Internet Computer Protocol ($ICP) is the decentralized internet which finally makes any Web3 dapp as easy to use as a Web2 app!
Getting Started:
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What is ICP?
Decentralized Cloud
ICP is an entirely new type of L1 Blockchain designed as a decentralized cloud network. You can think of it as a cloud platform like AWS, except it’s able to run without a centralized controller like Jeff Bezos.
Decentralized Servers
ICP dapps are built with decentralized servers called “canisters”. Canisters can be thought of as very powerful smart contracts with advanced capabilities such as being able to directly host websites or sign transactions on other blockchains.
Decentralized Internet
ICP combines the easy user experience of Web2 with the powerful new capabilities of Web3, to deliver a decentralized internet that offers the best aspects of both:
Reverse Gas Model
ICP dapp users don’t pay gas for transactions like on Ethereum and most other blockchains. Instead, the dapps canisters each pay for their own gas out of their built-in wallets. Canister wallets are refilled either by the dapp dev team, a DAO, and/or built-in self funding mechanisms. ICP gas is paid for with a token called “cycles”, and the gas tokenomic system is designed to keep ICP dapp gas costs both cheap and stable whether the ICP token price increases or decreases.
Private by Default
Most blockchains are public ledgers designed to make it easy for all activity to be tracked, but on ICP all interactions with canisters/dapps are private by default, and they can even be encrypted for further security.
Flexible Mutability
No Oracles
ICP canisters can communicate directly with the normal internet, without oracles.
No Bridges
ICP smart contracts can directly sign transactions on other blockchains just like a human user without using any centralized services. Beyond serving as a bridgeless L2, this enables the creation of cross-chain decentralized autonomous actors/bots which abstract away the multi-chain complexity of web3 from the end users.
Collectively Owned/Controlled
ICP has the most advanced on-chain governance ever created. The source code the ICP network can only be updated through an on-chain DAO called the NNS. ICP dapps can also give up full source code control to an on-chain DAO (called an SNS DAO), which offers the perfect balance between future upgradability and decentralized control.
Who Created ICP?
DFINITY Foundation, lead by Dominic Williams, created ICP over ~8 years using the largest R&D team in blockchain (100+ cryptographers), and launched the ICP mainnet in May 2021. Their team is responsible for over 1,600 publications and 250 patents!
Use Cases
The Internet
ICP removes the barriers between blockchain technology and the rest of the internet, opening up new possibilities such as:
- Decentralization of core services such as email (see Dmail.ai)
- Social media & creator platforms controlled by their users
- The integration of new types of Web3-based economic & tokenization models on Web2 platforms such as X
- Trustless Web3 API endpoints any Web2 app can use
- Decentralized trustless automations for real world assets
- Using ZKP maintain use privacy with no compromises in their experience
Bitcoin
ICP is natively integrated with Bitcoin, meaning ICP canisters are able to control BTC wallets no human will ever get access to. This opens up new possibilities such as:
Ethereum & other chains
ICP can natively integrate with Ethereum and other chains to open up new possibilities such as:
- 1-2 second ETH transactions with negligible fees
- ICP can be a decentralized replacement for any centralized components of an ETH dapps tech stack (hosting, compute, storage, infura, etc)
- Advanced and fully decentralized oracles
- An Ethereum L2 chain with 1-2 second finality and low gas fees that's fully compatible with any EVM dapp
Developers
ICP gives any Web2 or Web3 developer the power to quickly launch, iterate, and decentralize powerful web3 dapps:
- ICP dapps can be written in Rust, Motoko, Typescript, or Python
- ICP is so easy to learn, even notice devs are able to build a fully functional DAO within 1 week
- You can launch your dapp as a publicly owned DAO using an SNS swap sale
- No 3rd party Web3 services (such as oracles, infura, or AWS) are needed to build full stack dapps on ICP, but you’ll have the freedom to build dapps which natively integrate with BTC and any EVM-based chain without bridges
- Building static websites on ICP is fast, cheap, & easy:
- Juno is a web3 version of Firebase on ICP where you can launch a decentralized website in 5 minutes
