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OKEx Research: Filecoin mainnet will be launched soon, explaining 5 investment methods in detail

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After repeated missed appointments, the Filecoin mainnet is finally going live

Original source: OKEx Research

According to the official announcement, the Filecoin main network will be Epoch 148888 officially opened. Calculated according to the current block height, the Filecoin mainnet is expected to be launched before 11:00 p.m. on October 15th. (According to the current block production situation, there may be a delay.)

Source: Filscout

Although Filecoin has postponed the mainnet launch time many times before, causing many controversies, with the opening of the second phase of the testnet and the launch of the space race, Filecoin is This year's popularity is still high. After all, it has set the highest fundraising record in the blockchain field, and has received support from top institutions such as Sequoia Capital, DCG, and a16z. The IPFS technology behind Filecoin is regarded as a representative of Web3.0.

After the third Bitcoin halving was completed, the Filecoin mainnet was launched As the biggest hot spot in the second half of the year, mining machine manufacturers and trading platforms are waiting for the opportunity.

However, we have to admit that due to Filecoin Most investors lack sufficient understanding of the complexity of the mechanism setting, and are even more confused about various investment methods. The Filecoin mainnet is coming soon. We combine the five main investment methods to analyze the opportunities and risks behind them one by one to help everyone clear the fog.

Method 1: Buy physical mining machine

Like Bitcoin, Filecoin tokens can be obtained through mining.

According to the plan, Filecoin token FIL The total amount is 2 billion pieces. In the distribution of the genesis block, 10% is allocated to early investors (7.5% sold, 2.5% retained), 20% is allocated to project parties (15% is allocated to Protocol Labs, 5% is allocated to Filecoin Foundation) , and the remaining 70% is allocated to miners.

It is not difficult to find that Filecoin is more friendly to miners and plans to release the largest proportion of block rewards. However, it should be noted that the mining mechanism of Filecoin is different from Bitcoin mining: Bitcoin mining mainly relies on computing power, and the mining process is the process of calculating the hash algorithm and obtaining the results, which mainly rely on CPU, GPU and ASIC and other high-end chips; Filecoin mining machines do not actually need to perform a lot of calculations and consume little power, but they require mining tools to be equipped with high-quality broadband/network speed environment and hard disk performance.

In addition, there are two types of Filecoin miners, one is storage miners and the other is retrieval miners. Retrieval miners have high requirements on the network. Generally, retail investors participate in storage miners, that is, to obtain block rewards by renting out storage space. Different miners participate in ecological operations under complex mechanism settings.

Public information shows that the current Filecoin mining Machine prices range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. Although various mining machine manufacturers will promise to be able to continuously and efficiently mine a high proportion of FIL in the entire network, industry insiders bluntly say that only 10%-20% of the top manufacturers can cash in. Some manufacturers are using the popularity of Filecoin to defraud. The "Snail Interstellar" incident with a total amount of 2 billion yuan involved is a typical example.

This actually means that ordinary investment If investors participate in Filecoin mining by purchasing physical mining machines, they will face a lot of challenges. One is that they do not have enough understanding of the operating mechanism of Filecoin. , Second, due to the opacity of the market, it is easy to fall into the trap set by criminals. In addition, due to the existence of many large miners, it is difficult for small miners to get a share of it.

If ordinary investors still want to buy For Filecoin mining machines, it is recommended to earnestly study IPFS/Filecoin related knowledge, and at the same time consult professionals with relevant experience to select mining machine manufacturers with the highest effective computing power.

Method 2: Buy Filecoin cloud computing power

For ordinary investors, the price of Filecoin mining machines is high, and the risks are not easy to control. In addition, Filecoin has high requirements for miners. It is not only required that the machine cannot be powered off or disconnected, but also has certain requirements for technical operation and maintenance, which actually shuts out these investors.

Many mining machine manufacturers do this Launched cloud computing power. Generally speaking, Filecoin cloud computing power mining has the advantages of building large-scale mining machine clusters, coordinating management of power supply, professional bandwidth, and mining machine operation and maintenance, which not only reduces the entry threshold for investors, but also disperses risks to a certain extent .

However, Filecoin has the largest cloud computing power The disadvantage is that it is opaque. Public reports show that this opacity is mainly reflected in two aspects:

(1) Effective computing power and currency production efficiency are not equal. The logic of FIL mining machine investment is to pursue the highest possible coin production efficiency under unit investment. Under this logic, the FIL output per T will be an important reference indicator for cloud computing power manufacturers, and the optimal solution of effective computing power is only a means, not a goal. If investors want to clearly judge the mining machine’s ability to generate blocks, they must know the amount of FIL dug out by a single T effective computing power, but this is actually a “black box”.

