Labs.

Now Protocol Labs, together with the company Pinata, has announced a new storage solution that explicitly targets the booming non-fungible token (NFT) sector. Specifically, “NFT.Storage” – the name of the new platform – should make it possible to save metadata about NFT on the IPFS.

NFTs are part of mankind’s cultural heritage – and shaping their data for long-term accessibility is critical. Content addressing and distributed storage networks ensure that digital works of art, basketball cards and virtual real estate are guaranteed to remain secure and available over the long term. NFT.Storage makes it completely smooth to create NFT according to best practices through resilient persistence on IPFS and Filecoin,

Michael Rogers, Engineering Manager at Protocol Labs, explains the motivation behind NFT.Storage.

Filecoin and IPFS as a “backup solution” for NFT

The metadata of an NFT contains important information. The most important thing is probably the information for which value (for example a work of art, a song, or royalty agreements) it represents ownership. While the NFT is usually stored on a decentralized network such as the Ethereum blockchain, the “linked” value is often stored in central servers. As soon as users upload data to NFT.Storage, they are given an IPFS hash known as a CID. CIDs are unique “fingerprints” of the data that can be used to reference the content, regardless of how and where it is stored. Above all, however, NFT.Storage is intended to make the ownership of files to which an NFT refers as transferable as the NFT itself. This could be particularly relevant if license rights or other conditions are attached to an NFT.

NFT.Storage is “the first step to make the cultural heritage of humanity completely decentralized”, called it in the notification for the release of the storage solution. The platform is still in the beta phase. However, NFT creators can already use them to store their NFT data free of charge.

You can find out more about the growth sector NFT in our BTC-ACADEMY.