Filecoin recently announced the completion of its Watermelon Upgrade (nv21) through an official Filecoin X/Twitter account. The tweet highlighted that nv21 (network version 21) would bring FVM enhancements, protocol improvements, and new features aimed at streamlining SP operations.

Two significant changes that will enhance data onboarding on the platform include increasing the maximum sector commitment to 3.5 years and introducing Synthetic PoReps. Proposal FIP-0052 detailed Filecoin's plan to extend the maximum sector commitment from 1.5 years to 3.5 years, which previously hindered SPs from making long-term commitments despite high demand. This enhancement is expected to improve storage capacity, reduce costs for clients, and potentially boost net demand.

Proposal FIP-0059 introduced Synthetic PoRep (proof-of-replication) to Filecoin, streamlining the PoRep protocol by reducing the temporarily stored data size from 400 GiB to 25 GiB without compromising protocol security. This adjustment is anticipated to increase sealing throughput by 25%, leading to cost savings during CC sector sealing.

While Filecoin (FIL) has maintained a trading price of $4.70 without significant improvement, traders are optimistic that the new upgrade will positively impact the coin's price, despite its recent 4% decline over the past month.