Filecoin’s FIL Token Jumps More Than 30%, Sparking Interest in Virtual Machine Launch

Filecoin token FIL rose sharply on Friday, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The jump fueled social media excitement about the blockchain’s March launch of its Filecoin Virtual Machine (FVM), a software platform that will introduce smart contracts and enable developers to design decentralized applications on the Filecoin network.

The coin’s price jumped from $5.38 at 10:00 UTC to a high of $7.82 at around 5 p.m. ET (22:00 UTC). FIL was trading at $7.35 at the time of publication, up 36.7%.

It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the rally.

Twitter user Colin Wu, who tweets under the name Wu Blockchain, generated buzz on the subject by sharing news of the pump along with information about the network’s upcoming smart contracts launch to his more than 250,000 followers.

FVM’s addition to Filecoin will render the network a full-fledged layer 1 blockchain.

The network announced FVM’s launch in September at the FIL Singapore conference, promising the software platform would support an array of user programmable applications such as perpetual storage, storage replication and repair automation and liquid staking through block rewards. The platform also has the capability to support the creation of data-centric decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO), which would facilitate pay-per-view transactions and the creation of Web3 games, among other applications.

FVM will be interoperable with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing Filecoin to form cross-chain bridges enabling crypto funds to move from one blockchain network to another. Its compatibility with EVM and layer 2 blockchains will also decrease user gas fees and increase transaction speed, which Filecoin hopes will bolster its adoption by the decentralized finance (DeFi) community.

DeFi projects, including the development of layer 1 blockchain protocols, have garnered a strong following in the wake of a host of major cryptocurrency firm collapses that have shaken investors’ faith in centralized exchanges.

CORRECTION (Feb. 18, 2023 15:34 UTC): The FIL price jumped between 10:00 UTC, not 05:00 UTC, and 5 p.m. Eastern time.