A $80 Billion Market: Who Will Emerge as the Leader in Web3 Enterprise Decentralized Storage?
Background
Messari, a well-known data analysis and research institution established in 2018, initially provided tools for analyzing cryptocurrency asset data. Over time, it gradually built its research team and started publishing reports on the cryptocurrency industry. With precise market predictions and in-depth analyses, Messari has established itself as an authoritative entity in the industry, becoming a leading research institution. Therefore, new directions mentioned in Messari’s reports are often considered forward-looking areas worthy of focus.
In addition to emerging directions like DeSoc (Decentralized Social) and DeSci (Decentralized Science), DePIN that has attracted much attention recently is actually the direction proposed by Messari in early 2023.
Recently, Messari released a research report on 2024, once again emphasizing the DePIN direction, indicating Messari’s strong optimism toward it. The current market size of cloud storage is $80 billion, with an annual growth rate of 25%. Decentralized alternatives only account for 0.1% of the market, but their costs are 70% lower than suppliers like Amazon S3. This underscores the significant development potential of decentralized storage. The report also highlights the direction of combining AI with DePIN, with Messari believing that AI agents can autonomously leverage cryptographic infrastructure for payments and access to digital resources (storage, computation, bandwidth). All these factors indicate that decentralized storage networks have immense market opportunities.
The concept of DePIN is not a “zero-to-one” idea; instead, it functions as a classification that categorizes common features from existing projects that have been running for several years, such as decentralized storage and decentralized computing, and consolidating them into a larger narrative. In the decentralized storage domain of DePIN, well-known projects like Filecoin and Arweave have long been in existence.
Despite years of development, these projects have built extensive storage networks and identified some use cases. However, the practical application of decentralized storage remains limited in terms of both the actual storage space utilized and the scenarios constructed around it. The current decentralized storage landscape faces challenges in meeting the demands of large-scale storage, especially when compared to the commercial-grade storage prevalent in the conventional Web2 context.
However, projects like Filecoin and Arweave, initiated several years ago, have witnessed ongoing development with technological updates over time. As these older projects faced challenges in implementing functionalities that were previously difficult, emerging decentralized storage projects are gradually addressing these issues. Projects with the potential to achieve widespread decentralized storage applications are now emerging.
Decentralized Storage and Categorization
To fully grasp the potential of decentralized storage, we need a deeper understanding of how it works.
In fact, decentralized storage is not just a simple process of uploading content to a decentralized storage network and then downloading content from the network. There are many different needs involved. For example, some content is important but infrequently used, while other content is less crucial but frequently accessed. The former is commonly referred to as cold storage, and the latter as hot storage.
Hot storage, on the other hand, refers to storage systems that are used for frequently accessed data. This type of storage is usually responsive and suitable for data that needs to be read and written to frequently. Examples include databases used in daily business operations, active files, or application data that provides real-time services, all of which are typically stored in hot storage.
This cold/hot data is a bit similar to our wallets; frequently used ones are like hot wallets connected to the internet, while the seldom-used ones are like cold wallets kept offline.
For the former, it is acceptable to prefer more expensive and slower performance, provided it’s reliable enough to ensure that our content is well stored. For the latter, it is acceptable as long as it is fast enough and cheap enough, even if it is not as secure as it should be. So storing these two different types of content has different performance, cost and security requirements.
Therefore, storage demands can be finely segmented. When discussing decentralized storage, it is essential to recognize that this is a vast field with many specialized markets. Currently, decentralized storage can be broadly categorized into Decentralized File Storage Networks (DFSN) and Decentralized Databases.
Decentralized File Storage Network
A decentralized file storage network is a distributed storage system that disperses files and data across multiple computers (nodes) on the network, rather than storing them centrally on a single server or location. This approach is akin to collectively maintaining a vast network hard drive. In the industry, there are usually two implementation methods. One is based on existing file storage networks like IPFS, implemented as an incentive layer. The other involves independently constructing a storage network (which generally ends up being IPFS-compatible). Representative projects in decentralized storage, such as Filecoin and Arweave, fall into this category.
