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.

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.

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:

Voting rights on network proposals
Earning voting rewards
Configurable dissolve delays
Ability to follow other neurons

ICP Tokenomics

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

Governance: Staking ICP in neurons for voting rights
Utility: Converting ICP to cycles to power computation
Value Accrual: As the network grows, demand for ICP increases

Network Architecture

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

Subnets: Independent blockchain networks that work together
Nodes: Physical machines running the Internet Computer Protocol
Boundary Nodes: Entry points for user interactions

Decentralized Governance

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

Economics and tokenomics
Protocol upgrades
Node provider 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"
  }
}