Patrick WoodheadFilCDN is now called Filecoin Beam
The Filecoin network has come a long way. It started as the decentralized archive of the internet. It is now becoming a foundational layer for performant, user-facing applications. Today, we're thrilled to announce a newcomer to the Filecoin ecosystem: FilCDN. A blazing fast content delivery network (CDN) purpose-built for data stored on Filecoin.
FilCDN is brought to you by Space Meridian, the team behind Checker Network and Filecoin Spark, who’ve spent the last few years on the front lines of improving Filecoin’s retrieval layer. Now, we’re taking everything we’ve learned and packaging it up for real-world usage.
🔍 The Backstory: Why Retrieval Matters
Filecoin was designed for verifiable, decentralized storage, and has been perfect for archival use cases. Through the FIL+ program, Storage Providers (SPs) can receive a 10x multiplier for block rewards by storing verified data. But to earn that multiplier, SPs are also supposed to serve the data they store through the program.
In practice, retrieval compliance has been low on FIL+ deals. Why? Simply because it is expensive to serve data. Egress, bandwidth, server infra: these have costs and are not rewarded by on-chain FIL emissions.
That’s where we came in.
We launched Filecoin Spark and Checker Network to measure and begin the process of improving the retrievability of data stored on Filecoin through FIL+. Working closely with the Filecoin Foundation and Filecoin Incentive Design Labs (FIDL), our products helped drive a 20x improvement in retrieval compliance. But this raised a new question: If the Spark checks from Checker Network are synthetic, how do we know how much traffic SPs are actually having to serve? I.e. How much egress are they paying for? This is what really affects their bottom line.
🔄 From Synthetic Traffic to Real Demand
The FIL+ system incentivized data storage, but not retrieval. Most SPs weren’t optimized for egress which is costly. They were gaming the system for storage rewards, not performance.
That all changed with the recent release of PDP (Proof of Data Possession) deals.
For the first time, Filecoin now supports hot, unsealed data - data that’s stored with the intention of being retrieved. Real users. Real applications. Real traffic. And with that, comes a new kind of challenge:
How do we index, find and accelerate real Filecoin data to real users while protecting the Storage Providers from internet scale traffic?
⚡️ Enter FilCDN: The Retrieval Layer for Filecoin
If we’re now measuring SPs based on actual user traffic, then why stop at checks and measurements? Why not make that traffic blazing fast while protecting SPs?
That’s exactly what FilCDN does.
FilCDN is a high-performance CDN for Filecoin, purpose-built to serve data stored on Filecon via PDP. It optimizes retrieval paths, accelerates delivery, and makes it easier than ever to build responsive, decentralized applications on top of Filecoin.
📦 Store data on Filecoin through PDP.
🚀 Retrieve it instantly through FilCDN.
🧱 Build applications with confidence.
🔗 Get Started with FilCDN
Ready to level up your Filecoin retrievals?
👉 Start using FilCDN in your PDP deals to accelerate and simplify your retrievals.
💡 If you’re a developer, don’t miss the Modular Worlds Hackathon, a perfect chance to build apps on Filecoin with FilCDN as your delivery backbone.
🧭 What Happens to Checker Network?
As we evolve, so does our identity.
We’re renaming this account to FilCDN, but Checker Network and Filecoin Spark are here to stay for now. Checker nodes will still receive their rewards for performing Spark checks. But, that said, there will be some changes in how we operate moving forward to better support transparency and accountability across the Filecoin network.
More updates to follow. This is just the beginning!