- SSL, CDN, Hosting, & Authentication is all abstracted away, no 3rd party services to integrate
Enterprises
ICP offers enterprises an autonomous serverless cloud that is scalable, able to processes HTTP, secure, easy to maintain, and able to run software that’s both tamperproof and unstoppable. This opens up new possibilities such as:
- Build sovereign systems and services that don't need the protection of firewalls
- Incorporate tokenized business models to add new forms of liquidity and revenue
- Extend existing software with blockchain capabilities
- Remove liability and improve user privacy with ZKP
Individuals
ICP belongs to everyone, and it gives even non-technical individuals access to self-sovereign tools that protect their privacy and enable their autonomy:
- The Asset App and icDrive are a fully trustless personal file storage solutions which give users total control and privacy
- Personal DAO is building a gated DAO, treasury, and data storage solution
- AstroX ME is a cross-chain wallet that lets users secure assets without seed phrases across any devices
- NFID is a digital identity solution that protects user privacy and makes it possible to use dapps with Google login
- Dmail & OpenChat give anyone access to secure communication with full autonomy & privacy
Humanity
Smart contracts offer humanity a new tool for fighting injustice, greed, and bias, but their potential has been haltered by the limitations of slow, siloed, and difficult to use Web3 technology. ICP unlocks this potential by finally making it possible to create fast, intelligent, and cost effective smart contracts (canisters) which are able to seamlessly integrate Web2 with Web3 to deliver real world impact. New types of dapps are now possible:
- Imagine a workers union where the voice of the workers can be verified, but individual worker identities are kept 100% private so the company leadership doesn’t know who to retaliate against
- Imagine a sports team owned/controlled by, and for the enjoyment and profit of, the fans
- Imagine a politician held accountable by a DAO of his constituents who can unlock the release of an official resignation letter that’ll remove them from office if they fail to follow through with their campaign promises
- Imagine a global-scale social media platform that doesn’t constantly harvest user data to manipulate their political convictions and buying habits
L1 Comparison
- ICP is fast (>5,000TPS) - ~500 times faster than Ethereum & ~20 times faster than Solana
- ICP is cheap (~$0.0000022 per transaction) - Network gas costs are not effected by increases or fluctuations in token price like all other L1s.
- ICP is green (0.008 watt-hours per transaction) - 0.13% the energy of Ethereum & 22% the energy of NEAR.
- ICP is decentralized - 37 subnets supported by 117 independent node providers with 559 nodes in datacenters around the globe. More about ICP decentralization & the permissionless process for becoming a node provider.
Join The Ecosystem
Follow these 6 easy steps to join the growing ICP ecosystem!
- Create your own Internet Identity here! (tutorials)
- Deposit ICPs into your NNS wallet and stake them so you can vote and earn rewards! (tutorials)
- Join some of the ICP community chat groups listed here.
- Follow @DFINITY, @dominic_w, @codeandstate, and other ICP accounts on X.
- Explore ICP dapps and Invest in your first ICP token or NFT.
- Make plans to attend the 2024 ICP Community Conference (”ICPCC”) global event to celebrate ICP and meet #ICPeople in your local area!
Learn
How-To Guides
How to transfer ICP tokens & NFTs (principal vs account)
- Explainer article by Yumi (5min read)
- TL;DR - For ICP tokens use Account ID, for NFTs try using the Principal ID first.
How to create an Internet Identity
How to stake ICP & earn rewards on the NNS
How to participate in an SNS swap
How to use self-custody HW wallet with ICP
- Official DFINIFY guide for using the NNS with a Ledger Nano
- Official DFINITY guide for using Internet Identity with YubiKey (can also be applied to a Ledger Nano with the FIDO app)
Documentation
Protocol Deep Dive
Consensus & Decentralization
- DFINITY Consensus overview and video (20min)
- DFINITY node provider & decentralization page
- Internet computer L1 Comparison page and decentralization note.
Internet Identity
NNS
- DFINITY NNS tutorial documentation and dev documentation
Become an ICP Developer
- Motoko Bootcamp - A course to deploy your 1st dApp in 1 hour and build a DAO in 7 days
- Internet Computer Developer Hub - Entry point for documentation, guides and references.
