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What Is Internet Computer

Internet Computer (ICP) is a blockchain network founded by the DFINITY Foundation, a not-for-profit organization based in Zug, Switzerland, in 2016. The protocol has a mission to decentralize the Internet by allowing software to run on the Internet in a distributed manner, as opposed to using servers controlled by large companies like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. This makes it possible to develop applications that aren't owned, controlled, or censored by any entity, thereby rebuilding popular internet services like social media applications (LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.) in an open, decentralized manner.

Internet Computer plans to have the protocol running on millions of computers worldwide. DFINITY claims that its Internet Computer is highly scalable and runs at web speed, with some functions taking only milliseconds. The network is controlled by the Network Nervous System (NNS), an open autonomous algorithmic software system.

ICP, Internet Computer’s native token, plays a central role in the protocol. ICP is used to pay for computational and storage services, compensate nodes that perform computations, and reward participants for their contribution to the ecosystem. The token can be transformed into cycles to fuel computation executed by canisters.

ICP holders can stake their coins to get voting rewards for participation in the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that controls the network and node provider rewards for operating the nodes hosting the network. The platform mints new ICP tokens to offer rewards and incentives to investors supporting the network.

Internet Computer Founders

Internet Computer was founded in 2016 by Dominic Williams, a computer scientist with over 20 years of experience. Previously, he founded a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game "Fight My Monster." Williams used his own distributed systems that hosted millions of users.

Initially, the Internet Computer was known as DFINITY, while the protocol was the infrastructure upon which the ecosystem operated.

DFINITY drew significant attention from early members of the Ethereum community and received substantial financial contributions. In 2018, DFINITY raised around $102 M from venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, SV Angel, etc. In 2018, DFINITY held a token airdrop, distributing ICP tokens to over 50,000 registered participants.

In May 2021, DFINITY released its Mercury mainnet. With the event, the network became publicly available, Internet Computer's source code went live in the public domain, and ICP tokens got listed on popular crypto exchanges. ICP was ranked in the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap after the public launch.

Internet Computer Tokenomics

ICP has no fixed max supply. The protocol creates new tokens to reward community members participating in governance and node providers adding compute and storage capacity to the network.

Internet Computer issues new tokens based on deflationary and inflationary pressures. Deflationary pressure depends on the ecosystem activity, while inflationary pressure is based on rewards for nodes and voting.

The initial supply of ICP was 469,213,710 tokens. 9.5% of the supply was distributed to early participants, 24.72% - to seed donators, 7% was distributed through presale, 18% went to team members, 23.86% - to DFINITY Foundation, 7% was allocated for strategic reasons, 3.79% - to strategic partnerships, 4.26% - to the Internet Computer Association, and 2.4% - to advisors and other third-party token holders. The rest of the supply was allocated to the community airdrop, initial community and developer grants, and node operators.

As of September 23, 2022, the total supply of ICP tokens is 488,508,776. It has a market cap of over $1.5 billion and a circulating supply of 261,901,991.20 tokens. The Internet Computer price is volatile and depends on various conditions such as supply and demand, market trends, protocol updates, etc. ICP price is 99% down from its all-time high of $750 on May 10, 2021, the public launch date.

How Does Internet Computer Work

The Internet Computer protocol is controlled by independent data centers around the world, which allow the software to operate in a distributed way without any fixed physical address, in contrast to servers controlled by big tech companies. It aims to rebuild popular internet services in an open way and enable users to build, host, and serve decentralized applications that are not owned, controlled, or censored by any single entity. Web3 DApps on the Internet Computer run on censorship-resistant infrastructure and are as user-friendly and efficient as popular Web2 apps.

Internet Computer network comprises 4 building blocks organized in hierarchical order. The independent, global data centers that host network nodes are at the base. Internet Computer nodes must satisfy a minimum standard of technical specifications, restraining every other computer or machine from running the node. The sovereign, censorship-resistant Internet Computer nodes operated around the globe leave the Internet Computer immune to shutdown by centralized parties and ensure the network's security and reliability.

The protocol uses subnets to make Internet Computer scalable and increase network capacity. Subnets are hosted by nodes and use the chain key technology for interacting with each other. The technology helps the protocol process the transactions that alter the state of smart contracts in a few seconds. Chain key technology splits up the smart contract functions into query calls and update calls to enhance the efficiency and speed of the ICP crypto network. By staking ICP tokens, nodes from each subnet can be chosen to produce new blocks. Developers use subnets to create applications on the Internet Computer blockchain.

The subnets host software "canisters," described as "smart contracts that scale." They have all the qualities of smart contracts along with new functionalities and more memory to store software and user data. The programs can interact with another canister to execute the smart contract code. Due to interoperability, canisters allow developers to build a wide range of services.

