Debuted as the third major blockchain innovation, Internet Computer with ICP coin is here to revolutionize the way we interact with the internet. It aims to free the internet by taking back control from the established tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Apple and hand it over to the users.
Internet that is capable of running infinite dapps with complete privacy control without being controlled by a centralized authority. Can ICP deliver on its promise or is it just another company that wishes to take control of the internet? Read the complete details and decide for yourself –
What is Internet Computer (ICP)?
The Internet Computer is the third generation decentralized blockchain network that supports smart contract computations and dapps creation at unbounded capacity. It stores and processes data efficiently and provides the framework for software creators at lightning-fast web speed.
Internet Computer (ICP) was launched by DFINITY, a swiss based foundation founded in 2016 by Dominic Williams. It deals in cryptography and has a strong team of developers across the globe. It has a mission to free the internet and turn it completely decentralized by taking control out of the hands of top tech giants like Google, Amazon & Microsoft (part of its 20 years vision).
Motoko is the primary language of Internet Computer blockchain
What is DFINITY Foundation?
DFINITY Foundation is a not for profit organization that looks after and support Internet Computer blockchain (similar to Stellar Development Foundation of Stellar Lumens XLM). It was founded in the year 2016 by Dominic Williams in Zurich, Switzerland. With a total staff of 200 ace developers, researchers and operators, DFINITY has a core purpose to develop, maintain and promote Internet computer.
The foundation has raised multiple funding rounds, a total of over $200 million to support internet computer (ICP).
@dominic_w talks about the power of the world computer – the #InternetComputer at the @dfinity office opening in #Zurich pic.twitter.com/cpoDjlNlE4
— DFINITY (@dfinity) September 15, 2022
Helium Crypto is another blockchain project working toward building a Decentralized Wireless Network (DWN).
What is ICP coin?
Launched in May 2021, the ICP coin or token is the native currency of Internet Computer blockchain. With an initial supply of 470 million tokens, ICP has 3 major key purposes:
- Governance
- Gas Fee
- Network Rewards
Governance:
Just like Uniswap Exchange UNI token, ICP is used for voting on various proposals planned for the network. A user holding ICP token has the right to vote for or against any changes that are set to be implemented on the network. Hence maintaining system governance.
Gas Fee:
Gas fee or Canister fee is a form of payment made by developers or app creators to run the apps or websites on the Internet Computer blockchain. The payment has to be made in order to keep running the applications on the network. ICP tokens are converted into cycles to pay for the canister fee (Something I will cover later in the post).
Unlike blockchains like Ethereum or Cardano, users do not pay the gas fee just to interact with the platform.
Network Rewards:
Internet Computer rewards ICP token holders for participating in governance and it also rewards data centres for providing computation services for running the Internet Computer blockchain.
The ICP tokens are locked in the NNS (Network nervous system) to vote for proposals for a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 8 years. A longer locking period will have a higher influence on voting.
Internet Computer (ICP) Ecosystem:
Here’s the list of important components of the ICP ecosystem-
Network Nervous System (NNS):
Call it the brain of the Internet Computer. Network Nervous System is an independent autonomous software that manages the entire network. It is an integral part of protocols that are used to build the blockchain with multiple use cases.
It is used to facilitate governance by putting proposals up for voting. It continuously tests the network capacity and creates new subnets as per the requirement. Moreover, it plays a major role in defining cost. NNS controls how many cycles (network payment) are required for the type of computations ranging from low to high level.
Subnet:
Subnet or sub-network is created when Network Nervous System (NNS) combine nodes of different data centers into the ICP blockchain. Subnets are created primarily to increase the network capacity which helps the blockchain to run unbounded without limitation in storage or processing power.
The network has unique “Chain Keys“, a special cryptography feature developed by DFINITY to help Subnets communicate with each other.
Avalanche Crypto blockchain (AVAX) deploys subnet to achieve faster consensus
Cycles:
Cycles reflect the cost an operator has to pay to run the applications on the blockchain. The cost is paid by converting ICP tokens into cycles, the value is determined by pegging it against STR (IMF reserve currency) which is fairly stable currency like stablecoins.
By doing so, a user will never have to pay any fee while interacting with the platform. He will only be charged when a transaction has been made on his behalf on the network.
Neuron:
Just like you have a fixed deposit account in a bank where you lock your money for a fixed period of time and watch it grow as per the interest rate. Neuron is a system that stakes your coins on the network for governance and rewards you every time a voting proposal is completed.
Motoko:
Motoko is the programming language of Internet Computer (ICP). It is created to be fast and efficient. Basically, reduce the usage of resources and cut down the development time.
Famous social media app Tik Tok uses approx. 15 million lines of code to run its app while a similar app designed using Motoko was completed in approx. 1000 lines of codes. The app name was CanCan.
Canister:
The team of Internet Computer has released an SDK (Software Development Kit) called Canister, specially created for developers to ease the process of app creation and services on the blockchain. It has become an important part of the network ecosystem by encouraging faster onboarding of new apps on the platform.
How does ICP work?
Explaining from a user perspective, a user has to create an internet identity anchor/account on the ICP network by visiting Internet Identity from his device. Once access is granted, he can enter the system and interact with the apps available on the network.
