Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) in a Nutshell

What is the Internet Computer Protocol?

The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) is a revolutionary blockchain network designed to extend the functionality of the public internet. It provides a platform for smart contracts and decentralized applications (dapps) with web-speed performance, effectively creating a "world computer" that can host secure software with superpowers.

Internet Computer Protocol
Decentralized Cloud
Smart Contracts
Web3 Services
Global Network
Canisters
DApps
Open Internet Services

Key Concepts

Canisters

Canisters are the smart contracts of the Internet Computer. They are computational units that can hold both code and state, serve web content directly, and even make HTTP outcalls. Canisters enable developers to build and deploy scalable dapps with ease.

Cycles

Cycles are the fuel of the Internet Computer. They are used to pay for computation and storage resources consumed by canisters. ICP tokens can be converted into cycles, creating a sustainable economic model for the network.

ICP Tokens
Cycles
Canister Computation
Canister Storage
DApp Functionality

Neurons: The Governance Backbone

Neurons are a crucial component of the Internet Computer's governance system. They represent staked ICP tokens and provide their owners with voting power in the Network Nervous System (NNS). Key features of neurons include:

Neuron
Staked ICP
Voting Power
Dissolve Delay
Network Governance
Voting Rewards

ICP Tokenomics

The ICP token plays a central role in the Internet Computer ecosystem:

ICP Token
Governance
Utility
Value Accrual
Staking in Neurons
Conversion to Cycles
Network Growth

Network Architecture

The Internet Computer's architecture is designed for scalability, security, and performance:

User
Boundary Nodes
Subnet 1
Subnet 2
Subnet N
Canisters

Decentralized Governance

The Network Nervous System (NNS) is the autonomous governance system of the Internet Computer. It manages crucial aspects of the network, including:

NNS
Economics
Protocol Upgrades
Node Providers
Reward Distribution
Network Improvements
Infrastructure Management

Technical Specifications

{
  "consensus": "Threshold Relay with notarization",
  "smart_contracts": "WebAssembly (Wasm)",
  "programming_languages": [
    "Motoko",
    "Rust",
    "JavaScript",
    "TypeScript"
  ],
  "scalability": {
    "subnets": "Unlimited",
    "tps": "10,000+ per subnet"
  },
  "security": {
    "encryption": "NiDKG (Non-Interactive Distributed Key Generation)",
    "signature_scheme": "BLS (Boneh-Lynn-Shacham)"
  },
  "governance": "Network Nervous System (NNS)",
  "tokenomics": {
    "total_supply": "469,213,710 ICP",
    "staking_reward": "Variable, based on neuron dissolve delay"
  }
}