Software canisters use a mechanism called "cycles," like Ethereum’s gas, to power computations and manage memory. They are created from ICP tokens and have a near-constant value to ensure the computation's cost doesn't fluctuate. Cycles reflect DApps' operating costs like hardware, storage, bandwidth, and energy and get burned when used. Cycles can be transferred between canisters to enable them to pay for operations.

Motoko is the Internet Computer's programming language developed by the DFINITY Foundation. The Internet Computer also supports various software frameworks.

How Is Internet Computer Governed

The Internet Computer protocol is governed by the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) called the Network Nervous System (NNS). NNS controls, configures, and manages the network, including its structure and the token economy, and determines which data centers can host nodes. Moreover, it determines whether the network requires any canister management or software updates.

The Network Nervous System is an autonomous master blockchain that runs without a central authority and owns a public key that validates all ICP transactions. The NNS combines nodes to create new subnets and connect them to others based on demand. As a result, Internet Computer's partitioning into subnets allows the system to scale without limits.

Anyone can be a part of the NNS by staking ICP tokens into one or more voting neurons. Network participants can create a neuron and submit proposals. Once a proposal is submitted, the community votes, and the system implements the decision through algorithms. The NNS tracks the participation of the neuron and determines each user's share of the earnings.

ICP token holders can lock their tokens in neurons to participate in governance and gain voting rights. The holders can schedule their neurons to vote automatically on their behalf by analyzing other neurons trusted by them. The locked tokens aren't liquid and can't be freely transferred to others. Deposited ICP tokens can be withdrawn when neurons are dissolved. The dissolve delay option decides the minimum time left for dissolving the neuron. To participate in voting, neurons must set a dissolve delay fixed between six months to eight years. Internet Computer rewards users with ICP tokens for participating, and the voting power and the rewards increase as the neuron gets older.

Decisions in NNS come into effect due to a set of canisters (IC's smart contracts) for decision-making, such as the Governance canister and the Registry canister. The Governance canister stores proposals related to how the Internet Computer should be changed and neurons, which determine who is allowed to participate in governance. The Registry canister, on the other hand, stores the configuration of the entire Internet Computer.

Popular Internet Computer-Based Projects

The number of canister smart contracts deployed on the Internet Computer Network has been growing rapidly. Thousands of developers have been building on the protocol and launching DApps and Web3 services, including crypto wallets, infrastructure platforms, NFTs, social media DApps, games, metaverse platforms, DEXs, etc., most of them running on the blockchain. Some of the popular projects built on IC include:

• Plug Wallet - a browser extension that allows users to access their tokens and log into IC DApps.
• ORIGYN - an NFT marketplace providing digital verifications for physical objects. ORIGYN's Internet Computer-based NFTs include biometric data and provide unique ownership experiences to power brands, creators, artists, marketplaces, consumers, and industries with guaranteed certificates of authenticity.
• DSCVR - decentralized social platform, an alternative to Reddit.
• OpenChat - decentralized messaging app.
• Infinity Swap - an Automated Market Maker (AMM), which allows users to create, stake, and swap tokens on IC.
• Fleek - hosting solution for Web3, allowing developers to deploy websites on the Internet Computer in minutes.
• PokedStudio Bots - an NFT collection consisting of 10,000 unique bots.

To interact with DApps on the Internet Computer, users need Internet Identity (II), an authentication system, allowing users to sign in to IC DApps and browse websites anonymously and securely without holding tokens or getting a crypto wallet. By providing easy access to Web3, Internet Computer lowers the barrier of mass adoption, guaranteeing that user data isn't visible, tracked, or mined.

Internet Computer Roadmap

Internet Computer is considered one of the most promising blockchain ecosystems. IC president Dominic Williams announced the blockchain's 20-year roadmap in 2021, a few months before the mainnet launch. The Internet Computer's five-year goal includes everyone interested in tech learning about the protocol and understanding its nature and purpose. IC also believes that many entrepreneurs and developers will prefer Internet Computer building solutions over traditional IT. According to the protocol's vision, schools and universities will teach students about the protocol and its Motoko programming language.

In 10 years, Internet Computer will be widely recognized by the tech community and on its way to becoming the primary computing platform for developing systems and services. Also, they believe, at this time due to the rapid growth, DeFi will be as popular as the traditional financial industry.

In 20 years, the open Internet will be more significant than the traditional one controlled by Big Tech companies. The central part of information infrastructure, systems, and services will run on the open, unstoppable, and tamperproof Internet Computer blockchain network. The future Internet will be more innovative and dynamic and offer more collaboration opportunities, powering positive economic growth worldwide.

How to Buy Internet Computer

You can trade Internet Computer (ICP) on various cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, HitBTC, FTXFutures, DigiFinex, OKEX, Gate.io, Whitebit, LBank, KuCoin, etc.

To buy or sell Internet Computer tokens, you must choose an exchange and register an account on the platform.

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