Filecoin storage utilization jumped to 26% in Q2 2024, up from 23% in Q1, even as the network’s total capacity fell. The increase highlights growing adoption amid a shifting landscape for the decentralized storage protocol.
According to Messari’s Q2 2024 Filecoin report, active storage deals dipped 6% from Q1’s record high but remained on par with Q4 2023 levels at over 1,700 PiB. Daily new deals continued declining, dropping 24% to 2.5 PiB per day.
The rising utilization comes despite a 19% quarterly drop in Filecoin’s raw storage capacity to 6.6 EiB. This continues a two-year decline from the 17 EiB peak in mid-2022. Active storage providers also fell to about 2,400, down from over 4,100 in Q3 2022.
Filecoin is pushing to rise enterprise adoption. In June, it launched a grants program to accelerate paid data onboarding and use cases. The initiative aims to drive more active deals and network activity.
Beyond cold storage, platforms like Basin and Akave are tapping Filecoin for AI-related services. This positions the network in the emerging AI data economy.
Major clients utilizing Filecoin network
Major clients utilizing Filecoin vary from research institutions to Web3 platforms. For instance, the Victor Chang Institute securely stores cardiac research data, and UC Berkeley partners with Seal Storage for physics datasets. The NFT marketplace OpenSea and the blockchain Solana also make use of the network.
On the tech front, Filecoin’s virtual machine (FVM) has been steadily gaining momentum since its introduction in March 2023. Currently, more than 3,700 smart contracts have been activated, leading to the facilitation of 2.5 million transactions. Notably, the total value locked has surged to a record-breaking 63 million FIL ($273 million) in the second quarter.
In Q2, revenue derived from network fees surged by 145% to reach $4 million. Conversely, base fees linked to storage agreements amounted to a mere $9,000, reflecting a decrease in charges related to decentralized storage services. Additionally, compensation for storage providers experienced a 30% decline, totaling $53 million, influenced by the reduction in FIL prices.
Filecoin looks ahead to its upcoming V23 “Waffle” upgrade scheduled for August 6. This update will involve significant changes, including the removal of the storage miner ProveCommitSectors method and the addition of support for legacy Ethereum transactions.
Additionally, the network is in the process of finalizing specifications for “Fast Finality in Filecoin” to enhance transaction confirmation times. The successful implementation of this improvement will necessitate a future upgrade.
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