Overview
What is Internet Computer (ICP)?
The Internet Computer (ICP) is a project built by the DFINITY Foundation that aims at creating a decentralized blockchain infrastructure for a new type of Internet. The ICP developers define the network as a “world computer” with a fully on-chain web-3 platform and affordable data storage service accessible to anyone.
The ICP strives to replace not just the application layer but the whole internet infrastructure. Initially, the concept of the “world computer” was introduced by Ethereum. The Internet Computer is taking the idea further but not as a competitor to Ethereum but rather as “Ethereum’s crazy sister.” Some claim that the ICP is “the fastest blockchain” and “infinitely scalable” due to its architecture. The latter implies that an increased number of nodes doesn’t influence the throughput of the network.
The ICP’s nodes run on specialized hardware housed by various independent data centers. The platform lets developers deploy and run applications through the use of canisters, which are akin to smart contracts.
The ICP network features two core tokens: ICP and Cycles. ICP is the network’s governance token, while Cycles (created from ICP coins) are tokens with a near-constant value that allows users to pay for computational resources and network transactions.
A brief history of ICP
The main contributor to the ICP deployment is DFINITY Foundation which was founded by computer scientist Dominic Williams in October 2016. In February 2017, the project held its first crowdsale, raising 3.9 million Swiss francs ($4.1 million). A year later, ICP held a private token sale for accredited investors, raising $102 million. Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain Capital led the funding round.
Initially, the ICP was planned to be released in the first quarter of 2019. However, in December 2018, project representatives said that releasing a “cut-down version” could slow down the progress of creating a full-fledged product, and postponed the launch. After that, the ICP experienced several phases before the mainnet launch:
Copper (Q4 2019): At this stage, the alpha version of the software development kit (SDK) was launched and the technical documentation of the Motoko smart contract language was published.
Bronze (Q1 2020): The ICP became a platform capable of desktop web application development.
Tungsten (Q2 2020): The ICP became open to third-party developers. Mobile development capabilities were introduced as well.
Sodium (Q4 2020): DFINITY launched a protocol management system called Network Nervous System (NNS) that hosts and governs all subnets within the network. Sodium also introduced the concept of “cycles” and a system of “neurons” that support governance and staking via ICP coin.
Mercury (Q1-Q2 2021): The project launched the alpha version of the mainnet. The genesis block of the Mercury network was launched on May 7th.
After the mainnet launch, NNS started issuing ICP utility tokens. The ICP was listed on numerous crypto exchanges and rapidly entered the top seven crypto assets by market capitalization.
In September 2021, DFINITY Foundation announced the beginning of work on “direct integration of the Internet Computer with the Bitcoin blockchain.”
The first phase of the integration was finished in January 2022, providing the ability to generate threshold ECDSA signatures used for bitcoin transactions.
In August 2022, DFINITY Foundation finished the second phase, launching the BTC<>ICP testnet. The final third phase is dedicated to BTC<>ICP full integration.
In addition to bitcoin integration, ICP developers introduced HTTP outcalls for the network’s smart contracts in September 2022. This feature allows the ICP network to directly interact with off-chain data sources without using oracles.
