5 Things I Wish People Knew About ICP

After the fall of FTX, the crypto community is starving for good news and hope. Thanks to the Internet Computer, I believe the future's still bright for crypto.

People have many misunderstandings about the Internet Computer and ICP. Hopefully, now that crypto community influencers like 6figs and BitBoy are championing the cause of ICP, it will be much easier to access accurate information about the not-for-profit DFINITY Foundation's revolutionary new blockchain technology.

After the fall of FTX, the crypto community is starving for good news and hope. Thanks to the Internet Computer, I believe the future's still bright for crypto.

Here are five things I wish people knew about ICP.

5 Things I Wish People Knew About ICP

5. ICP Bitcoin Integration has Arrived

Earlier this month, we witnessed the deployment of Bitcoin integration on the Internet Computer's mainnet. However, full Bitcoin integration had already existed as a beta release on the testnet for several months.

Thanks to Bitcoin integration, Web3 developers are now empowered to combine smart contracts with Bitcoin transactions at Web speed. In contrast to Bitcoin's native ability to process only 7 transactions each second, the Internet Computer can currently process more than 11,500 transactions per second!

Better yet, where we're going with ICP, we won't need bridges between blockchains anymore! The Internet Computer's innovative Chain Key Cryptography and Chain Key TX, in combination with its canister smart contract software module architecture, allow it to directly mirror other blockchains and facilitate cross-chain processing without the need for intermediary support software or services.

4. HTTPS Outcalls Eliminate Oracles

In fact, thanks to a technical breakthrough known as HTTPS outcalls, the ICP blockchain can interact with, and access information about, any Web2 resource.

To interact with any data stored off-chain, most other blockchains depend on specialized data feeds, called oracles. As third-party software, these oracles make external data comprehensible to the blockchains they serve, but at the cost of additional trust requirements, programming, operational expenses, and complexity. For a long time, oracles were viewed as a necessary evil - but not anymore!

Internet Computer canisters, which are similar to smart contracts on other blockchains, can now directly make HTTPS outcalls to any data source on Web2. In principle, this also extends to Web3, rendering support blockchains such as Chainlink obsolete.

3. The Fully On-Chain ICP Ecosystem Thrives

Everything on the Internet Computer is hosted and run entirely on the blockchain. This includes Web sites, like DSCVR, distrikt, and OpenChat. Plus, the cost of storing data on the ICP blockchain is negligible relative to competitors. Indeed, storage costs on the Internet Computer can be less expensive than proprietary could services!

Other blockchains often act simply as ledgers for transactions. Meanwhile, their metaverse, DeFi, and other software actually run on proprietary cloud services offered by Amazon, Alphabet, and other for-profit businesses. Therefore, developers are at the mercy of corporate decisions about updating API and controlling access to digital resources.

2. The DFINITY Foundation is Not-For-Profit

The DFINITY Foundation, however, is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. Its sole reason for existence is to develop the Internet Computer and support the Web3 community. The Internet Computer is a public blockchain platform, available to everyone across the globe, which is based on a network of sub-blockchains governed by an ownerless master blockchain.

1. ICP Has an All-Star Development Team

The DFINITY Foundation counts among its members some of the world's best cryptographers, mathematicians, and computer scientists. Its employees have produced over 1,600 publications, 100,000 citations in academic research, and at least 250 patents. Many members have been active in crypto since its nascency, and also boast experience at leading universities and businesses.

For example, Jan Camenisch, DFINITY's Chief Technology Officer, has published over 120 widely cited papers in the areas of privacy and cryptography. Previously, he spent 19 years as a Principal Research Staff Member at IBM, where he co-invented Identity Mixer, a unique cryptographic protocol for authentication. He is a Fellow of IEEE and IACR and has received many awards for his work.

Meet the whole team!

You can also interact with ICP's developers during global R&D meetings.

Conclusion

The Internet Computer is poised to take the world of crypto, and indeed, the broader online community, by storm. Right now, not very many people know about the ICP blockchain and the amazing potential of its innovative technology. However, in view of increasing popularization by crypto influencers, knowledge about the DFINITY Foundation's Internet Computer is about to spread far and wide!

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• Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the original author and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Dfinity Community staff and/or any/all contributors to this site.