Key Takeaways

• Filecoin is a decentralized, blockchain-based cloud storage platform, and the FIL coin is its native token.
• FIL is one of the many cryptos to have been accused of being an unregistered security by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in recent months.
• FIL suffered throughout 2022 and has not had a great 2023, either, but can it recover to the heights it enjoyed in 2021?

Filecoin, powered by its native FIL token, aims to use the blockchain to make cloud storage technology truly decentralized. Although it, like most other cryptos, had a very tough 2022 as the market seemingly collapsed on a regular basis, it looked to be getting back in shape in 2023, as reports suggested that more people were using the system’s storage during the second quarter of the year.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission listed FIL as being a potential unregistered security, hitting the price of the coin hard as investors sought to move their money into safer places. Things got even worse when the SEC sued the Binance and Coinbase exchanges in early June, sending the price of Filecoin down even further. 

However, a recovering market helped FIL regain some kind of momentum, and a judge ruling that Ripple’s XRP was not a security so long as it was being sold on exchanges helped boost crypto, and FIL, further.

But what is Filecoin (FIL)? How does Filecoin work? Let’s take a look and see what we can find out, and also examine some of the Filecoin price predictions that were being made as of 17 July 2023.

From the Whitepaper

Filecoin’s whitepaper  – a technical document that explains what the platform is and what it actually does, says that the network is designed to take advantage in changes to the internet, with people looking for more control and privacy.

It says: “Filecoin is a decentralized storage network that turns cloud storage into an algorithmic market. The market runs on a blockchain with a native protocol token (also called “Filecoin”), which miners earn by providing storage to clients. Conversely, clients spend Filecoin hiring miners to store or distribute data.

“As with Bitcoin, Filecoin miners compete to mine blocks with sizable rewards, but Filecoin mining power is proportional to active storage, which directly provides a useful service to clients.”

Advantages and Disadvantages of Filecoin

Blockchain analytics company Messari  recently released their quarterly report on Filecoin. In it they outlined some key advantages and disadvantages of the blockchain.

They found that in the second quarter of 2023, it had

• Revenue from storage users of $11.5 million, up year-on-year from $1.6 million and up quarter-on-quarter from $1.3 million.
• Revenue from storage providers of $85.7 million, down from $258.8 million the previous year and down from $102.4 million the previous year.
• 12.2 exbibytes (EiB) of data capacity, down from 16.7 EiB year-on-year and down from 13.8 EiB quarter-on-quarter.
• Storage utilization of 7.6%, up from 0.5% the previous year and up from 4.1% the previous quarter.

Advantages of Filecoin

Messari says that Filecoin

• Has been able to encourage people to join the platform by using the Filecoin Plus program.
• Has simple user interfaces, which can help new users utilize the system better.
• Is actively developing a community of storage users and providers.

Disadvantages of Filecoin

Messari also says that Filecoin

• Is still under investigation by the SEC about whether or not FIL is a security.
• Has seen the amount of rewards it issues users go down, thus potentially putting people off using the system.
• Has increased its service charges.

With Messari’s report being broadly positive about Filecoin, what does this mean about the Filecoin price prediction?

First, though, let’s talk about what Filecoin actually is.

 Filecoin (FIL) Explained

Filecoin is designed to help people use cloud storage on the blockchain. The idea is that, since The Cloud is, in effect, a decentralized network, where people can access their files from any device with an internet connection then, logically speaking, it makes sense for the organization of the network also to be decentralized. 

Founded in 2014 by California-based crypto entrepreneur Juan Benet, Filecoin was originally a sidechain of the InterPlanetary File Network storage system. In 2017, though, it held an initial coin offering (ICO) and, in 2020, its mainnet launched. Filecoin is supported by its native token, which goes by the ticker handle of FIL. 

How Filecoin Works

Filecoin uses a consensus mechanism called Proof-of-Spacetime. According to the Filecoin whitepaper, Proof-of-Spacetime features blocks created by miners who store data in them. This allows the protocol to provide data storage and retrieval in a decentralized manner.

Clients pay to store and retrieve data, while storage miners can earn FIL by offering storage, while retrieval miners earn it by retrieving data. As well as being used to reward miners, FIL can be bought, sold, and traded on exchanges.

  FIL Price History

It’s now time to cast our eyes over the Filecoin price history . Remember that although past performance is no indication of future results, knowing what the coin has done in the past, and knowing what the coin has done before can give us some context if we want to interpret or make a Filecoin price prediction. 

When Filecoin first came onto the open market in late 2017, it was worth about $11 before a crypto bubble saw it best $25 in January the following year. After that, the market slumped and FIL spent much of the next two years or so somewhere around $5.

Things picked up again in October 2020 as the mainnet launched and FIL closed the year at $24.35. Things got even better in the new year as the market flourished and FIL hit an all-time high of $237.24 on 1 April. The coin then fell down, sinking below $50 over the summer, bouncing back to top $100 in September, but dropping again to close the year at $34.27.

