Filecoin and OpSci Secure 500 TB of Brain Data Forever

• OpSci has archived over 500 TB of neuroimaging datasets using Filecoin, securing access to OpenNeuro, ABIDE, and NeuroVault permanently.
• Filecoin Plus enables researchers to store scientific data for free, as long as it meets open access and reproducibility standards.

When it comes to scientific research data, especially in the field of neuroimaging, one of the most troublesome things is long-term storage. Well, Filecoin and Open Science (OpSci) seem to understand that very well. Since last year, they have started storing various human brain datasets into Filecoin’s decentralized storage network.

The result? More than 500 terabytes (TB) of data have been successfully archived. Interestingly, the data they have secured is not just any data—some of it comes from major research projects such as OpenNeuro, ABIDE, and NeuroVault.

In 2023, OpSci began archiving neuroimaging datasets using Filecoin. More than 500TB of scientific data has been indexed, giving researchers permanent access to open datasets like OpenNeuro, ABIDE, and NeuroVault. pic.twitter.com/9wk3sKrYS8

— Filecoin (@Filecoin) July 1, 2025

In an era where much research relies on open access, this step feels like a lifeline. Filecoin is not just a digital warehouse, but also offers a guarantee that the data can still be accessed by anyone, anytime, without fear of being lost due to server failure or the provider platform being closed.

And what’s amazing is that all of this is done through the Filecoin Plus model, which provides free storage space for researchers, as long as their data passes the eligibility and openness verification.

Furthermore, the community involved in this project is growing rapidly. Currently, there are around 700 active contributors involved in it—and around 40% of them are active researchers. So it’s not just a technical team that takes care of the storage, but also people who really understand the content and value of the data. This collaborative style is indeed quite rare in the world of scientific data storage.

Filecoin Expansion Beyond Just Storage

Interestingly, this is not the only direction Filecoin has gone in the past year. On the other hand, CNF previously reported that a project called CryptoModels is also using Filecoin to permanently store AI models. Unlike regular models that are often lost due to central deletion, CryptoModels allows users to run models directly on their devices without having to worry about privacy or control from outside parties.

Not only that, Filecoin has also recently been increasingly used in sectors that are prone to the risk of data loss, such as healthcare and government agencies. Some time ago, we highlighted how DocumentCloud saves court archives and public agency documents on the Filecoin network. The goal is simple: to protect data from potential loss or blocking when the original source is taken down from the internet.

There’s more. Last week, Filecoin announced stores court archives and public agency documents. They can now store critical data like system logs and verified KYC records directly on the Filecoin network. This allows modular blockchain applications to run more efficiently because the execution and storage burdens can be separated.

Not Just a Blockchain, But a Science Infrastructure

While Filecoin used to be known only as a decentralized data storage solution, that image is now starting to shift. Filecoin is becoming a kind of backbone for science infrastructure and digital privacy. Their collaboration with OpSci proves that blockchain technology can have a real role beyond just transactions or price speculation.

Indeed, when it comes to price, at the time of writing this article, the value of Filecoin (FIL) is listed at $2.24, down slightly by around 0.68% in 24 hours and 1.46% in the last 7 days. But that number seems insignificant compared to what they are building: a durable, censorship-free global scientific data storage system.