Decentralized Database
A decentralized database is a system that uses a decentralized network to store and manage structured data. Unlike decentralized file storage, it focuses more on the organization, management, and retrieval of data, similar to traditional databases but operating in a decentralized environment. Databases can store various types of data, such as lists, transaction records, product information, etc. They organize and store data in an ordered and structured way (e.g., tables), making the retrieval and management of data fast and efficient. Decentralized databases are also divided into two main categories. One is built on existing decentralized file storage networks, such as WeaveDB and HollowDB, which are based on Arweave. The other involves independently constructing a decentralized database network.
Differences Between the Two
Decentralized file storage networks primarily focus on the storage of large-scale, unstructured data and are less concerned with the organization and processing of data. Unstructured data lacks a specific format or model; it includes more freely formatted data like text, images, videos, etc., which are not easily processed and analyzed directly by standard database tools. For example, they can store a large volume of documents, images, or video files but may not offer complex querying or data management capabilities.
In contrast, decentralized databases specialize in the management and retrieval of structured data (such as tables, transaction records, etc.). Structured data is organized according to a fixed format or model, such as forms with a standardized structure (customer information forms, bank statements, online shopping orders, etc.). This means that structured data can be easily stored, retrieved, and analyzed, usually in tables as seen in databases or spreadsheet software.
File storage networks are suitable for scenarios requiring extensive storage space and data backups, while databases are used in complex applications where data needs to be organized and processed efficiently.
The Significance of Decentralized Storage
Reflecting on the birth of Web3, it is evident that the revelation of the Prism Gate incident by Edward Snowden made us acutely aware of the insecurity of our data in the digital world. Therefore, in the digital world, we need to find a place where we can control our own data, and this is the significance of Web3. To achieve this, a decentralized storage network is indispensable, enhancing data security and providing privacy protection.
In decentralized storage, data is usually encrypted and segmented into multiple parts, dispersed and stored on different nodes. This means that even if a node is hacked, it is difficult for attackers to obtain complete data information. At the same time, this also provides the ability to resist censorship avoiding the risk of data being manipulated by a centralized entity.
Moreover, decentralized storage can make use of globally unused storage space, offering data storage services at a lower cost. It can also integrate with decentralized blockchain networks, giving rise to a variety of rich decentralized applications such as decentralized metaverse, games, and more, reminiscent of scenes from “Ready Player One.”
Development and Innovation in Decentralized Storage
The development and innovation of decentralized storage have been significantly influenced by projects like Filecoin and Arweave. Their prominence is mainly attributed to their roles as early pioneers in this field. In the context of a Chinese proverb, they are the “first group to eat the crab”, but being the first does not necessarily make the crab taste good.
On the contrary, their exploration in decentralized storage provides valuable insights for for later entrants. Those who come later can learn from the experiences and lessons of their predecessors and avoid many of the pitfalls. Armed with this knowledge, they can quickly pursue the goals that earlier explorers have achieved or are still trying to achieve. Here are some directions that decentralized storage is currently exploring.
Enterprise-level Storage
Enterprise grade storage is primarily designed to meet the needs of businesses and large-scale applications. This type of storage typically requires high reliability, availability, and robust data processing capabilities.
Decentralized enterprise grade storage solutions can provide services that match or even surpass those of traditional centralized storage, especially in terms of cost. Additionally, they reduce dependence on a single storage provider, enhancing data security and privacy.
Filecoin, with its innovative blockchain protocol and incentive mechanisms, provides users with a secure, efficient, and cost-effective storage network. By rewarding storage providers, it ensures the reliability and accessibility of data. While Filecoin has evolved into a decentralized storage network, progressing towards becoming a comprehensive marketplace for open data services, achieving enterprise-grade storage is still a work in progress. Moreover, storage projects like Storj have achieved a degree of enterprise data storage functionality but at the expense of certain decentralized attributes.
As a result, the true goal for many storage projects is to achieve a more decentralized form of enterprise grade storage.
