Filecoin’s New Narrative: EVM-Compatible Storage Chain, Using Smart Contracts

Key Points:

• The launch of the FVM testnet marks that the long-delayed Filecoin has re-entered the mainstream competitive market.
• Filecoin will launch the Hyperspace testnet, which aims to replace the currently disabled Wallaby EVM-compatible testnet.
• The launch of FVM will also completely change the valuation model of Filecoin.

The long-awaited Filecoin EVM (FVM) has finally been officially announced on March 14. At that time, the main network will officially obtain the compatibility of the EVM virtual machine through the Filecoin nv18 Hygge upgrade, becoming a platform that takes into account data storage and smart contract deployment, and dApp development. An integrated Layer 0 public chain.

In order to ensure the stable launch of the mainnet, the Hyperspace testnet will be opened simultaneously to facilitate developers to test the related functions of FVM in advance. Secondly, the Filecoin.sol development library can also allow the Solidity language to test smart contract-related functions on Filecoin.

Combining FVM with smart contracts, the vision of Data DAOs is expected to become a reality. The rights and interests of data DAO can be tokenized, and the discovery, storage, and circulation of a data value can be executed on the chain. Combined with various AI models that are currently hot, FVM can create composable and modular data layers that can be combined to meet different requirements. Use Data DAO.

FVM = smart contract + provable storage

A storage network that does not want to be a public chain is not a good EVM.

Drawing on the multiple structures of the Ethereum mainnet + testnet, Filecoin will also launch the Hyperspace testnet, which aims to replace the currently disabled Wallaby EVM-compatible testnet. Combined with the Calibration storage testnet, Filecoin has formed a mainnet plus two tests. The overall structure of the network, the main network, has two functions storage and EVM compatibility.

With the help of EVM compatibility, the current Filecoin has realized the pattern of public chain + storage and can communicate with other EVM-compatible chains. Storing smart contract data on Filecoin can improve network speed and reduce gas costs. But be aware that the data itself is still stored off-chain, after which a verifiable CID (Content Addresser) and proof of storage will be generated, which are recorded on the Filecoin chain and can be written into smart contracts.

At present, the Hyperspace test network is open for use, and it is directly integrated into ChainList, allowing one-click access to Metamask for use.

In addition to storing smart contract data, FVM will provide an execution environment for running smart contracts on the Filecoin network. These smart contracts can not only be written in Solidity, but languages that can be compiled into WASM, such as Rust, can write smart contracts on FVM, changing the current operation logic of single storage data.

Smart contracts will really change the operation logic of on-chain storage:

Customized permissions: The advantage of Web 2 storage solutions such as AWS is that they can flexibly set data set operation permissions, while FVM will customize Web 3 data permissions, and smart contracts will change the current access and control operation permissions without hindering the permanence of data storage.

Data DAO: With the help of highly customized data permissions, Data DAO will carry out corresponding data monetization operations after the permissions are divided, and DAO can be used to manage and allocate funds.

Permanent storage: Permanence before FVM needs to be manually renewed before the expiration date. For various reasons, the actual timeliness may only be one to two years, but after FVM, users can use smart contracts to achieve automatic renewal to prolong the effect of shelf life.

Empowering $FIL: Smart contracts can make it easier to evaluate the service levels of different node service providers. Based on FIL tokens, an on-chain lending market can be created to improve the overall network storage efficiency.

Introduce EVM assets: With the help of EVM compatibility, all tokens that meet the ERC-20 standard can be bridged to the Filecoin main network, and the assets on it can also be cross-chained to other asset pools and ultimately play an active role in the storage market on the chain.

After FVM is fully realized, Filecoin will, in fact, become the most basic development facility on the chain. Its full EVM compatibility can also directly interact with any mainstream assets without the need to set up storage separately but directly from Ethereum. Starting from the logic, directly call any required module with the smart contract.

Market size = developers + storage capacity

The launch of FVM will completely change the valuation model of Filecoin. Before FVM, the valuation of $FIL was equal to the upper limit of storage capacity, and at the same time, faced the competition of many storage projects. However, after FVM, the valuation model of FIL is storage and double public superposition of chains.

