The Foundations’ Roles in the Filecoin Ecosystem

In 2017, the creators of Filecoin envisioned an independent foundation that would serve as the long-term governance body for the Filecoin ecosystem. Its mandate would be to grow an open ecosystem for decentralized storage and to give developers an open and sustainable platform to build, enhance and monetize those services.

Today, the Filecoin Foundation (FF) is an independent organization that facilitates governance of the Filecoin network, funds critical development projects, supports the growth of the Filecoin ecosystem, and advocates for Filecoin and the decentralized web. FF coordinates and supports the creation and improvement of open-source software and open protocols for decentralized data storage and retrieval networks.

The Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web (FFDW) focuses on charitable activities, including building and supporting the decentralized web community, funding research and development, and educating the public about the decentralized web.

The FF and FFDW combined have an allocation of 100 million FIL that vest linearly over 6 years beginning at network launch, as explained in the Filecoin PPM. FF and FFDW use FIL to support their missions as often as possible, and periodically convert a portion of their annual operating budgets from FIL to fiat currency or other cryptocurrencies to support project funding and to cover administrative expenses.

FF uses this allocation to support projects that further Filecoin’s core objectives to build, store, and mine, periodically making grants to third-party groups that have a vested interest in the success of the Filecoin network.

FFDW supports programs that help lay the foundation for the broader decentralized web, through sponsorships, education, and other programs. For example, FFDW supports Starling Labs, which brings together an array of disciplines to meet the technical and ethical challenges of establishing trust in the most sensitive digital records of our human history.