Newsletter Roundup (tl;dr):

• Community updates
• Product updates
• Working group project updates
• Grants and partnerships updates

Welcome to the NFT.Storage Community Update

• Published fortnightly
• Archive of previous editions available on the blog
• Notifications of new opportunities to get engage
• We welcome your feedback to improve our updates

Community updates

Celebrating Innovation and Collaboration

On 4 April, as New York City thrummed with the buzz of NFT.NYC, NFT.Storage marked a significant milestone with an iconic event at the Museum of Modern Art PS1. This event not only commemorated our journey but also showcased the launch of a new version of our platform alongside the official NFT.Storage DAO, fostering greater community involvement and commitment to sustainable NFT preservation. Prominent discussions were led by Jesse Damiani, featuring industry leaders such as Jake Loo from thirdweb and artist Maya Man. The event was co-hosted with IPFS and supported by various partners including Protocol Labs and the Filecoin Foundation, highlighting our collaborative efforts.

Read more about this landmark event and its impact on our blog: Celebrating Innovation and Community at NFT.Storage's Landmark Event.

The official launch of the NFT.Storage Community Initiative

On 4 April, we officially introduced the NFT.Storage DAO as a pivotal step to empower the community to directly influence the future of NFT preservation. Membership offers exclusive access to discussions, the ability to shape the platform’s strategic direction, and enhanced visibility for your projects within the NFT ecosystem. 

Prior to the launch, the Build and Fund working groups have already been active for six months, involving CTOs, Co-founders, and product leaders from leading companies in the ecosystem, driving forward our development and funding efforts.

By joining the NFT.Storage community, you become an essential part of a movement aimed at ensuring the long-term preservation and accessibility of NFTs. We invite you to learn more and become a member today to support and participate in this vital initiative. For more information and to join, please visit: https://nft.storage/dao

Planning Our First Community Call

We are in the process of organizing our first community call for NFT.Storage and would love for you to join us! This call will be an excellent opportunity to discuss, learn more about NFT.Storage, the community, and express your thoughts on the future of the platform. To ensure we accommodate as many time zones as possible, please let us know your availability. Your input is invaluable, and we're eager to hear your voice in shaping the direction of NFT.Storage. Stay tuned for more details!

‍

Google Web3 Developer Roadshow Participation

We're thrilled to announce our participation in the Google Web3 Developer Roadshow in Sydney on 1 May. This event promises an immersive ETHGlobal boot camp experience with hands-on workshops. Join us alongside amazing partners like Immutable, Polygon Labs, Chainlink, Dltx labs, Lilypad Tech, Blockchain Australia, and of course, yours truly, NFT.Storage! This is a great opportunity to dive deeper into the Web3 space and engage with other developers and industry leaders. If you’ll be in Sydney secure your spot now at [Google Web3 Developer Roadshow]( https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/web3roadshowsydney2024/

Product updates

NFT.Storage Enhancements and Future Directions

We are excited to introduce the new version of NFT.Storage, which implements a low one-time fee for endowment-backed long-term storage. This move is part of our transition towards a more decentralized storage solution focused on the preservation of NFTs. The new platform will require creating a new account to access enhanced services. Check is out today: https://app.nft.storage/login

Note that data uploaded to the new version of NFT.Storage is not made available through the NFT.Storage Gateway. The Gateway is specific to data uploaded to NFT.Storage Classic.

‍

NFT.Storage Classic: Transition to a New NFT.Storage Platform

As NFT.Storage evolves, we're committed to update our community about significant changes and improvements in our service offerings. NFT.Storage Classic, launched in April 2021, has been a cornerstone in providing free, decentralized storage for off-chain NFT data across IPFS and the Filecoin network. This service has abstracted the complexities of decentralized storage, offering a seamless experience for creators by ensuring the long-term integrity and accessibility of NFTs.

To better align with our community's needs and ensure the sustainability of our model, we will continue to support existing uploads on NFT.Storage Classic until June 30, 2024. However, no new uploads will be accepted after this date, and we will cease new account registrations for the NFT.Storage Classic web app, API, SDK, NFTUp and the Pinning API. Existing account holders can continue to upload data until the cutoff date and access their stored data via the NFT.Storage Gateway. 

‍

Maintaining the NFT.Storage Gateway

The NFT.Storage Gateway is designed to improve the performance and reliability of accessing off-chain NFT data assets that use the Classic Uploader and Pinning API. It enables NFT creators and marketplaces to use the gateway for efficient data access by using NFT.Storage Gateway-specific URLs that facilitate direct retrieval of the NFT content.

