What is ICP? Here's How It Works, Features, and Roadmap

Data monopolies and misuse of personal data that often occur in the conventional internet world have made developers in the Web3 world interested in offering solutions in the form of cloud computing technology . One of the developers who focuses on solving conventional internet problems is Internet Computer (ICP), a Web3-based company under the auspices of the Dfinity Foundation.

In line with this, Bittime as one of the trusted crypto asset buying and selling platforms in Indonesia will also soon list ICP so that investors can have more diverse choices in investing. Let's look at the review of Internet Computer (ICP) in the following review. 

What is Internet Computer (ICP)?

Officially launched in May 2021, Internet Computer aims to push the boundaries of Internet functionality and support the development of smart contracts on a larger scale. As a decentralized blockchain network, Internet Computer supports nearly unlimited scalability while maintaining a high level of security through a system of checks.

Internet Computer's (ICP) comprehensive mission is to transform the public Internet into a world-class computing platform. Developers position Internet Computer as a revolutionary network, due to the fact blockchain is publicly available and equipped with impressive functionality. 

Additionally, the project provides a seamless environment for smart contracts , running at web speeds with reduced computing costs. This is because ICP allows decentralized application development and execution without the need to rely on traditional infrastructure.

In general, these platforms are designed to provide direct access to internet services and applications, eliminating intermediaries and giving users greater control.

Ecosystem

Source: https://coin98.net/what-is-dfinity-icp

Under the umbrella of the Dfinity Foundation, ICP has various projects with diverse focuses. Starting from infrastructure, decentralized exchange (DEX), bridges between protocols, DeFi, social media, NFT and gaming, asset management, launchpad, artificial intelligence (AI), to crypto asset wallets . This shows the investment potential that exists in the Internet Computer ecosystem as the main mainnet for these various projects.

Who are the developers behind the success of Internet Computer (ICP)?

Founded by crypto theorist Dominic Williams, he is responsible for creating Threshold Relay, Probabilistic Slot Consensus, and other new crypto techniques, a serial entrepreneur, and an early member of the Bitcoin and Ethereum technical communities. Until now, Dominic's position at Internet Computer (ICP) is as Founder and Chief Scientist of DFINITY.

Academically, Dominic is a graduate of King's College London 1 in Computer Science Class. Before focusing on developing ICP, he was President and CTO of String Labs, an incubator for Venture-backed crypto projects, an early DeFi pioneer at Mirror Labs, and Founder and CEO of Fight My Monster, an MMO game for kids that scaled to millions of users. It is not surprising that until now ICP has succeeded in occupying position #34 based on the market capitalization value collected, based on CoinMarketCap data as of November 20, 2023.

What are the Uses of ICP Tokens?

As a native token, ICP plays a number of important roles in its ecosystem. Below are a number of ICP token roles:

• As a governance token, ICP can be staked to exercise network governance rights. 
• As a utility token, ICP can be burned to earn 'cycles' that serve as gas-fees for computing and storage in smart-contracts . 
• Additionally, ICPs can also be minted to reward 'node machine' providers for providing such computing and storage.
• Can be used to participate in decentralized exchanges to become a co-owner of the SNS DAO, and when using the many smart contract services built on ICP such as registries, markets, and exchanges.

Tokenomics

ICP Tokenomics details how ICP tokens are distributed, used, and managed. This includes things like the total token supply, how tokens are burned or created, as well as the allocation of tokens to development, the community, and other parties. 

By understanding tokenomics, users can have better insight into the long-term value and sustainability of the ICP ecosystem. The following is the Internet Computer (ICP) tokenomics:

• Foundation Grants, Team & Partners are allocated 52.93% which is equivalent to 248,354,816 ICP.
• Seed Round Investors are allocated 24.72% which is equivalent to 116,130,393 ICP.
• Early Contributors are allocated 9.5% where the amount is equivalent to 44,575,302 ICP.
• Strategic Investors are allocated 6.85% where the amount is equivalent to 32, 141,139 ICP.
• Pre-sale Fundraising Donors are allocated 4.75% where the amount is equivalent to 22,287,651 ICP 
• Community Airdrop is allocated at 1.25% where the amount is equivalent to 5,865,171 ICP

Source: https://coin98.net/what-is-dfinity-icp

Roadmap

After its initial launch in May 2021, Internet Computer continues to innovate its projects. We can see this from their annual development plan which is always updated. Where each stage has a different focus as seen in the image below.

Source: https://www.bitcoininsider.org/article/146906/internet-computers-post-genesis-rd-roadmap#google_vignette

Based on the image above, we can see that the first development is named Titanium which has a primary focus on fully enabled DeFi for AMMs without gas-fee fees and GameFi at scale. 

Second is Chromium, which focuses on direct integration with the Bitcoin network to enable smart contracts and native DeFi for BTC. Next up is Carbon, a development focused on tokenizing dapps, DAOs, and open internet services with unique adjustments for different use cases.

Following the development of Carbon, Internet Computer added Vanadium to their development plans. Where in this phase, Internet Computer wants to focus on direct integration with Ethereum, interoperable  smart contracts , no bridges (higher security), the ability to interact with ETH assets directly on the ICP blockchain.

Then in the fourth quarter of 2022, ICP has a development plan that aims to continue direct integration across the highest impact blockchain ecosystem and continue towards the future of the Web3 blockchain singularity, named Iridium. 

Lastly, there is a development called Futurium, which is planned to be implemented from 2023 onwards. In this phase, ICP wants to focus on developing features for the ICP blockchain to implement post-quantum cryptography and continue to advance crypto innovation.

How to Buy Internet Computer (ICP) at Bittime

After knowing what an Internet Computer is and how it works, are you interested in buying and investing in this crypto asset? You can do it at Bittime. Internet Computer is available at Bittime in ICP IDR pairing. 

 Below is a guide on how to buy ICP tokens on Bittime. 

1. Register an account at Bittime using an active email. 
2. Complete the identity verification process.  
3. Once the account is verified, open the Bittime application.
4. Select the Market menu or click the graphic icon. 
5. Select IDR pairing to buy Internet Computer (ICP) with Rupiah.
6. Click 'Buy'.
7. Select the order type to use. Limit orders, market orders and stop orders are available.
8. Enter the nominal rupiah to buy ICP.
9. Click the 'Buy ICP' button. 
10. A notification pop up will appear. Read it carefully and click 'Confirm'. 
11. Enter the six digit Transaction PIN.
12. The application will display a successful order notification. 

For a complete guide on how to buy ICP, click here .

Apart from buying Internet Computer (ICP), you can also buy various crypto assets such as BTC, ETH, SOL, ADA, AVAX, DOGE, and many others. Don't forget, keep monitoring the movement of the ICP, BTC, ETH, SOL price charts today to find out crypto market trends on Bittime. 

Crypto asset buying and selling transactions on Bittime are easy, safe and instant. Bittime is officially registered and supervised by Bappebti and Kominfo. 

DISCLAIMER : This article is informational in nature and is not an offer or invitation to sell or buy any crypto assets. Trading crypto assets is a high-risk activity. Crypto asset prices are volatile, where prices can change significantly from time to time and Bittime is not responsible for changes in fluctuations in crypto asset exchange rates.