- Deploy your first application on the Internet Computer - 14min video tutorial
- Setup your environment to start building on the IC - 12min video tutorial
- Receive 10$ worth of cycles to start building on the IC - Tutorial for getting starter funds
- Choosing a language to build on the IC - DFINITY documentation
- Exploring cost to build on the IC - DFINITY Documentation
- DFINITY Dev Forum - Official forum for technical questions and support
- Internet Computer Developer Community - Community Discord server for ICP devs
- Awesome Internet Computer: a curated list of resources and projects - Ecosystem resource repository
- DFINITY Sample Code - A directory with full code examples for various types of dapps
Follow
X Accounts (Formerly Twitter)
X is by far the most popular platform for getting the latest ICP news and engaging with the ICP community, here’s a list of great accounts to follow!
DFINITY Foundation
- DFINITY
- Dominic Williams - DFINITY Founder
- Jan Camenisch - CTO of DFINITY
- Herbert Yang - GM of Asia at DFINITY
- Kyle Langham - Data + Analytics at DFINITY
- Diego Prats - R&D Special Projects at DFINITY
- Lomesh Dutta - VP Growth at DFINITY
- Manu Drijvers - Director of Engineering at DFINITY
- Riccardo Coli - Chief Of Staff at DFINITY
- Andrew Chepreghy - Senior Research Communications at DFINITY
- Emilio Canessa - Head of Global Adoption at DFINITY
- William Laurent
ICP News and Info
- The Swop - IC Media, Digital Magazine, X Spaces, & Events
- Blockchain Pill - The go-to podcast & Weekly Reviewer on the #InternetComputer
- ICP Squad - The #1 Source Of Internet Computer Intel, News & Resources
- ICP Insider - Creating Awareness and Educating the Masses about #ICP and its Ecosystem.
- ICP Infinite - Providing education, community, and more to the #ICP ecosystem
- ICP Academy - ICP Educational content and news.
Developers
- DFINITY Developers.
- Jordan Last - CEO of Demergent Labs.
- ICP Anvil - A creator of various ICP dev tools.
- Austin Fatheree - CTO of Origyn, Founder of IC.Devs.
- Seb | Motoko Bootcamp - Education Lead at Code & State.
- Moritz - Developer Relations of DFINITY.
- David Dal Busco - Creator of Juno.
- Daniel McCoy - Creator of the Asset App.
- Dominic Worner - Developer Relations of DFINITY.
- Demergent Labs.
Founders
- Bob Bodilly - CEO of Bioniq.
- Mike Schwartz - Co-Founder of ORIGYN
- Luke - CEO of Funded & Plug.
- Tommy - Co-Founder of BoomDAO.
- Houman Shadab - Cofounder ICME app
- Tom Stuart - CEO of Trax
- Rishi Chadha - Founder of Hot or Not
- Mariano Stoll - CEO of @idarkstudio
- Dan Ostrovsky - Founder of NFID
- Barry Hype - Founder of Canistore
- Cake Maker - CEO of Sonic.
- Mr . Voodoo - Founder of Eimolad
Community Members
- 6Figs - Chart analysis and great ICP content
- VictorICPSquad - Content Creator mainly focusing on #ICP
- Moses ∞ - @ICPSquad Community leader.
- Aaron Bremser - Influcencer, content creator. @BloxSolutions co-founder.
- Isaac Valadez - Venture Lead at Code & State and all around ICP bull (helped make this guide)!
- ICP Maximalist - Founder of @boomdaosns and @PlethoraGame
- DK Lord - Meme King and notable NFT artist
- Cédric Waldburger - CEO of Code & State
- Roald Parmentier - Aviate Labs Co-Founder
- Bartlett Wenzel - Neuron manager of Synapse
- bitcoinr3negade - Content Creator
- Crypto.Girl - Thailand/Malaysia ICP.Hub Leader
- Rhiannon.icp - Community leader. Part of @modclubapp @nuancedapp team.
