The TON Foundation, a non-commercial group of contributors behind the The Open Network (TON) blockchain, has launched a decentralized file-sharing and data storage solution called TON Storage, taking on similar projects like Filecoin and Storj.

TON Storage works similarly to internet-based peer-to-peer file sharing that uses torrents. But instead, it relies on the TON blockchain network to transfer data files of any size, which are backed-up and encrypted without needing centralized web servers.

Traditional torrents lack long-term storage guarantees. TON Storage aims to overcome this by offering financial incentives to node operators on the network, with smart contracts ensuring users pay them a fixed amount in toncoin to host files for a certain amount of time.

(by James Hunt)