Sustainable Decentralised Storage: Understanding Filecoin’s Proof of Storage Space

The rise of blockchain technology has brought about new methods for decentralising data storage and maintaining network integrity. Filecoin, a leading decentralised storage network, utilises Proof of Storage Space to secure its blockchain. This blog explores how Filecoin's mechanism works and its implications for energy consumption and sustainability, along with a comparison to traditional Proof of Work (PoW) systems.

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Understanding Proof of Storage Space

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Filecoin employs a unique approach to verify storage using two types of proofs:

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• Proof of Replication (PoRep): This ensures that miners have stored a unique copy of the client's data.
• Proof of Spacetime (PoSt): This verifies that miners continue to store the data over a specified period.

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How Filecoin Works

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• Sealing: Miners receive data from clients and undergo a process called sealing. This involves encoding the data into a sector and producing a unique proof that can be verified by the network. The sealing process is computationally intensive.
• Storage and Retrieval: Once the data is sealed, miners store it and continuously prove its presence through regular PoSt checks. Clients can retrieve their data, and miners are compensated for their storage services.

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Energy Consumption and Efficiency

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Filecoin’s Proof of Storage Space mechanism is designed to balance security and energy efficiency. Here’s a look at its energy profile:

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• Sealing Process: The initial sealing process requires significant computational effort, representing a substantial portion of the network's energy consumption. According to our estimates, around 5-10% of the total energy consumption in the Filecoin network is due to the sealing process.
• Sustained Storage: After the initial sealing, the energy required for ongoing storage proofs (PoSt) is relatively lower. This involves periodic checks to confirm the continued presence of data, rather than continuous high-power operations.

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Sustainability and Comparison with Proof of Work (PoW)

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Proof of Work (PoW)

• Energy Consumption: Traditional PoW mechanisms, used by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, rely on hashing, an iterative process of random trial-and-error attempting to find a “nonce” (number only found once)  to earn the right to validate transactions and secure the network. This requires vast amounts of electricity, leading to a high carbon footprint.
• Environmental Impact: The energy-intensive nature of PoW has raised concerns about its environmental sustainability, as it often relies on fossil fuels, contributing to a significant carbon footprint (for nuances on this, see this DLT Science Foundation blog post).

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Filecoin’s Approach

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• Energy Efficiency: The ongoing PoSt checks consume much less energy compared to the continuous mining required in PoW systems. In Bitcoin, for example, both the underlying application and its security are underpinned by high electricity expenses. In Filecoin, instead, security is achieved through an energy-frugal algorithm akin to PoS, and the energy-intensity process (sealing) is reserved to the actual use case, thus binding energy usage to a predictable range. In addition, and unlike mining, the computationally intensive sealing process, which accounts for 5-10% of the network's total energy consumption, is a one-time event per dataset. 
• Sustainability: Filecoin leverages existing storage resources, making use of underutilised data centres and high capacity personal storage devices. This reduces the need for specialised, energy-hungry hardware. Moreover, Filecoin encourages the use of renewable energy sources, by introducing a Energy Validation Process, through which storage providers who make strong sustainability claims about energy consumption, renewable energy usage and water usage get the chance to certify them. This information is displayed publicly but also used to increase storage providers’ reputation, assign them faster data caps and financing options. This is associated with a series of sustainability goals over time associated with a roadmap.
• Environmental Impact: The reduced energy consumption and reliance on existing infrastructure mean that Filecoin has a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to PoW-based systems. This makes it a more sustainable option for the future of decentralised technologies.

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Filecoin’s Proof of Storage Space offers a compelling solution for decentralised data storage with a focus on security and energy efficiency. By ensuring the integrity and availability of stored data through PoRep and PoSt, Filecoin minimises the ongoing energy demands after the initial sealing process.

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As the demand for decentralised storage solutions grows, Filecoin’s approach highlights the potential for balancing technological innovation with environmental sustainability. By reducing the energy footprint associated with maintaining blockchain security, Filecoin sets a precedent for future developments in the decentralised storage landscape.

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Different blockchain architectures are better suited for different applications, and experimentation with different protocol configurations represents a significant step forward in creating a more sustainable and environmentally friendly blockchain ecosystem. As the industry continues to evolve, embracing innovative approaches such as Filecoin’s will be crucial in ensuring the sustainable growth of blockchain technology.

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