ICP - CAN IT CHANGE TODAY’S INTERNET?
Internet Computer might be the future we all have been waiting for.
Coo! It’s me, Crypto Owl. Is your Sunday sunny? I hope so! And for today, I’m flying to you with some awesome facts about the possible future of our Internet.
On Today’s Menu:
🕛 Estimated reading time: 2 minutes & 10 seconds
🥪 TASTY SANDWICH: What is ICP and why is it important?
🧋 BUBBLE TEA: This week’s newsletters in case you’ve missed them
WHAT IS ICP AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT?
Definition first.
ICP is a shortcut for Internet Computer. And the Internet Computer is a decentralized network, based on the blockchain. It aims to create and provide a limitless environment for various decentralized applications (dapps) and for smart contracts as well. Basically, it aims to become a new decentralized Cloud for everything.
It's an innovation in blockchain technology that enables it to be as fast as the web (even faster) with an unbounded capacity. Meaning - to eliminate the main problem of all the blockchains: scalability.
What’s the story of ICP?
ICP was founded by Dominic Williams in (ok, that might sound weird, but) either 2014, 2015 or 2016. 🤷♀️ Williams is an inventor of a few consensus mechanisms (Probabilistic Slot, Threshold Relay, etc.); also he is an active member of the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities.
Development of the ICP started just after a few years from its creation - in 2019. Probably for developers it really took time to get the best out of their product.
ICP is launched by the well-known Switzerland cryptography foundation called DFNITY.
Why should ICP be taken seriously?
Because crypto ain’t actually decentralized. Maybe this sounds shocking for some of you, but that’s true. It is because the Internet we use today is controlled by various third parties, for example such tech giants as Google, and all crypto projects rely on storage computing and front-end use interfaces like websites or mobiles. So that means that crypto currencies rely on those companies - if they would decide to abandon crypto projects, that could lead to the whole crypto market ending.
But the solution to this problem is exactly the ICP - a decentralized Internet, as I’ve mentioned before.
DFNITY’S developers say that using ICP it is possible to basically do anything: to build mass-market social media platforms and tokenize them, to build DeFi ecosystems and to extend various dapps while also reducing current computing costs. ICP has also created software frameworks, so developers could also use it more conveniently.
If all of this sounds complicated, well, it is. ICP could be the most complex crypto project in existence and I won’t fall into this rabbit hole explaining tech-part. I’m just an Owl.
But maybe all this complexity will actually change the Internet we know now. So it might be worth it.
Tokenomics of ICP
Internet Computer has its own currency - an ICP token. Supply of this token is limited - there are 470 million tokens in total. They can be used for community voting, also to pay for canister fees (in order to run applications and websites on ICP), and lastly for network rewards. It also has some complicated working mechanisms, but again, I encourage you to do your own research if you want to find out more.
So what is the future for the Internet Computer?
According to the ICP roadmap, for the first five years (we are in this exact period now), the ICP team will focus on the adoption of the Internet Computer Protocol and hope to expand their team by doubling the number of experts.
In the next 10 years, it is hoped that ICP might become a viable alternative to the regular internet we use today.
In 2040, ICP should be bigger than Today’s internet. Sooo.. does it mean the end of tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Amazon?
There are doubts as there are quite a number of skeptics that do not buy into this ICP idea. Some people believe that ICP could not be fully decentralized as developers from DFNITY can be controlling everything behind. Well, it is hard to tell since a lot of information is encrypted, and hidden.
Williams himself noted in the 2018 interview, that ICP will be designed to conform with the laws of the countries in which it operates. So.. wait. If this is fully decentralized and has an open governance… where is this full decentralization after all?
Owl’s takeaway: it seems like ICP could actually become the future’s Internet and change the game for all of us. However, I’m not certain it will ever become a fully decentralized system. On the other hand, decentralization is not as important as democratization of the blockchain which will determine the true ability of users to participate and vote. I guess, time will show, right? What do you think about ICP?
BUBBLE TEA
In case you’ve missed Crypto Owl’s newsletter of this week!
Music NFTs - the future of music?
ICE CREAM
Here you can find more spicy information about ICP!
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Disclaimer: This newsletter is strictly educational. None of this information is intended to be financial advice. Always do your own research and act responsibly with your profits.