Protocol Labs

Protocol Labs is an open-source research, development, and deployment laboratory developing projects for the next generation of the internet. It is the developer behind Filecoin, the Interplanetary File System (IPFS), and libp2p.

Filecoin is a decentralized network that securely stores files with economic incentives and cryptography to ensure files are stored reliably over time. Users pay storage providers to store their files, who must prove their reliability. Anyone can join and participate in the open markets for storage and retrieval of files, with the available storage and pricing not being controlled by any singular entity. Its native token is FIL. In addition, the company launched a Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM) that added smart contracts and user programmability to its network. The FVM will enable developers to write and deploy custom codes to create new applications that use metadata and transactions stored on Filecoin’s storage network. It also launched Filecoin Web Service , a cloud-based decentralized compute and storage alternative to major cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.

The IPFS is a set of composable, peer-to-peer protocols that allows files to be stored on the internet by splitting into smaller chunks, cryptographically hashing it, and giving it a unique fingerprint called a content identifier (CID). The CID acts as a permanent record of a file to prove its existence at that point in time. When a new version of the file is added to IPFS, it receives a new CID because its cryptographic hash is different. IPFS ensures that files are impervious to censorship and tampering because any changes made to a file do not overwrite the original version. Additionally, storage expenses are minimized by reusing common chunks across files. Many applications use the IPFS technology such as Audius, Brave Browser, Fleek , and Metamask .

Libp2p or library peer-to-peer is a P2P network framework that enables the development of P2P applications. It consists of a collection of protocols, specifications, and libraries that facilitate P2P communication between network participants.

Key customers and partnerships

In September 2023, the company joined the Consensys Scale program to support upcoming blockchain ventures by providing them access to its suite of Web3 tools, technical support, and other resources to develop and scale their projects.

Funding and financials

Protocol Labs received venture funding from BlueYard Capital in September 2017, and it raised a further USD 52 million through Filecoin’s initial coin offering (ICO) from nearly 150 institutional investors and 100 individual high-profile Silicon Valley investors.