In 2022, the clouds that had been hovering over Filecoin burst and the price disintegrated as the market suffered a series of crashes, dropping below $10 in May and below $5 in June. There was a recovery to over $10 in July and August but then it said down and closed the year at $3.01, meaning it lost more than 90% of its value in 2022.

2023 started well, the coin rising to $9.40 on 19 February, but then it went down. Following the news  that Grayscale, an investment company that held a FIL trust, had been told by the SEC that Filecoin was an unregistered security on 17 May, it was worth about $4.55. While it initially looked like the market was just brushing away the concerns, the Binance and Coinbase lawsuits hit the coin and, on 12 June, it fell to $2.88.

FIL was able to make a recovery over the following month or so and, on 17 July 2023, FIL was worth about $4.41

At that time, there were 436.7 million FIL in circulation out of a total supply of 1.9 billion. This gave the crypto a market cap of $1.9 billion, making it the 30th largest crypto by that metric. 

Filecoin Price Analysis

Filecoin was shaken by the news that the SEC was suing the Binance and Coinbase exchanges. The coin, which had been trading at $4.66 before the announcement of the Binance case on 5 June, sank to $2.88 on 10 June, a drop of 38% over just five days. By 17 July, it had recovered by more than 50% from the low, but was still down by more than 5% from pre-crash levels.  

Filecoin Price Prediction 

With that all said and done, let’s now take a look at some of the Filecoin price predictions that were being made as of 17 July 2023. Remember that price forecasts, especially when they concern a commodity as potentially volatile as crypto, often end up being wrong. Also, keep in mind that many long-term crypto price predictions are made using an algorithm, which means they can change at any time. 

First, CoinCodex  had a somewhat mixed short-term Filecoin price prediction for 2023. The site said that FIL was in for a tricky week or so, dropping to $4.39 by 22 July, but could recover over the weeks after that, reaching $5.06 by 16 August. The site’s technical analysis was, however, neutral, with 15 indicators sending out bullish signals compared to 14 making bearish ones.  

Filecoin Forecast for 2023

In terms of other Filecoin crypto price predictions for this year, CryptoPredictions.com  said that FIL should recover to reach $5.25 by the end of the year. DigitalCoinPrice  was even more enthusiastic, saying the coin would trade at an average of $9 in 2023, and CoinPriceForecast  argued it would be worth $5.15. 

Filecoin Forecast for 2025

When it came to making a Filecoin price prediction for 2025, CoinPriceForecast said that FIL would reach $6.97 by the middle of the year before closing at $7.37. DigitalCoinPrice said it would break through $10 to reach an average of $14.95, while CryptoPredictions.com argued that Filecoin would start the year at a $9.05, trade at $10.22 in June and close the year at  $11.05. 

Filecoin Forecast for 2030

As far as a more long-term Filecoin price prediction for 2030 went, DigitalCoinPrice said that the crypto would be worth an average of $45.81 that year, with CoinPriceForecast suggesting that it could trade at $13.76 in June and $14.59 in December. PricePrediction.net , meanwhile, made a FIL price prediction that saw it rocket to trade at around $74.22. 

Is FIL a Good Investment?

Filecoin has suffered over the last 18 months or so, losing more than 90% of its value since the autumn of 2021. While it initially looked like it would shrug off the SEC apparently classifying it as an unregistered security, the regulator’s lawsuit against Binance and Coinbase threw it back into the spotlight. Nevertheless, it is still comfortably in the top 50 cryptos by market cap and is not without its fans. We shall have to see how the market reacts and if it recovers over time. 

Will FIL go up or down?

Nobody really knows right now. While a lot of price forecasts are broadly optimistic, at least in the longer-term, price forecasts are very often wrong. Remember, too, that prices can, and do, go down as well as up. 

Should I invest in FIL?

Before you invest in Filecoin, you will need to do your own research, both on FIL and on other, similar cryptos, such as Storj Labs (STORJ). The most important thing, though, is to never invest more money than you can afford to lose. 

FAQs 

How many Filecoin are there?

On 17 July 2023, there were 436.7 million FIL in circulation out of a total supply of 1.9 billion.

Will Filecoin reach $100?

It could do, but most sites suggest that, if it does, it won’t be for quite some time. PricePrediction.net says that the coin should move into three figures in 2032. Investors should note, though, that it has traded above $100 before, most recently in September 2021. 

What is Filecoin used for?

The Filecoin blockchain is a decentralized remote storage network, and the FIL crypto coin is used to help support it. 

Disclaimer 

Please note that the contents of this article are not financial or investing advice. The information provided in this article is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as offering trading or investing recommendations. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. The cryptocurrency market suffers from high volatility and occasional arbitrary movements. Any investor, trader, or regular crypto users should research multiple viewpoints and be familiar with all local regulations before committing to an investment.