Users will never be charged for interacting with the network. He will only be charged depending upon the apps that involve fees like DeFi apps etc. It’s like accessing this website on the internet, you’re not charged to read this article but you will be charged a small transaction fee when you support the website through donation.
Same device is used to verify and grant access to multiple devices
ICP Coin ICO:
ICP never had a public ICO instead it had several rounds of fundraising that started with crowdfunding back in 2017 raising $4 million worth in BTC and ETH. This was followed by private fundraising events at around $0.036 per token raising a total of over $150 million dollars.
ICP also airdropped 147 tokens per user who have signed up for DFINITY newsletter back in September 2020.
ICP doesn’t have a maximum supply limit
Internet Computer (ICP) Benefits:
Decentralized Internet:
ICP is working towards making the internet completely decentralized by taking back control from the tech giants. This is a revolutionary idea of creating a free internet without any controlling authority. Parler App is the latest victim of centralized internet.
Like the #internetComputer itself, Internet Identity is updated via voting on the NNS Frontend dapp.
— DFINITY (@dfinity) August 23, 2022
Proposal 76936 is the latest proposal to upgrade the code. Check out proposal and vote 🗳.https://t.co/vT3nBaiYzW
Better Privacy:
An internet that runs on blockchain guarantees privacy by default. User accessing the network doesn’t have to worry about identity theft. A unique identity anchor is generated at the time of accessing the system which doesn’t require personal details of the user.
Gas Free Access:
ICP is the only blockchain that doesn’t charge gas fee at the time of interacting with the network. Users can browse the websites and access dapps on the network, totally free of cost.
Internet Computer (ICP) Drawbacks:
Virtually Centralized Network:
ICP runs on NNS (Network Nervous System) which is also the brain of the network. DFINITY foundation has control over NNS which eventually gives it a commanding voting power. This makes it a centralized authority more or less like the current tech giants controlling the internet.
Nascent Development:
The ICP ecosystem is in the development stage. There’re not enough developers on the network creating dapps on the network. A lot of groundwork still needs to be done to bring users on the network.
Limited Data Centers:
At the time of writing this post, Internet Computer is supported by 48 independent data centres running 1300 nodes. Compared to popular blockchains like Ethereum, its infrastructure needs to be expanded to accommodate better performance.
ICP Coin Price:
Please check the latest ICP price, shared below –
ICP Coin Price Prediction:
ICP is one of the hottest coins that debuted in 2021 amid the hype of trending coins like SHIBA INU and Solana SOL coin. The price action was strong enough to attract investors’ attention, reaching an all-time high of over $700, marking its entry into the list of top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap within days of listing on popular crypto exchanges.
However, the euphoria didn’t last long, the coin fell from grace and hit rock bottom to the price level of below $50. The fall has eroded investors’ beliefs and questioned the technical use case of the whole project.
This seems to have little to no effect on DIFINITY team. They are up and pushing the project to attain the vision, founder has in mind. Frankly speaking, this has extremely high volatility that makes it difficult to predict the future price action.
In the best-case scenario, it will regain the previous high but that looks nearly impossible at the time of writing this post. On the flip side, there are high chances for the price to drop beyond $30 considering the current bearish market. Watch the video on ICP Coin for the next bull price prediction.
Filecoin can be an alternate investment option
Watch the Complete video on ICP Coin –
How to Buy ICP coin?
ICP coin can be bought from popular exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. If you’re a new user on the platform, you need to register and create an account followed by KYC process. Once verified, you can load money and buy ICP token or any another digital asset available on the exchange.
If you’re an Indian user, you can create your account on WazirX Exchange and purchase ICP coin by depositing INR using banking services like netbanking or UPI.
Is ICP coin worth investing in?
ICP is one of those revolutionary projects that can forever change the landscape of the internet. It has a very strong use case with a clear vision of freeing the internet from centralization. Backed by strong team of developers, the project is also financially stable.
However, after going through the ecosystem, it’s not hard to say that the project is somewhat centralized that rests major control in the hands of DIFINITY foundation. This is quite contrary to a blockchain technology that was created around decentralization. On the other hand, ICP ecosystem needs to onboard lots of dapps to spark interest among users. Price action has already failed to bring the necessary attention but high volatility may help the coin to scale back into action.
If you like the project proposition, feel free to park the money you can afford to lose. Personally, I am neutral to negative on ICP given the current market response and its overall functionality. However, it’s the only project in its space with little to no competition like Ethereum of 2015, which makes it an interesting asset of this decade.
Checkout the ICP Coin Roadmap and make your investment decison
This completes my review of Internet Computer ICP coin. In the next post, I will talk about Algorand ALGO coin and Fantom FTM Coin. If you like the post, please share and educate your loved ones. Do remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more informative content, released every week.
DISCLAIMER:
Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile market. All the information shared in the post is for knowledge purpose only. By no means, it’s financial or investment advice. Readers are responsible for their own investment decisions and should only invest in cryptocurrency after proper research.
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Paras is a blockchain writer & video creator at Katoch Tubes. In his free time, he loves watching space exploration documentaries & Hollywood movies.