- Javier Arroyo Ferrer - Co-founder ICP.Hub North America
YouTube Channels
- DFINITY (29k subscribers) - Official DFINITY Foundation content regarding ICP
- Code & State (1k subscribers) - Channel of the most established ICP Venture Studio with ICP conference talks from top ecosystem innovators & ICP dev education videos
- Blockchain Pill (3k subscribers) - Daily high-production ICP content
- 6figs (12k subscribers) - Crypto trader and analytics with quality ICP content
- Scott Summers (3.3k subscribers) - He’s the ultimate ICP bull, even has an ICP logo tattoo on his arm
- Jerry Banfield Crypto (25k subscribers) - Covers broad range crypto and educational topics, with ICP being a favorite
- Aaron Bremster (2.5k subscribers) - Bullish ICP and crypto news and discussions
- Bitcoin Renegade (3k subscribers) - Crypto channel mainly focused on ICP topics
- ICP Hub Philippines (8k subscribers) - Livestream interviews with various ICP projects
- BobbyO (4.3k subscribers) - Economics, politics, and media content with a focus on ICP
- Coinhustle (2.8k subscribers) - Covers ICP topics
Chat Groups
Telegram
- Official ♾ | Internet Computer Protocol (2.7k members) - Official DFINITY Telegram community
- ICP Maximalist Network (1.2k members) - One of the first community ICP telegram groups
- ICP Squad (2.4k members) - A very popular community ICP group
- ICP Community | General Group - Public general interest Whatsapp Community by Code & State
- 8YearGangDAO (11k members) - A very large ICP community based mostly in Asia
- OpenChat Official Group (37.4k members) - The official OC community
- ICP Maximalist Network (1.8k members) - Decentralized OC group that’s associated with their telegram group
- Chase the challenge (7k members) - A group created to help onboard ICP newbs into the ecosystem
ICP Decentralized Social Platforms
- OpenChat - A Telegram-like chat dapp, with built-in token transfers
- Catalyze - A Discord-like collaboration dapp, with built-in DAO features
- DSCVR - A very large multi-chain Reddit-like dapp, with numerous Web3 features such as token tipping, web3 browser games, audio livestreaming, etc
- TAGGR - A unique Web3 social dapp with tokenized incentives for creating great content
- ICX - A X-like dapp, with built in prediction markets
- Distrikt - A X-like dapp, was once very strong but recently had the core team pause as they try to find a new owner for the project.
Explore
Project Directories
- ICP Ecosystem - Official ICP ecosystem project showcase
- Cyql - A directory with over 400 ICP projects listed
- DFINITY Grant page - Contains a directory that lists 365 grant recipients
- Supernova - List of winners from a large 2022 hackathon
- Awesome ICP Github - A repo listing various ICP projects and resources
SNS Projects
SNS launches are approved by the NNS, so the entire ICP ecosystem takes special notice of these projects and many of them were able to raise millions of dollars worth of ICP during their SNS swap sale.
In order of SNS launch:
- Dragginz - A virtual pets game from the creators of Neopets. Non-profit, 100% on-chain. We've got baby dragons, crowdsourced world building, magic spells, and a prince in disguise!
- OpenChat - A decentralized chat app governed by the people for the people.
- Kinic - The first and only dedicated search engine for web3 content that is hosted on blockchain or decentralized storage networks.
- Hot or Not - A decentralized TikTok-style short-video social media platform with tokenized gamification incentives governed by the people for the people.
- ICGhost - The 1st SNS meme coin on ICP decentralized via an SNS launch.
- Modclub - A decentralized crowdwork platform built on the IC that aims to support dApps by handing resource-intensive tasks such as moderation, user verification and data labeling.
- BOOM DAO - An all-in-one web3 game platform and protocol running 100% on-chain on the Internet Computer.
- Catalyze - A one-stop social-fi application for organising your Web3 experience.
- ICX - A X-like dapp, with built in prediction markets.
- Nuance - The world's first publishing platform built entirely on-chain. In the same way DeFi has taken the middleman out of finance Nuance does the same for the written word.
- Sonic - The open defi suite and leading AMM DEX on Internet Computer Blockchain.
- Gold DAO - The Gold DAO project represents a groundbreaking fusion of traditional gold and modern blockchain technology, allowing anyone in the world to access physical gold instantaneously, with no dependence upon the banking system.
- TRAX - A decentralised music platform governed by artists and fans.
- Neutrinite - An SNS DAO for ICPCoins, a platform dedicated to securely sourcing data from DEXes, DAOs, and other DeFi applications.
- Sneed - The 2nd SNS meme coin on ICP decentralized via an SNS launch, and a “blank canvas DAO”.
- ICLighthouse DAO - A popular order book DEX for ICP tokens.
- ELNA AI - Community-driven decentralised AI Agent creation platform on Internet computer.
- OpenFPL - Decentralised fantasy football.
- ICPanda DAO - A decentralized Panda meme brand built on the Internet Computer.