Related to the NFT.Storage Classic changes, all NFT data you’ve already uploaded and will upload before 30 June 2024 to NFT.Storage Classic will continue to be safely stored and accessible via IPFS and in the Filecoin Network's long-term storage, though over time latency and availability may degrade.

Projects

Grow Working Group Update

The Grow working group has been busy this month with several key projects aimed at enhancing our platform and community engagement:

1. Website Launch: On April 4th, we launched a new website focused on the latest version of NFT.Storage and highlighting opportunities to join the community DAO. While the original website has transitioned to classic.nft.storage, we are planning to roll out additional content and features on the new site. These enhancements include areas to highlight supporters and DAO community members, a dedicated media page, a comprehensive media kit, and the migration of the original blog to the new site.
2. Community Building and DAO Membership: We are actively working to expand our community and increase DAO membership. Our goals include initiating regular community calls and inviting four new members to each of our working groups: Build, Grow, Fund, and Govern. These efforts are crucial as we strive to foster a more engaged and collaborative community.

Govern Working Group Focus

The Govern working group is dedicated to refining how we communicate the value of DAO membership and ensuring that our membership options align with community values:

1. Membership Communication: We are iterating on our strategies to more effectively convey the benefits of joining the NFT.Storage DAO, ensuring that our offerings meet the expectations and needs of our community.
2. Platform Transition: To optimize operational costs, we are transitioning our DAO communication platform from Slack to Discord. This move is expected to foster more dynamic and accessible discussions among DAO members.

Build Working Group Developments

The Build working group is making significant strides in product development and strategic partnerships:

1. On-chain Endowment Design: This week, we initiated the design phase for our on-chain endowment, beginning with a story mapping workshop that brought together our development team to outline the project's vision and slice 1.
2. Strategic Partnerships with L1s: Discussions are underway with prominent Layer 1 blockchains to integrate NFT.Storage as a foundational primitive in their ecosystems. These partnerships are aimed at embedding our storage solutions deeply within blockchain infrastructures, enhancing the functionality and reach of NFT.Storage.

Join Our Efforts

If any of these projects pique your interest, we encourage you to join the NFT.Storage DAO. By becoming a member, you can actively participate in these initiatives and contribute to the future of NFT preservation and innovation. Join us in shaping a sustainable digital heritage — become a DAO member today.

‍

By the numbers

• Number of Users: 165,000 NFT.Storage Classic accounts, and 2017 NFT.Storage accounts
• Volume of Data: Over the six-month period, we handled over 15 million new uploads, accounting for 50 TiB of data to NFT.Storage Classic. Data uploads for NFT.Storage will be included in future newsletters 
• Data available through the NFT.Storage Gateway: 137.6 million uploads and 660TB of data retrievable through the NFT.Storage Gateway.
  
  

Ecosystem

Grant Achievements and Funding Milestones

April has been a significant month for NFT.Storage with substantial funding and grant achievements:

• PL Filecoin Blue Fund Grant: We are pleased to announce a grant of $250,000 from the PL Filecoin Blue Fund this April. This funding will support the ongoing development and expansion of our storage solutions and community initiatives.
• Revenue Generation: In addition to grant funding, we generated $2,272 in revenue this April from storage purchased from the new version of NFT.Storage and DAO membership fees, demonstrating the growing value and sustainability of our platform.

Participation in Funding Programs

• FIL RPGF Invitation: We have been invited to participate in the FIL Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RPGF) program. You can view our application and the details of our proposed contributions to the Filecoin ecosystem here.
• Gitcoin Grants Application: We are also applying for a Gitcoin Grant, aiming to further integrate our solutions within the Ethereum ecosystem. Below are key excerpts from our application where we highlight how NFT.Storage contributes to and elevates the Ethereum network:
  • Infrastructure Contribution: "NFT.Storage enhances Ethereum's ecosystem by providing open source, long-term storage for off-chain NFT data like metadata and images. By ensuring the data is content-addressed and decentrally stored on the Filecoin Network, our service addresses critical gaps in data integrity and accessibility."
  • Ecosystem Enhancement: "NFT.Storage will elevate the Ethereum ecosystem by integrating NFT.Storage solutions with Ethereum, L2s, and L3s as a primitive. This deep integration ensures off-chain NFT data is securely and verifiably preserved on the Filecoin network, improving interoperability, user experience, and fostering broader adoption and sustainable preservation of digital assets."

These initiatives demonstrate our commitment to not only enhancing our platform but also contributing to the broader blockchain ecosystem. We appreciate the ongoing support from our community and funding partners, which enables us to continue advancing our mission. Stay tuned for more updates on our projects and how you can get involved in supporting our growth and sustainability.

‍