Support for Smart Contracts
As the first known decentralized storage project, Filecoin initially did not support smart contracts. However, smart contracts are an important feature, and integrating them with decentralized storage can bring many new application types to the industry compared to the usual smart contract public chains. Therefore, in March 2023, Filecoin introduced the Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM), which enabled support for Ethereum’s smart contracts and expanded the range of new use cases on the Filecoin network. Other projects have also stepped up their game, with Arweave introducing the SmartWeave smart contract standard, allowing the construction of smart contract applications using Javascript.
While the addition of smart contract support marks a new narrative for Filecoin, it is evident that all decentralized storage projects should incorporate smart contract functionality as a necessary feature. Filecoin can be seen as addressing initial design limitations. With the emergence of storage projects such as CESS in the Polkadot ecosystem leveraging the Substrate framework, the rapid implementation of smart contract functionality has become a trend. In this context, the advantages of Filecoin’s FVM become less pronounced.
Permanent Storage in Decentralized Systems
Permanent storage refers to the capability of preserving data for a long period of time, even “forever”. This type of storage is vital for the preservation of historical data, conserving cultural heritage, or the long-term archiving of important information. Permanent storage is a natural fit for decentralization, as traditional cloud companies are centralized and can go out of business, while blockchain-enabled storage can be perpetual.
Arweave is the first protocol supporting permanent data storage. Its design enables anyone to make a one-time payment for the enduring preservation of data, which can support many decentralized creator platforms and provide pure on-chain data storage for popular NFTs to enhance the value and trustworthiness of NFTs. Arweave not only transforms how NFTs are stored but also opens up new possibilities for the evolution of digital art and the creator economy.
While permanent storage is a notable feature of Arweave, the advent of the Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) introduces fresh opportunities, including permanent storage. Likewise, other decentralized storage projects supporting smart contracts can achieve permanent storage, challenging Arweave’s competitive edge.
CRUD
CRUD, which stands for Create, Read, Update, and Delete, represents the fundamental operations involved in managing data — commonly known as data manipulation. However, Filecoin and Arweave inherently do not directly support the update operation, as their design emphasizes data immutability once stored. To “update” data, users must upload a new version of the data and potentially manage versions, limiting the operations to CRD. Nevertheless, emerging storage projects like ETHStorage and CESS have already embraced CRUD functionality.
The implementation of CRUD opens the door to a range of innovative applications, such as decentralized social media and decentralized e-commerce platforms, where decentralized CRUD operations on information are essential for development.
CDN（Content Delivery Network）
In addition, CDN technology is also being explored by various storage projects. CDN, short for Content Delivery Network, as the name suggests its main role is to accelerate the delivery of content on the Internet. While CDN might not be a household term, but it is a technology that we come across every day, such as watching videos.
Imagine when you visit a website or watch an online video, the content is actually stored on a remote server. If these servers are far from your location, loading the content may take longer. CDN addresses this issue by placing multiple servers in different locations worldwide. When you request content, CDN selects the server closest to you, which can reduce load times and increase access speeds.
This is much like the operational logic of express logistics in the real world. Imagine you buy a product online that is warehoused in a country far away, so it would take a lot of time and cost to ship it directly from there. However, if the merchant has distribution centers in various cities globally, they can choose the warehouse closest to you for shipping. This ensures faster product delivery and lower transportation costs. In short, CDN acts as a global “express service,” ensuring information and content reach users quickly and efficiently.
In today’s streaming media world, CDN are an indispensable part of people’s lives. It ensures we can quickly access high-definition videos on the Internet, play online games more smoothly, increase the speed of browsing the Web, and avoid lagging on the Web when grabbing a ticket.
Decentralized CDN can avoid common single points of failure associated with centralization and offer higher data security and privacy protection. Moreover, there’s no need to worry about centralized control and manipulation. As decentralized CDN does not rely on expensive data centers and specialized hardware, they often provide more cost-effective solutions. Additionally, they can flexibly scale based on traffic demands, adapting more quickly to market and technological changes.
