What Are Storage Coins? Are they good for crypto trading?

You might be familiar with Gdrive, Dropbox, and iCloud. We love using these platforms to store documents, pictures, and folders because it frees up local storage on devices and keeps all our gadgets in sync. Just like how we store files on these platforms, some cryptocurrencies can also be stored in cloud servers.

What’s the big deal about file storage coins?

Being able to store your cryptocurrencies on a cloud server means you don’t need to rely on hardware to keep your coins safe. What’s more, you can access your coins from multiple devices – the kind of convenience you can’t enjoy if you only store your coins in a hardware storage.

Hacking, and security are some of the deepest concerns when it comes to cryptocurrencies especially after the theft of about US$1.2b cryptocurrency since 2017. With storage file coins, however, coins are stored in a decentralised cloud server and vulnerability of holding cryptocurrencies is decreased.

What File Storage Coins Should I Look Out For?

File storage coins are relatively new but a few of these coins have popped up over the last few years and it’s important to know how they differ from each other. To get your hands on these storage coins, it’s important to know how each platform works and rewards users.

Here are a few file storage coins to keep your eye on:

Siacoin

Siacoin is the token of an open-source, blockchain-based decentralised cloud storage, known as Sia. To put it simply, Sia is a decentralised cloud storage platform that distributes storage space between those who have excess storage, and those who are in need of storage. Those who provide storage space are known as providers, while those who commission storage space are known as clients.

Created by David Vorick and Luke Champine, data on Sia is broken up into smaller parts and stored in different servers. To ensure security of their files, clients can choose to split copies of their data between a few providers. In the event where clients need to retrieve data, the small bits of data are then recompiled.

As a reward for providing storage space, providers are given Siacoins in return. Siacoin is now one of the 16 most valuable cryptocurrency and no doubt make a great incentive for providers to actively participate in the platform.

In order to ensure the platform is free from fraudulent activities, Sia implements proof of storage whereby providers are required to present proofs to the network. This protects clients’ data and also prevents unscrupulous “providers” who try to take advantage of Siacoin rewards.

With a more secure decentralised storage system, it’s not difficult to see why Sia is an attractive platform. What’s more, data storage also comes at an affordable price – just $2 a month for 1TB of storage. If anything, it’s a rate that’s way below what mainstream cloud storage platforms like iCloud have to offer.

Storjcoin

Storjcoin is another cloud based platform that rewards users who rent out free storage. Just as Sia’s platform consists of clients and providers, users on Storj are known as Farmers and renters.

On the Storj network, Farmers renting out their excess storage space are rewarded with Storjcoins. The amount of Storjcoins Farmers receive are dependent on how much customer data they host. Farmers don’t have any access to data they are hosting, which means they can’t view or alter data stored on storage space they rent out.

Renters, on the other hand, are people who rent storage space from Farmers. Their data and files are encrypted and broken down into smaller bits before they are being stored away in different storage spaces hosted by different Farmers. All data remain in the respective storage spaces as long as Renters make micro-payments. To rent storage space on the Storj network, Renters will be charged on a pay-as-you-go model. With free access to the first 25GB for new users (in the first 12 months), Storjcoin allows users to access affordably priced storage space.

In order to maximise security stored data on the platform is backed up multiple times. Different hashes on the platform ensures that data is divided into different records, preventing it from ending up on a central memory point. On top of that, a proof-of-work scheme similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum is put in place to prevent fraudulent activities.

MaidSafecoin

MaidSafecoin is the currency for the SAFE network, a file sharing and data storage platform. MaidSafe seeks to provide fully severless, encrypted data storage and file sharing, attaining anonymity for users.

Users of the platform are categorised as Farmers and builders. Farmers provide extra storage space, computing time and other resources to the network while builders develop applications that use the SAFE network.

Whenever Farmers contribute to the network, data is stored in a Vault that cannot be accessed by them. Only when data from the Vault is retrieved by others can they receive MaidSafecoins. That being said, coins are not always rewarded. The coins are given based on an algorithm which ensures that chances of attaining MaidSafecoins correlate to the amount of resources Farmers contribute to SAFE. Builders, on the other hand, will be paid in MaidSafecoins whenever their applications are being used.

Storage file coins not only rival other cryptocurrencies, but also pose a threat to mainstream storage platforms. The platforms’ unique framework manages to redistribute storage space, enhances security, and is affordably priced. At the same time, contributors are also rewarded with attractive incentives, allowing storage file coins to gain popularity. Although still in its early stages, storage file coins are definitely worth keeping an eye on.

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