The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a protocol and peer-to-peer network for storing and sharing data in a distributed file system. IPFS uses content-addressing to uniquely identify each file in a global namespace connecting all computing devices，IPFS was created by Juan Benet, who later founded Protocol Labs in May 2014. According to its website and that of the World Economic Forum, Protocol Labs is "an open-source research, development, and deployment laboratory for blockchain technology" that "creates software systems that tackle significant challenges" and whose goal is to "make human existence orders of magnitude better through technology."