The 2023 Filecoin Ecosystem Rewind

As 2023 draws to a close, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite moments while we thank the community powering the world's largest decentralized storage network. From community events, network-wide initiatives, and partnerships, to core infrastructure improvements, 2023 was a year of milestones and heads-down building across the ecosystem and at the Foundation.

Reaching for Interplanetary Scale 

In October, we celebrated the third anniversary of the Filecoin network’s Mainnet launch. With more than 14.7K contributors on GitHub, 3,050 projects contributing to the ecosystem, and over 450 organizations building on the network, the Filecoin network is vibrant and growing. 

Thanks to the Filecoin network’s community of developers, storage providers, storage clients, and other network participants, today the Filecoin network has more than 1.7 EiB of data stored on the network, supported by more than 3,300 storage provider systems.

Supporting Storage Providers

In 2023, software platforms such as Steeldome, Lighthouse, GhostDrive, and Banyan complemented the offerings of storage providers with streamlined user interfaces that will play a critical role in driving more data onto the network in 2024 and beyond.  

From hosting FIL Vegas –– a large storage provider-focused gathering –– and FIL Hong Kong, to programs such as Zero to One and weekly storage provider working group sessions, the Foundation worked hand in hand with the storage provider community throughout the year. 

Facilitating Community Governance 

This year, the Filecoin network received four major upgrades: v18 (Hygge), v19 (Lightning), ghost upgrade v20 (Thunder), and most recently, v21 (Watermelon). As part of these upgrades, more than 20 Filecoin Improvement Proposals (FIPs) were introduced to the network. 

The Foundation facilitates the Filecoin ecosystem’s community governance. The release of the FIP0001v2 draft was a significant milestone in the effort to make the FIP process even more effective, resilient, and responsive to community needs going into 2024 and beyond.

Growing the Global Filecoin Developer Community

It’s been a banner year for developers in the ecosystem. As part of the eleven major events hosted and supported by the Foundation around the world, thousands of community members joined us for workshops and programming around the latest technical developments, like the Filecoin Virtual Machine, that will shape the future of the network. 

It's also never been easier for community members to connect in the Filecoin ecosystem through the Filecoin Orbit Community Program. In 2023, Orbit Ambassadors hosted over 190 events across six continents, in cities including Miami, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Lagos, Bangalore, and Hong Kong. The program experienced incredible momentum with 150+ hackathon projects submitted, serving as an entry point for Filecoin builders and empowering the next generation of developers around the globe.

Moreover, the Foundation remains committed to funding talented and eager developers, entrepreneurs, and organizations that contribute to the growth and adoption of the Filecoin network. 

Educating Policymakers in Washington and Beyond 

The Foundation continued its mission to educate the public and policymakers about the benefits and use cases for cryptocurrency and decentralized technologies. In April, FF President Marta Belcher testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion on how Filecoin protects humanity’s most important information.

As we celebrate a successful year for the Filecoin community, the Foundation is gearing up for 2024. We invite you to take part in our community events around the world, where the brightest minds working to advance the ecosystem come together. We hope you will join us in making 2024 an even better year for the Filecoin Network.

Network News

NV21 Watermelon has arrived! The long-awaited upgrade brings a new wave of enhancements and features to bolster the network’s efficiency. Read more. 

Championing Privacy and Decentralization with Esra'a Al Shafei. On the latest episode of DWeb Decoded, FF’s Danny O'Brien chats with Esra'a Al Shafei, a prominent advocate for digital rights and privacy. Check out Esra'a's vision for a web that respects and protects individual freedoms and identities, and her role in shaping a more equitable digital future.

Submit your project to the Filecoin Ecosystem Explorer. Filecoin Foundation is building a decentralized database showcasing the Filecoin ecosystem that will launch in the new year. The repository will be a comprehensive representation of the projects in the network. Please take five minutes to add your project to the database so we can show the breadth of the Filecoin ecosystem to the world.

Build with Us

Join the Blockchain Law for Social Good Center and Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web for the inaugural Social Impact Summit. Explore how decentralized and emerging technologies can be leveraged for social good across industries and use cases with experts in law, policy, tech, and human rights.

The Filecoin Sanctuary is returning to Davos for its third year. Hosted by Filecoin Foundation and brought to you by CNBC, this remarkable event offers an opportunity to catalyze change together with some of the greatest thinkers and doers of our time. Join us January 15-18 for programming, networking, and game-changing conversations about the future of the web.

Governance 

FIP0001v2 is still accepting community feedback. The FIP0001v2 draft is the result of several months of in-depth research, consultations, and community engagements to improve the existing governance models of Filecoin. For more information, read FF's blog. In addition to the FIP0001v2 draft, we are seeking input on the public voting specification. 

Stay up to date with Community Governance Calls. The meeting system and format for governance calls has changed. Registrations are no longer required and existing Zoom invites are no longer valid. To join, embed the meeting in your Google Calendar to stay connected. 

Filecoin Plus Notary allocator applications are due January 20, 2024. To learn more about the process and the transition to the allocator model, visit the GitHub ReadMe.