When Filecoin was first introduced, it had an ambitious goal: to become the incentivized persistence layer for IPFS. IPFS changed the way we address content, shifting from fragile, location-based URLs to verifiable content identifiers that never expire. However, without economic incentives or cryptographic guarantees, how long content remains on IPFS depends entirely on whether someone, somewhere, continues to host it out of goodwill or personal interest.
Filecoin was designed to answer this question: "Who is responsible for preserving data on IPFS?" Its mission is clear—to transform IPFS from a "best-effort pinning" model or reliance on centralized service providers into truly persistent, verifiable storage, supported by economic incentives and on-chain payments, and auditable through cryptographic proofs.
Integrating IPFS and Filecoin
Filecoin's mission has always been to create a decentralized, efficient, and robust foundation for human information, and it all begins with IPFS.
But until now, connecting these two systems has been no easy task.
In the past, developers who wanted to combine IPFS's content addressing with Filecoin's verifiable storage proofs and incentive mechanisms had to navigate maze-like, specialized storage onboarding flows, third-party service providers, or complex workarounds. Achieving large-scale, seamless integration of discovery, routing, and delivery functions always seemed out of reach.
Now, this situation has changed.
With Filecoin Pin, developers can now use their familiar IPFS tools and workflows—from the command line to GitHub Actions—to persistently store any file or existing IPFS data on Filecoin's decentralized network of globally distributed storage providers. Now, IPFS pinning comes with Filecoin's verifiable storage guarantees, and IPFS files can be persisted via crypto wallet payments—all without third-party service providers, complex workarounds, or the need for credit card KYC verification. The decentralized storage tech stack has finally achieved true integration!
How Filecoin Pin Works
When you use Filecoin Pin, your IPFS files are persistently stored on the Filecoin network. Storage providers must cryptographically prove that they are continuously storing and serving your data every day; customers only need to pay fees after these storage proofs are successfully submitted and verified on-chain. Throughout the storage period, your data can be accessed directly from Filecoin storage providers.
But verifiable persistence is only part of the solution; a complete storage solution also depends on fast and reliable data access. Filecoin Pin closes this loop.
With Filecoin, your data remains portable and sovereign: you are free to choose providers, audit storage proofs and payment records on-chain, all without relying on any single company or provider. This is the trustless, economically incentivized persistence layer, designed to complement IPFS.
Filecoin Pin is powered entirely by on-chain smart contracts, decentralized storage providers, and common IPFS tools such as the Interplanetary Network Indexer (IPNI) and IPFS gateways. Developers pay ongoing storage fees via Web3 wallets like MetaMask and audit verifiable storage proofs on the PDP Scan browser.
