Building on Protocol Labs: Our Technology Stack Explained
An overview of how Ekayana leverages IPFS, Filecoin, libp2p, and other Protocol Labs technologies for robust research infrastructure.
Suraj Kumar
November 15, 2025
9 min read
The Protocol Labs Ecosystem
Ekayana is built on the robust foundation of Protocol Labs technologies. This post explains how each component contributes to our research data infrastructure.
IPFS: Content-Addressed Storage
At the core of Ekayana is IPFS (InterPlanetary File System), which provides:
Content addressing: Every file is identified by its cryptographic hash
Deduplication: Identical content is stored only once
Distributed storage: Data is replicated across multiple nodes
Tamper evidence: Any modification changes the content identifier
typescript
// Upload to IPFS via Ekayana
const result = await client.content.upload(file);
console.log('CID:', result.cid);
// CID: bafybeigdyrzt5sfp7udm7hu76uh7y26nf3efuylqabf3oclgtqy55fbzdi
Filecoin: Verifiable Long-Term Storage
While IPFS provides the addressing and distribution layer, Filecoin ensures long-term persistence:
Cryptographic proofs: Storage providers prove they're storing your data
Economic incentives: Providers are paid to maintain data availability
Redundancy: Multiple copies across independent providers
libp2p: Peer-to-Peer Networking
libp2p powers the networking layer:
NAT traversal: Connect peers behind firewalls
Multiple transports: TCP, WebSockets, WebRTC
Encrypted connections: All traffic is encrypted by default
Peer discovery: Find and connect to relevant nodes
UCAN: Decentralized Authorization
User Controlled Authorization Networks enable:
Offline verification: No server needed to check permissions
Delegation chains: Pass permissions without central authority