What is Internet Computer?

ICP is a popular altcoin among sports fans. However, before you Trade ICP, it is vital that you understand what you are investing in.

Using recent developments in encryption, the Internet Computer blockchain implements a radical rethinking of blockchain design. It offers the first blockchain that can be used to construct practically any online system or service, including resource-intensive web social media, without depending on conventional information technology (IT) innovations like cloud computing services. For this reason, it can facilitate true decentralization across the spectrum.

The Internet Computer blockchain aims to implement World Computer protocols on the public internet. On the Internet Computer, programmers do not need to rely on centralized traditional IT to create decentralized online systems and services; they may do it totally on the blockchain.

Due to the Internet Computer being a blockchain, smart contract software is used to create decentralized online systems and services. The use of smart contracts in this setting can open up a whole new set of possibilities. Because smart contracts are immutable, like the Bitcoin ledger, systems and services may function without firewalls, addressing a growing need in business and society. Tokens may be processed by web3 services on the Internet Computer, which also opens up the possibility of new economic railroads. Combining social media with DeFi, web3 may create SocialFi, a completely tokenized social network.

The Internet Computer provides canister smart contract capability. These have the potential to perform a wide range of innovative tasks, such as serving users interactive web experiences via HTTP requests, generating transactions that run directly on other blockchains via Chain Key TX, scaling infinitely and running as efficiently as traditional IT, drastically lowering harmful CO2 emissions caused by blockchain, and one day, the entire technology ecosystem.

In the metaverse, developers may create services like DeFi, SocialFi, GameFi, and more with Web3. Using Chain Key TX, they can handle tokens from different blockchains without the need for bridges. They may use the Internet Computer to build the interactive web page, rather than relying on centralized traditional IT like cloud computing services, therefore achieving full decentralization of systems like DeFi on Ethereum.

Smart contracts in canisters on the Internet Computer use a reverse gas mechanism to cover the cost of their own computing. Consequently, web3 users are able to initiate sessions with services, allowing for the submission of several blockchain transactions, such as the transmission of numerous chat messages, without further intervention from the user.

The Internet Computer is compatible with Internet Identity, a novel blockchain authentication mechanism. This paves the way for customers to login into online services with the fingerprint sensor on their laptop or Face ID on their phone, in addition to more conventional devices like a Ledger wallet, which can be used to store encrypted passwords.

Since web3 services may be built fully on the blockchain, their configuration and upkeep can be done by community DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations). Users can become co-owners and contributors to online services.

The network's primary nervous system is an upgraded distributed autonomous organization (DAO) constructed within the Internet's protocols. These frequent updates to the replica (or client) software running on the specialized node machines that host the blockchain are what fuel the rapid network evolution.

How does Internet Computer work?

The internet, which today links practically everyone and everything, is powered by a system of specialized devices known as routers. While WiFi routers are commonplace in households, international connections require far more sophisticated and costly hardware. The blockchain in the Internet Computer operates on a distributed network of specialized computers called node machines, which may be constructed to a wide range of specifications.

Most Proof-of-Stake blockchains in use today have their data stored on validator nodes, which are often virtual machines (VMs) operating in the cloud. Hosting the Internet Computer in this manner is impossible. This system relies only on a decentralized network of specialized node machines hosted in private data centers by unaffiliated node providers.

The name of the token comes from the fact that the computers that make up the network's nodes communicate with one another using a language called Internet Computer Protocol (ICP). Proof-of-Useful-Work is the ideal name for the blockchain network model utilized by the Internet Computer. Node machines must be designed to a common specification because the NNS, the network's governance system, can slash ('eject') them if they do not create enough blocks and keep up with the network.

Subnet blockchains are the building blocks of the internal Internet computer network. As the network grows, it will be able to support more users, applications, and data. To the hosted smart contracts and users, these subnets appear to be a single large network. This is due to the fact that chain key crypto unifies all of them into a single digital ledger.

Internet computers are the only ones who can use chain key cryptography. This allows for public chain keys to be generated for use in both local subnet blockchains and the global Internet Computer blockchain. All communications between blockchains are digitally signed so that they may be verified using the corresponding chain keys. There is no need to manually download and verify blocks of transactions on a blockchain since valid signatures prove that interactions have not been tampered with.