However, these are too abstract to explain just by theory, the best way is to illustrate by examples. Within the Polkadot ecosystem, there is an intriguing decentralized storage project called CESS (Cumulus Encrypted Storage System). CESS simultaneously achieves enterprise grade storage, supports smart contracts, enables permanent storage, supports CRUD operations, as well as CDN functionality. Let’s delve into the potential of decentralized storage through the case of CESS.
Envisioning the Future of Decentralized Storage: CESS as an Example
What is CESS?
CESS, an innovative decentralized data value network based on blockchain, aims to support large-scale business storage and provide the optimal storage and retrieval solution for high-frequency dynamic data in Web3. “Optimal storage and retrieval solution for high-frequency dynamic data” can be understood as CESS acting like an intelligent file cabinet, securely storing these files and quickly retrieving them when needed.
Certainly, CESS is not just a storage system but also a secure, efficient, open-source, and scalable infrastructure that serves as a platform for users and creators to share on-chain data. It also supports developers in building and deploying decentralized applications (DApps).
By adopting Polkadot’s Substrate technology framework, CESS has implemented a more complex three-layer network with four-layer architecture, including Application Layer; Distributed Content Delivery Layer; Distributed Storage Resource Layer; Blockchain Layer. It can support smart contracts, which can enable CESS Network to realize more storage applications. At the same time, CESS introduces six key technologies, including Random Rotational Selection Consensus Mechanism (R²S) and Smart Space Management. These innovations not only reduce gas fees but also significantly enhance on-chain transaction processing efficiency and security.
Furthermore, similar to the traditional internet’s principle of distributing servers across different locations, CESS has introduced decentralized Content Delivery Network (CDN) technology. This incentivizes cache miners and retrieval miners in a scientifically effective manner, enabling millisecond-level data retrieval and delivery.
With its robust technological capabilities, particularly in supporting large-scale business applications, CESS revolves around the core of “Product + Ecosystem + Community” to achieve growth and business cycles. It collaborates with centralized cloud storage enterprises and Web2 internet companies across ecosystems, applying its technology to current practical business scenarios.
In the future, CESS aims to shoulder a part of Web3’s responsibilities, aspiring for everyone to have control over their own data. By leveraging blockchain technology, CESS aims to reveal the true value of individual data and enable users to control that data’s value. CESS strives to become a decentralized data value network.
Among the various products developed by CESS, the Decentralized Object Storage Service (DeOSS) stands out prominently. The core objective of this service is to provide fast, highly secure, scalable, and privacy-focused decentralized storage services for users with high-frequency dynamic data storage needs. Each account can easily manage up to 1000 buckets — data containers in object storage, equivalent to traditional file “directories” and “subfolders.” In other words, CESS supports a massive number of files and exhibits high scalability, with a strong emphasis on security, boasting 99.99% privacy and disaster recovery management.
Object storage is the first step for many Web2 data enterprises moving towards the cloud and an essential exploration route for delving into advanced uses of cloud services. In the era of cloud computing, Amazon’s introduction of Amazon S3 can be considered the leader in this field. S3 storage buckets are among the most commonly used cloud storage methods for enterprises, widely applied for storing server logs, customer data, multimedia files, scientific research data, and other information. Its users include well-known brands such as Samsung, BMW, Siemens, 3M, Netflix, covering various sectors like technology, automotive, entertainment, and healthcare.
According to AWS Pi Day 2023, Amazon S3 has been in service for nearly 19 years storing more than 280 trillion objects, responding to more than 100 million requests per second on average, and performing 4 billion verification calculations per second to ensure data integrity.
In comparison, CESS’s DeOSS can not only compete favorably with Amazon S3 in terms of data processing speed and computing power, but also aligns more closely with users’ needs in terms of data decentralization and integrity.
Currently, most of the projects in the market follow Filecoin’s storage proof. CESS has addressed the shortcomings of Filecoin’s storage proof and introduced a brand-new Proof of Data Reduplication and Recovery(Podr2), which provides a completely different solution, and also allows CESS to have a more flexible direction of development in terms of storage.