The current Filecoin has a market value of $3 billion, and the revenue of global cloud storage in 2021 will be around $100 billion, of which AWS, the leading project, will account for about $35 billion. Filecoin still has huge room for growth in the long run.

The arrival of smart contracts intuitively enhances the developer’s programmability, and the multi-scenario usage on the user side will directly increase the use of FIL, which will eventually lead to a relative reduction in the circulation of FIL.

• First, FIL will be burned at a higher rate to meet the equivalent consumption of storage and computing resources on the chain.
• Secondly, the complexity of the smart contract will also increase the additional load of the block space, so it will also accelerate the destruction.
• Finally, following the pledge trend and the need to enhance the security of the main network will lead to more FILs entering the lock or lending market.

Before that, it is necessary to start from the developer side to facilitate the development of new functions and then let users feel the role of FVM. After this update, not only the EVM function can be used directly, except for the Metamask mentioned above, but FVM can also directly use tools and suites such as Hardhat and Brownie, and more importantly, it can support the deployment of dApps.

According to Filecoin’s official roadmap, it needs to be clarified that FEVM will be launched in March, and Filecoin’s native EVM, FVM, will be launched in the middle of this year. So in the future, developers can choose FEVM or FVM according to their own technical habits, both of which can realize development and deployment.

FEVM is slightly different from FVM. FEVM has better compatibility with Ethereum. FEVM allows developers to write smart contracts on the Filecoin blockchain immediately, and at the same time, they can use all the tools, software packages, and languages they are used to. They can take advantage of the current Solidity and Ethereum development environments and can quickly port or write smart contracts. But he needs to pay a higher Gas Fee than FVM, and the performance will be compromised.

	FVM	FEVM
Advantage	Native execution speed and performance on Filecoin (that is, the Gas Fee for executing smart contract code is lower); Write smart contracts in any language that compiles to WASM	Use the current Solidity and Ethereum development environments to quickly port or write smart contracts
Shortcoming	Development tools are not as mature as the FEVM system	Higher Gas Fee and lower performance than FVM

However, FVM will be a “native” Filecoin virtual machine. The development tools are not as mature as the FEVM system and have stronger execution efficiency. The current 2.1 stage is more about testing EVM compatibility, and then the FVM 2.2 stage will give birth to more “native” virtual machines with high-performance dApp.

With this in-development capability, the logic of true persistent storage will be rewritten. Specifically, using FVM, uploaders can specify the desired number of replications and expiration date. The expiration date can even be set to unlimited. As long as the uploader still has tokens (FIL) in the contract account, the smart contract will continue incentivizing the storage provider to continue creating transactions to extend the storage period.

The storage provider (SP) must meet a certain amount of FIL pledge standards to prove its own storage capacity. Under the motive of profit, the SP will continuously maintain the data validity of the storage network in order to obtain FIL tokens, and the smart contract will also Data verification tasks can be performed to ensure that data is stored correctly.

Conclusion

The launch of the FVM testnet marks that the long-delayed Filecoin has re-entered the mainstream competitive market, and the combination of storage and public chains has also opened up a new market imagination space for the entire storage track, using Web 2 experience to complete Web 3 storage need.

This is also the development trend of the storage track. Arweave is expected to become a Layer 1 rather than just a data storage network. The Greenfield storage project initiated by BNB Chain and the desire for expansion is also the focus of the next development of Ethereum. These all mark the two-way development of the store chain and the public chain.

The public chain and storage will become the bottom-level infrastructure of the entire Web 3 industry, and they will evolve in a more convergent direction, with preset advances for the next step to meet the real needs of billions of people around the world.

The foundation of infrastructure will become the ballast stone for developers to use their imagination to describe the future. The division of FVM and FEVM, as well as the programming paradigm that supports WASM, will also help more developers how to use the thinking of traditional Apps to build Web 3 dApps with high concurrency and high load requirements, and it is also expected to develop in social, gaming, etc. more rewarding exploration.

DISCLAIMER: The Information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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Harold

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