About Filecoin Onchain Cloud
Since its launch, Filecoin Network has been the backbone for decentralized data storage, anchored by its Proof-of-Replication (PoRep) model that ensures the integrity of long-term, immutable data. However, as decentralized applications evolve, they demand faster access, dynamic payments, and cryptographic verification that can operate within smart contracts.
Filecoin Onchain Cloud (FOC) addresses this next-generation demand by reimagining storage as a programmable cloud service layer — where each capability (storage, retrieval, billing, verification) exists as a composable onchain module. These modules can be combined, forked, or extended, giving builders the flexibility to create customized decentralized applications and data-driven services.
Built on the Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) and powered by a distributed network of verifiable storage providers, Filecoin Onchain Cloud transforms the Filecoin Network from a large-scale cold storage layer into a programmable, service-based data infrastructure.
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Architecture
Section titled “Architecture”FOC addresses this next-generation demand by creating composable onchain services where each capability (storage, retrieval, compute, payments, verification) can be combined, forked, or extended, giving developers the flexibility to create customized decentralized applications and data-driven services. It is built around four fundamental layers:
- Storage Layer – Provided by decentralized service providers using the Filecoin Warm Storage Service (FWSS), optimized for accessibility and speed through crytographic storage proof, Proof of Data Possession (PDP)..
- Data Delievery Layer – Provided by storage provides and an optional add-on service -Filecoin Beam. Filecoin Beam is an incentivized data delievery layer that caches data from storage providers and enables faster data delivery globally with onchain auditable delivery proofs and pay-by-egress billing.
- Payment & Settlement Layer – Managed by Filecoin Pay, enabling flexible, auditable billing flows between clients and providers, based on actual service delievered.
- Developer & Application Layer – Powered by the Synapse SDK, which abstracts services and payment rails into simple APIs usable across web, node, and edge environments.
Key Properties
Section titled “Key Properties”Filecoin Onchain Cloud combines cloud-grade performance with verifiable onchain properties:
- 🔑 Ownership — Data, payments, and service logic belong to users and developers, not intermediaries.
- 🔍 Verifiability — Every transaction, proof, and interaction is recorded, auditable, and cryptographically verifiable on the Filecoin blockchain.
- ⚙️ Programmability — Services are governed by smart contracts that developers can compose, automate, or extend to suit diverse application needs.
This design allows Filecoin to move beyond static data storage — offering real-time data services, decentralized payment flows, and programmable access policies that any developer can integrate through a unified interface.
Core Components
Section titled “Core Components”The Filecoin Onchain Cloud’s components together form an onchain-verifiable, service-oriented cloud stack. Today, the building blocks include:
- Filecoin Warm Storage Service (FWSS) — The operational layer providing fast, persistent, and verifiable data storage backed by Proof of Data Possession, across Filecoin’s global storage providers.
- Proof of Data Possession (PDP) — The cryptographic storage proof ensuring data storage integrity and availability.
- Filecoin Pay — The financial settlement engine that enables programmable payments for onchain services.
- Filecoin Beam — Available as an add-on, a retrieval and delivery layer that serves stored data globally.
Each component works independently but connects through onchain smart contracts and the Synapse SDK. Together they provide the core properties of a decentralized cloud: verifiability, programmability, and composability.
Key Products
Section titled “Key Products”By exposing verifiable storage, retrieval, and payment capabilities as onchain services, FOC lets developers build products and workflows that extend the Onchain Cloud and move Filecoin toward a modular, decentralized cloud.
Filecoin Pin
Section titled “Filecoin Pin”Filecoin Pin is a decentralized persistence layer for IPFS content, backed by the global network of Filecoin storage providers with cryptographic guarantees. It brings IPFS’s filesystem structure to Filecoin Onchain Cloud for developers who need trustless, economically incentivized persistence for their content.
Learn more about Filecoin Pin →
More products will be built to extend the capabilities of the Filecoin Onchain Cloud.
Pricing
Section titled “Pricing”The Filecoin Onchain Cloud (FOC) prices its Filecoin Warm Storage Service (FWSS) and Filecoin Beam retrieval layer as follows. Filecoin Pay settles all payments automatically, with onchain accountability and proof-linked billing.
| Service | Pricing | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | $2.50/TiB/month/copy (minimum 2 copies) | Redundant storage with continuous PDP verification. Empty data sets cost nothing, charges begin when the first piece is added. |
| Proving Service | $0.024/data set/month | Flat per-data-set fee for proof verification, added on top of the storage rate. |
| Add-on Retrieval (Filecoin Beam) | Up to $0.014/GiB egress | Outbound data delivered via Filecoin Beam. Roughly half this when served from cache, up to the full rate on a cache miss. |
Beyond these recurring rates, each onchain operation (creating a data set, adding or removing pieces, terminating service) carries a small one-time fee paid to the storage provider to cover its gas. These fees are fractions of a cent and only matter at very high operation volumes. See Storage Costs for the full breakdown.