Pinata

Pinata is a cloud-based pinning service that allows users to host files on the IPFS network. The Pinning Services API spec is a standardized specification for developers building on top of IPFS that allows an application to integrate a pinning service without needing to learn that pinning service's unique API.

Although it uses similar architectural elements like Merkle Trees, IPFS is not built on Blockchain but rather is designed to work together with existing Blockchain protocols.

For those who need greater speed or increased rate limits when retrieving content, Pinata lets users on any of their paid plans create dedicated gateways.