It is not difficult to see that CESS, as an emerging project, stands on the shoulders of giants. It not only incorporates many new features achieved by projects like Filecoin and Arweave but also draws on the experiences from them. With a fresh design approach, CESS solves functionality problems that many projects are still working on, making it a rising force building on the achievements of those who came before.
What are the Use Cases of CESS?
Decentralized Front-End and Cloud Storage
CESS supports providing decentralized network disk and cloud storage services for end users, and has the advantages of stronger security performance, ownership protection, low costs, and high capacity compared to traditional cloud services.
Firstly, CESS storage does not require cloud servers, avoiding dependence on backbone networks and centralized servers. Instead, data is stored in multiple storage nodes and encrypted through blockchain-based encryption algorithms. Therefore, users are not limited by data upload or download speeds and can ensure the privacy and security of their data. .
In addition to meeting personal cloud storage needs, this functionality is also suitable for a distributed startup. Even if team members are located in different regions around the world, using CESS’s decentralized front-end and cloud storage services enables the successful establishment of a distributed file management system and database. This not only enhances team collaboration efficiency but also reduces the operational costs associated with traditional cloud services.
For Web3 DApps, using the CESS-supported decentralized front-end can effectively avoid centralized control. In the context of increasingly stringent regulations, this becomes a crucial necessity for many DApp projects.
UGC Platform
Compared to the centralized nature and opaque algorithm mechanisms of Web2 platforms, the immutable characteristics of Web3 grant creators greater autonomy and complete ownership of their work data.
It is foreseeable that UGC platforms based on blockchain technology will thrive.
In this context, how to process and manage huge on-chain production data has become a key issue.
CESS becomes part of the solution with its decentralized, high-speed and large-capacity data storage advantages. For copyright protection, CESS can support that data is completely owned by the creator, providing safe and reliable storage services for users and UGC platforms. Through multiple data permission verification and confirmation of the owner’s data permissions, CESS achieves comprehensive support for creators and users.
For example, if a Dubai artist creates an NFT artwork through CESS and sells it online to a buyer in Singapore, the copyright transfer and timestamp of the transaction will be executed in a transparent manner, maintaining permanent traceability. Videown, the Polkadot Hackathon champion project in early 2023, is a decentralized video platform launched based on CESS, using real cases to demonstrate the usability and potential of CESS.
In the future UGC platform, CESS will also become the interactive platform of the storage ecosystem. On-chain creative content will benefit from efficient encryption protection, and creators from the traditional Web2 can securely store their work data in CESS. Real-time transparent confirmation and transfer of data copyrights will encourage and promote wider circulation and sharing of UGC creations based on the fan economy.
DA Layer of Public Chains
Celestia is the first project to propose the concept of modular blockchain. It has recently become popular in the market as a modular data availability (DA) layer. But the essential job of the DA layer is to ensure that the data in the blockchain network is reliable and accessible. It is mainly responsible for storing and disseminating the transaction data and status data of the blockchain, enabling network participants to verify the integrity and correctness of the blockchain.
Obviously, the DA layer can actually be regarded as a specific storage requirement, because the DA layer needs to efficiently process and distribute large amounts of blockchain data to ensure data availability and integrity. In fact, if the performance is good enough, a project can be used as the DA layer of other chains. Recently, NEAR’s data availability layer has been integrated with Polygon’s CDK.
CESS itself is a cost-effective, trustless, and highly available storage solution that supports smart contracts on the blockchain. In terms of performance and storage space, CESS meets the criteria to function as the DA (Data Availability) layer for other chains.
Therefore, CESS can provide innovative solutions to the current high blockchain storage cost problem by providing cost-effective, trustless and high-availability storage for Layer 1 block data and status data, as well as transaction data in Layer 2 Rollup solutions. This not only makes the storage of data on the chain more economical and reasonable, but also provides a feasible solution for historical data and snapshot backup of major public chains.
Decentralized Data Marketplace
Data stands as one of the core elements in the digital era, and CESS’s powerful data storage and retrieval capabilities make it well-suited for building a decentralized data marketplace.