Through the use of chain key cryptography, the Internet Computer is able to merge all of the blockchains from its many subnets into a single, infinitely scalable blockchain. In any case, chain-key crypto facilitates more possibilities. Internet-based smart contracts, for instance, may be programmed to handle HTTP requests and provide dynamic web content straight to consumers. This is more secure than standard web serving because smart contracts may sign the material they serve, allowing it to be confirmed before it is displayed to users, keeping them safe.

The Chain Key TX functionality previously unavailable to authors of smart contracts has just been made available thanks to chain key crypto. It allows them to generate signed transactions for use on other blockchains. A developer working on an Internet computer, for instance, may generate Bitcoin addresses and transmit and receive Bitcoins directly on the Bitcoin ledger, bypassing the need for less-secure bridge services. This capability enables the development of Bitcoin DeFi that runs natively on the Bitcoin network.

As an added bonus, the Internet Computer offers a plethora of other functions that are only available in the blockchain environment. With the help of the network's consensus system, features like HTTP outcalls make it feasible for smart contracts to safely acquire data like crypto asset price feeds without relying on a third-party, trusted oracle service.

In order to govern the Internet computer network, a master subnet operates a sophisticated permissionless DAO known as the Network Nervous System (NNS). All the computers at the nodes are taking their cues from this as to how the network should be set up. Since the NNS's chain key is immutable, nodes can always tell if the commands they have received are legitimate by comparing the signature to the one in the chain.

The NNS directs nodes to join and depart subnets, as well as to create new subnets. No matter how many times a node joins or leaves a subnet's blockchain, the chain key remains unchanged because to some ingenious cryptography and protocols.

Developers use canister smart contracts to build on the internet computer. Because they include both WebAssembly bytecode and static memory pages, these packages, or canisters, have earned their moniker. The logic of the smart contract is implemented by bytecode, which executes entirely within its own memory and communicates with other smart contracts via message passing (in a software actor paradigm). The Internet Computer can be made more powerful in this way because it allows for the concurrent execution of smart contracts.

The smart contracts stored in a canister are extremely flexible and may be used to create almost anything. For instance, multi-block transactions (computations) and daemon smart contracts, which are regularly triggered by the blockchain, are feasible.

Rust and Motoko are the primary languages for constructing Internet Computer smart contracts. Motoko is a language developed by DFINITY particularly for the Internet Computer and headed by Andreas Rossberg, co-inventor of the WebAssembly standard.

Why does ICP have value?

There are three major uses for the ICP token. To begin, ICP generates cycles, which are used to fuel processing (thus when ICP is converted to cycles, it disappears, creating deflationary pressure). Second, ICP may be staked in the permissionless Network Nervous System DAO that runs the Internet Computer blockchain, generating voting neurons and voting incentives. Third, ICP acts as a form of value storage, enabling users to do things like make investments in decentralized sales organized by web3 services.

Founders

The DFINITY Foundation, based out of Zürich, Switzerland, created the Internet Computer blockchain and now has research and development facilities in both Switzerland and California in addition to remote workers all around the world. By the middle of 2022, DFINITY had about 300 employees, most of whom worked in research and development. Some of the most known names in cryptography, computer science, and engineering are represented on the team

In October of 2016, the DFINITY Foundation was established in Switzerland to centralize and direct research and development efforts related to the Internet Computer blockchain. DFINITY is an abbreviation for decentralized infinity, and it first appeared in early 2015. Dominic Williams, the project's original creator, first used the term to describe to his theoretical cryptographic work, the completion of which he thought would enable the creation of a World Computer.

The DFINITY Foundation held a public ICO in February 2017 to acquire capital for expansion. Private fundraising rounds in 2018 added to this total, bringing in capital from more than a hundred hedge funds and VCs, including renowned names like Andreessen Horowitz.

Where can you buy ICP?

ICP is available on the licensed cryptocurrency exchange CryptoForce and several other national and international exchanges

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