- ICPSwap - A popular DEX with concentrated liquidity and other advanced AMM features.
- Yuku DAO - An AI metaverse platform that includes an NFT Aggregator, 3D space, and AI Avatar integration.
- EstateDAO - A vacation real estate tokenization and rental platform.
- Motoko - A community token based around the beloved Motoko branding that was originally introduced by on NFT collection from DFINITY.
- ICPCC DAO LLC - A community-owned and fully self-sustaining decentralized conference event series devoted to highlighting the ICP’s technology and ecosystem.
Events
- DFINITY Event Page - Directory of ICP community and DFINITY events.
- ICP.Hubs - Independent ICP hubs that host local ICP-related events and initiatives.
- ICPCC - An ICP community conference hosted by Code & State.
Invest
Wallets
- NNS - A secure ICP token wallet is built into the on-chain DAO governance dapp which runs the Internet Computer Protocol. While this wallet is ideal for safe long term storage, it cannot be used to login into other dapps.
- Plug - A popular ICP wallet browser extension and mobile app with a familiar and clean Metamask-like user experience.
- AstroX ME - A cross-chain wallet that lets users secure their crypto assets without seed phrases across any devices.
- NFID - A digital identity solution and wallet that protects user privacy and even makes it possible to use dapps with Google login.
- Bitfinity Wallet - A cross-chain wallet for the Bitfinity ecosystem, which is an EVM L2 built on top of ICP.
- Stoic Wallet - A browser-based wallet that was one of the first to launch on ICP.
DEX
- Sonic - The open defi suite and leading AMM DEX on Internet Computer Blockchain.
- Solidstate Audit - September 2023
- IC Dex - A popular order book DEX for ICP tokens.
- CAYA Audit - October 2023
- Solidstate Audit - February 2024
- ICPSwap - The only AMM DEX on the IC with concentrated liquidity.
- Helix Markets (pending launch) - A cross-chain order book exchange with the performance of a centralized exchange, yet able to remain non-custodial thanks to ICP tech.
DeFi
- IDgeek - A marketplace for trading Internet Identities and SNS Neurons.
- StakedICP - An ICP liquid staking platform.
- Rakeoff - An ICP staking platform with rewards in ckBTC.
- Elliptic DAO - A 0% interest lending protocol (similar to Liquity Protocol) which uses ckBTC as collateral to create a BTC-backed stablecoin called TAL.
- VaultBet - A decentralized sports betting platform that supports ICP and ckBTC.
- Finterest (pending launch) - A bridgeless cross-chain lending protocol that with MakerDAO type mechanics.
- Quantstamp Audit - [in progress]
- Loka (pending launch) - A marketplace for 1:1 collateralized future Bitcoin mining rewards, and they are also working on the 1st decentralized Bitcoin mining pool.
NFT Marketplaces
Analytics
- Internet Computer Dashboard - The official network explorer and governance dashboard.
- NFTGeek - A strong analytics tool for ICP NFT collection and Token data.
- VPgeek - An NNS governance voting dashboard for tracking voting analytics and known neuron voting history.
- 221Bravo.App - Full featured ecosystem data and news portal.
- Sonic Analytics - Token & pair data for the Sonic DEX.
- ICPSwap Analytics - Token & pair data for the ICPSwap DEX.
- ICScan - A community explorer with some analytics for NFT collections.
- ICPCoins - A decentralized CoinMarketCap-style token price chart.
- IC.House - Chain explorer with include some useful tools.
- ICP Analytics - A dashboard with ICP wallet/holder data provided by D’ELIA CAPITAL.
- ICP Footprint - A basic ICP block explorer by Footprint Analytics.
Fundraising
- NNS Launchpad - The SNS DAO launchpad built into the on-chain DAO governance dapp which runs the Internet Computer Protocol.
- DFINITY Grants - The DFINITY foundation’s grant program for ecosystem project.
- Sonic LBP - A Liquidity Bootstrapping Pool that’s part of the Sonic DEX.
- Funded - A decentralized kickstarter-style crowdfunding platform, where investments become tradeable NFTs.
Build
Tools
- DFX - The official SDK for ICP.
- DFINITY Dev tool page - Directory of ICP developer tools.
- Juno - A web3 version of Firebase on ICP where you can launch a decentralized website in 5 minutes.