（2）Cloud computing power products Most of them require users to pay for the filling process of effective storage. If you buy 1T of cloud computing power, how to calculate the time of this 1T computing power will directly affect your investment income, and the difference is huge. If the seller is based on the effective storage of the mining machine to reach 1T, the miners may enjoy a higher mining rate of return, then the previous filling time is equivalent to doing a cold start.

In addition, investors After purchasing the so-called cloud computing power products, you have to deal with the risk of the platform running away. After all, such incidents are not uncommon.

To sum up, Filecoin Cloud Computing power products seem to lower the entry threshold for investors, but there are also many risks. It is recommended that investors seek benefits and avoid disadvantages to avoid unnecessary losses. If investors still want to participate, it is recommended to give priority to cooperation with leading cloud computing power platforms after comprehensive comparison.

Method 3: Invest in FIL futures

Although Filecoin officials have repeatedly stated that FIL will not be circulated on any trading platform before the mainnet goes live, investors are not recommended to invest in FIL futures. However, due to the high popularity of Filecoin, many trading platforms have launched FIL futures. At present, there are three main types of FIL futures launched on major trading platforms:

The first is that institutions or individuals holding the Filecoin SAFT agreement cooperate with trading platforms. These platforms may obtain FIL tokens through the SAFT agreement in the future and redeem them to investors.

The second is Cooperate with large miners to redeem platform users through FIL tokens expected to be mined in the future.

The third type belongs to For "air coins", the number of FIL futures sold by some platforms actually accounts for half of the total, while some platforms have not announced any information about the source of future payment of FIL futures. There are greater risks behind this.

Currently sold by major platforms The FIL futures of FIL cannot be circulated with each other, and can be regarded as internal currency issued by the platform itself. There are also large differences in prices. Some small platforms have insufficient trading depth, are easy to control, and have relatively high risks.

FIL futures prices vary greatly on different platforms. Source: BitUniverse

Investors also need to note that the FIL futures on the trading platform will be distributed linearly in equal proportions according to the block release rules. For example, FIL6 refers to the main After the online launch, the SAFT share will be distributed linearly for 6 months, and it is still unknown whether the platform can pay in time. The Filecoin mainnet will be launched soon, and there will be spot circulation in the market, so it is not recommended to buy FIL futures, especially those futures products on small platforms.

Method 4: Invest in FIL contract products

The attention to Filecoin at the trading platform level is not limited to futures, not Few platforms have launched various contract products.

in the head trading platform , as early as July this year, OKEx announced the launch of the FIL/USDT perpetual contract with a leverage of 0.01-10. It is reported that OKEx’s FIL/USDT index is designed according to the weight of Gate, Poloniex and OKEx each accounting for 33%. After the mainnet is launched, the FIL/USDT index will be gradually replaced by a trading platform that has opened FIL spot trading and has better circulation.

before OKEx , the second-tier trading platform Gate and some third- and fourth-tier trading platforms have also launched FIL contract products, providing investors with more trading options.

However, it should be noted that , like other contract products, investors can increase leverage while purchasing FIL contracts, which amplifies risks while amplifying benefits. It is foreseeable that before and after the launch of the Filecoin mainnet, contract prices will also experience huge fluctuations under the long-short game, so investors are advised to use leverage with caution.

Method 5: Invest in FIL spot

As the launch of the Filecoin mainnet approaches, leading trading platforms including OKEx have shifted their attention to the spot market.

October 10, OKEx announced FIL transactions will be launched as soon as the Filecoin mainnet is launched, and recharge and coin withdrawal services will be opened. In addition, OKEx also launched the storage project token display area. The first batch of tokens entering the display area include BTT, SC, STORJ, LAMB, GNX, CVT and other projects.

followed by the other two Third-tier trading platforms have also followed suit. It has become the biggest consensus at the trading platform level to open the FIL spot market as soon as the Filecoin mainnet goes live.

For ordinary investors, If you choose the first four methods of participation, you will either have high barriers to entry or face relatively high risks, and the risk of investing in spot stocks is relatively small. Probability starts, but any unexpected situation may occur until the last moment.

If the Filecoin mainnet goes online on time, It is recommended that investors give priority to trading on the top platform. After all, the depth of the small trading platform is poor, and there are risks such as malicious control of the market and failure to withdraw cash.