What is Internet Computer

Internet Computer (ICP) is a public blockchain network developed by the Dfinity Foundation and designed to host smart contracts built on an advanced decentralised protocol known as Internet Computer Protocol (ICP). Its native token, ICP, is a utility token that allows users to participate in the governance of the Internet Computer network.

The protocol combines the power of individual computers into a seamless universe. It attempts to decrease platform risk and the complexity of designing and maintaining systems. This would also shorten the time it takes for developers to release a new product.

A Brief History of Internet Computer

When the mainnet and ICP token debuted in May 2021, ICP was one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies in market capitalisation. Unfortunately, its value dropped by roughly 95% in the month after its launch, sparking allegations of insider trading.

Founded by Dominic Williams, DFINITY is backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, Amino Capital, SV Angel, Eterna Capital, and Aspect Ventures, raising US$121 million of equity funding.

ICP allows individuals to create a new open Internet that provides customers with a better deal, lowering user expenses. ICP operates on the same principle as other blockchain cryptocurrencies, using smart contracts or codes to serve as an agreement between users. The Internet Computer creates websites, services, applications, and enterprise systems.

How Internet Computer Works

ICP's version includes nodes that generate a random number known as a random beacon, used to choose the next set of nodes. This is what drives the platform's protocols. The tool is known as the threshold relay consensus model, and it is one of the primary components that make ICP.

The Internet Computer also employs what is known as chain key technology. Chain key technology divides the execution of smart contract functions into two halves. The first kind of call is 'update calls’, while the second is 'query calls’.

Calls contribute to providing competitive user experiences for blockchain. Update calls make persistent changes, and they cannot be tampered with since the Internet Computer Protocols run on every node in the subnet. Query calls work differently. They discard any changes made to memory when the programme has finished running. As a result, query calls perform in milliseconds. ICP is potentially an improvement in blockchain technology since it is faster and has more significant potential.

What is Internet Computer Used for

The DFINITY Internet Computer supports decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms, enterprise IT systems, and websites. DFINITY released LinkedUp, an open professional profile network, and CanCan, a video-sharing social networking service, in 2020 to show how popular social media applications would look if they were built decentralised and ownerless.

DFINITY does not intend to continue developing these applications, but it has open-sourced the code for developers who desire to expand on them. This new open sourced model will make it easier to create incentivised governance models and enable gig-based projects to run more equitable businesses. Users will no longer rely on legacy IT, such as proprietary cloud services, server equipment, or database systems. It will lower current entry barriers, and the developer will be able to construct simply by putting abstract logic into cyberspace.

Fleek, which enables websites to develop on the Internet Computer, and Capsule Social, a censorship-resistant social media platform, are two projects that are presently building on DFINITY.