InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)

The InterPlanetary File System, or IPFS, might have a futuristic name, but it’s very much a technology of today. It’s a decentralized way of storing and sharing files across the internet, aimed at making the web more efficient, resilient, and less reliant on central servers. Imagine if instead of storing your photos on one specific server, you could have them distributed across thousands of computers around the world. That’s basically what IPFS does—it breaks up files into smaller pieces and distributes them across a peer-to-peer network, making it much harder for files to be lost or censored.

IPFS is especially useful when combined with blockchain technology. Blockchains are great for keeping records and ensuring data integrity, but they aren’t ideal for storing large files due to space and cost constraints. This is where IPFS comes in. You can store a file off-chain using IPFS and just keep a reference to it on the blockchain. This setup allows projects to leverage the strengths of both technologies: the immutability and trust of blockchain, with the scalable, decentralized storage of IPFS. It’s like having the best of both worlds, especially for applications that require secure, verifiable data storage.