CESS has also been exploring this field for a long time, supporting various types of data, including digital art data, historical statistical data in certain fields, scientific experiment data, knowledge and education data, and more. It facilitates the valorization and circulation of these diverse datasets.
Specifically, CESS uses a decentralized data market mechanism to enable data owners to provide their data to users in need without compromising data privacy and achieve effective data transactions. For example, researchers can upload their research findings and data to a decentralized marketplace via CESS, and potential buyers can acquire this unique digital asset in the form of encrypted assets, realizing the value and circulation of scientific research.
A data marketplace similar to this can also expand to include data closely related to people’s lives, such as the supply chain information, operational data, customer feedback, and sales records of a restaurant. This data can provide real-time insights into the supply chain, optimize operational strategies for the restaurant industry, and foster information sharing within the sector. It enables consumers to have a more comprehensive understanding of the restaurant’s operations, thereby driving sustainable development in the industry.
DApp Deployment
Based on the collaboration of CESS smart contracts and decentralized storage systems, it supports the construction of enterprise-level DApps that have not yet emerged in social, GameFi, metaverse and other fields.
In addition, in the vision of decentralized data storage and “Internet of Everything”, CESS provides DApp with a solution to the storage needs of large-scale data on the chain. Although smart contracts can be programmed, they cannot cope with the storage needs of large amounts of data. Therefore, in various decentralized scenarios, applications on CESS come with built-in storage space expansion, which may inject richer elements into the ecosystem compared to pure smart contract chains.
Especially for the deployment of full-chain games, the advantages of CESS are obvious. On the one hand, it can help GameFi realize a larger game world and more diverse virtual assets, providing users with a more engaging gaming experience. On the other hand, all data and assets are stored securely and reliably on the CESS chain, and have faster and more efficient data access. Developers can maintain an excellent user experience while adopting the more economical CESS technology compared to the previous “on-chain + off-chain” hybrid storage approach.
Decentralized Streaming Media
In the current internet landscape, traditional streaming service platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify have become typical representatives of the industry. However, their centralized dominance in the market is growing stronger, leading to a shift of more interests towards the platforms. Additionally, As the amount of data transmission increases, the related costs are also growing dramatically.
In order to deal with these problems, decentralized platforms have emerged, emphasizing the concepts of “uncensorship” and “decentralization”, but what follows is how to better perform file storage and data processing?
In this scenario, CESS provides a key solution. Leveraging the advantages of DePIN, CESS can attract more low-cost CDN nodes to voluntarily join. Through its cost-effective bandwidth resources, CESS can reduce the cost of content transmission, solving the expensive video transcoding costs associated with traditional platforms. Currently, services like Alibaba Cloud charge up to 40 RMB per hour for transcoding a high-definition video.
In addition, specially optimized scheduling and transmission algorithms enable CESS to achieve smooth data transmission, ensuring a high-quality user experience for media applications. Therefore, when users create large files such as high-definition pictures, audio, and video, they can get the most optimized solution to achieve efficient storage and streaming of content.
Summary
Compared with the DePIN projects that were just conceptualized a few years ago, we find that this wave of DePIN projects will be more practical, that is, they can implement real functions and products instead of just presenting ideas in whitepapers. Just like the Helium Mobile DePIN project that gained popularity in the U.S. at the end of 2023, it demonstrated strong practicality. Users can truly use the network for data and communication, leading to rapid user growth by solving real needs.
In the same way, it can be seen from the practical directions of CESS mentioned above that CESS can meet most storage-related needs. Whether targeting consumer-oriented (To C) products or business-level (To B) products, CESS has the flexibility to introduce decentralized products tailored to its storage network. Such products align with the expectations for storage products in the Web2 realm. Therefore, CESS is not only oriented towards Web3 users but also includes the larger market of Web2. User-friendly and easily shareable products like cloud storage solutions could rapidly bring a substantial user base to CESS.
