Numerous projects are exploring the use of blockchain technology in regards to uploading and sharing data. Finding the right balance is rather difficult, and the competition will continue to heat up. Upfiring is one of the options worth looking into, as this dApp is slowly beginning to hit its stride.

Upfiring in a Nutshell

Making the uploading and sharing of data more efficient and decentralized requires the use of innovative technologies. In the case of Upfiring, its objective is to use blockchain technology to let users upload files through a convenient interface. It is expected that this application will be released for Windows, MacOS, and Linux in the coming weeks. Competing with existing Torrent protocols will be difficult, but having more options is always beneficial.

How Does it Work?

There are many aspects to the Upfiring dApp. Users have the option to share their own files and convert them to the native Upfiring file format. These files are encrypted to offer users complete privacy at all times. Accessing the files externally is impossible, as data needs to be downloaded and decrypted using the native Upfiring client. It is also possible for users to “seed” files by not decrypting them.

By seeding a file, users can earn a portion of the 20 UFR token reward every time the file is downloaded and decrypted by others. Through this incentive, users are given an extra reason to help share files across the ecosystem, although it remains to be seen if that will be sufficient to spur additional interest in this dApp. There are other convenient solutions out there with similar goals, after all.

Sharing uploaded files can be done in traditional ways. Users looking to download specific files can do so through the dApp, and may become a seeder for the file if they so choose. It is impossible to decrypt files without paying the 20 UFR fee, though, which may be a limiting factor for the Upfiring ecosystem as a whole.

The UFR Token

As mentioned above, the Upfiring dApp has a native token, referred to as UFR. This token is primarily used to decrypt files uploaded by others, and also serves as an incentive for network participants to help seed and share files. Paying to access files which can be shared for free through other protocols may not necessarily work out all that well, although it remains to be seen how Upfiring will fare in this regard.

The Road Ahead

With the Upfiring application nearing release, it will be interesting to see how consumers respond to this new solution. It certainly has a lot of potential in terms of sharing information in a private and secure way. However, it seems unlikely that Upfiring will displace the Torrent protocol anytime soon. That being said, competition in peer-to-peer file sharing is always beneficial.

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