In terms of Web3, CESS can provide storage space and support smart contracts, which will give birth to many new application types compared to the common DeFi, blockchain games, and NFT directions, bringing new vitality to the entire industry. In the Polkadot Hackathon, many developers are already actively using the storage function of CESS and launching new type DApps.
Moreover, CESS aligns well with the current popular concept of Data Availability (DA) layers, and the substantial demand for storage highlighted in the Messari report, particularly from the AIGC sector. It is evident that with the disclosure of $8 million series A financing by CESS, once its mainnet is online and the products are launched one after another, CESS will have great development potential both at the user level and at the ecological development level.
These functions are all implemented based on the decentralized storage network provided by CESS. In addition to protecting privacy and preventing centralized evil, more importantly, it will help better realize the vision of Web3 and allow users’ data to be truly protected. So that the value of data can truly be reflected and belong to each of us, and this is the ultimate vision of CESS — to realize a decentralized data value network.
Exploring the Potential of DePIN on Polkadot from CESS
Although with the popularity of chain publishing tools such as Cosmos SDK and OP Stack, the quick chain launch feature provided by Polkadot’s Substrate framework may not seem as overtly advantageous. However, Substrate offers more functionalities and higher customization compared to other development tools, especially in allowing teams to use their custom consensus mechanisms, giving it a clear advantage.
It can be seen from CESS that the Substrate can not only support CESS to organically combine many self-developed technologies with the Substrate framework, so as to achieve the function of supporting enterprise grade storage and CDN at the same time. In addition, with the help of the EVM Pallet in the Substrate framework, it can support functions such as DePIN projects like CESS naturally come with smart contract functions, instead of FVM, which was developed by Filecoin. From this point of view, FVM may not be considered an advantage for Filecoin but rather an effort to fill a gap.
Therefore, when launching a DePIN project, the Substrate framework seems to be the preferred choice. The framework also supports DePIN projects to be built quickly and can better interact with parachains that are built using the Substrate framework within the Polkadot ecosystem.
Furthermore, the DePIN project can bring new application categories, and will also bring a new and rich application ecosystem to Polkadot that is different from other smart contract platforms. This can directly activate Polkadot’s existing users, funds, and projects, leveraging the network effects of Polkadot as a multi-chain ecosystem and increasing the project’s chances of success.
Afterword
Filecoin was established in 2017, and it has now been 7 years. Although it is currently far from the vision expressed, it also opens up a whole new narrative, making people all over the world aware of the meaning of decentralized storage, which is also considered to be a great credit.
As time has passed, some emerging decentralized storage projects have gradually been born. They gradually take the baton from their predecessors and start to implement some of the visions that were not realized before. In this process, the Polkadot ecosystem with the support of the Substrate framework will undoubtedly be the most active place for the development of the DePIN ecosystem.
The Substrate framework offers high customizability, allowing DePIN projects to build a chain more quickly and flexibly. This makes the Polkadot ecosystem one of the richest in terms of the variety and number of DePIN projects. The Polkadot ecosystem also has a wealth of parallel chains that can be directly integrated with these DePIN projects and empower each other.
On the other hand, DePIN projects not only possess the characteristics of blockchain but also leverage the network resources or functionalities provided by hardware devices, such as storage, computing, and network transmission. These resources or functionalities are not confined to the Polkadot ecosystem. They can be used to support any blockchain project or even traditional businesses, offering broad market prospects.
For example, Phala network, the decentralized computing network on Polkadot, cooperated with Lens Protocol in Polygon to develop LensAPI Oracle, which can help users connect smart contracts anywhere while their applications gain Internet access, bridging Web2 services and the gap between Web3 world.
For another example, Tesla and Jaguar used the parachain peaq technology at the IAA MOBILITY 2023 auto show to demonstrate the process of paying charging and parking fees. peaq focuses on combining blockchain technology with the Internet of Things to create a blockchain platform for real-world applications.
As a rising star in the storage industry, CESS can meet both enterprise grade storage and CDN functions. With imaginative usage scenarios and promising future development, CESS holds great potential in shaping the future landscape of storage solutions.