- ICP Anvil - A community creator of various ICP dev tools.
- Bitfinity - An EVM L2 hosted on ICP.
- BOOM DAO - A set of infrastructures and tools for Web3 game developers.
- Orally - A cross-chain oracle factory.
- Oisy - A novel Ethereum wallet hosted on ICP.
- ChainSight - Cross-chain data oracles.
- Motoko Playground - Online IDE for Motoko.
Talent
- TalentDB - The 1st ICP talent agency.
Education
- Motoko Bootcamp - A course to deploy your 1st dApp in 1 hour and build a DAO in 7 days.
- DFINITY Educational resources - A list of DFINITY-backed educational initiative.
- DFINITY Hackathon page - Information on upcoming and past hackathons with workshops and other resources.
- Deploy your first application on the Internet Computer - 14min video tutorial
- Setup your environment to start building on the IC - 12min video tutorial
- Receive 10$ worth of cycles to start building on the IC - Tutorial for getting starter funds
- Choosing a language to build on the IC - DFINITY documentation
- Exploring cost to build on the IC - DFINITY Documentation
- DFINITY “Inside the Internet Computer” playlist - Videos on core ICP concepts.
- ICP CC Talks 2023 - Conference talks from top ICP innovators.
- DFINITY Requests for Startups - A github repo detailing specific type of projects DFINITY is looking to support.
- DFINITY Grants - The DFINITY foundation’s grant program for ecosystem project.
- Awesome Internet Computer: a curated list of resources and projects - Ecosystem resource repository
- DFINITY Sample Code - A directory with full code examples for various types of dapps
Audits
- Solidstate - An ICP Audit Agency by Code & State.
- CAYA - An ICP Audit Agency by Applicature.
Dev Communities
- ICP.Hubs - Independent ICP hubs that host local ICP dev education events and initiatives.
- Motoko Bootcamp Discord - A community of developers learning to build on the internet computer, with access to free workshops, bootcamps, and technical support.
- DFINITY Dev Forum - Official forum for technical questions and support
- Internet Computer Developer Community - Community Discord server for ICP devs.
Contribute
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Attribution
This ICP ecosystem guide was created with love by Code & State and with the support of the thriving ICP community. Code & State is a Web3 venture studio dedicated to making it easier to build and earn on the Internet Computer. Visit our website or watch this YouTube video to learn more, and follow us on X to stay in the loop!
ICP Glossary
- Decentralized Internet - This is effectively what ICP is, and what the entire goal of the Web3 industry has been waiting for. It’s a new version of the internet which is collectively owned by its users rather than a few centralized companies, where smart contracts and applications can run seamlessly and transform the way we interact so that we can build a fairer digital world.
- Web3 dapp - This stands for “Web 3.0 Decentralized Application”. It means an application where the control is decentralized across it’s users rather than being fully controlled by 1 company or group. The goal is for them to be public digital services available for everyone to use fairly, without fear of censorship or manipulation.
- Web2 app - This stands for “Web 2.0 Application”. It basically just describes any online service, project, or platform use can access through a website.
- L1 Blockchain - This stands for “Layer 1 Blockchain”. Examples include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, and Solana. In an effort to scale, blockchains like Ethereum have had Layer 2 and even Layer 3 blockchain networks built on top of the original blockchain, which is called the Layer 1.
- Decentralized Cloud - Clouds are networks of enterprise-grade servers in datacenters, and they are used to host modern web applications. The top Web2 cloud service providers are Amazon Web Services, Azure, & Google Cloud, and they host/control over 60% of the internet. ICP is the very first full stack decentralized cloud network ever created.
- Decentralized Servers - Servers are powerful computers designed to serve web applications to client devices (like phones and laptops), and as such they are one of the most fundamental building blocks of the internet. ICP canisters can be described as “decentralized servers” to make them easier to understand, but more accurately they are an evolution of the “smart contract” concept into a decentralized WASM-based virtual machine.
- Smart Contract - A self-executing program hosted on a decentralized blockchain that processes trackable and irreversible transactions between participants so that they can execute an agreement or contract without needing to trust one another.
- Canister - An evolution of the “smart contract” concept into a decentralized WASM-based virtual machine which has advanced capabilities that enable the creation of full stack production-ready dapps with no centralized components.
- Gas - Blockchains are shared permissionless networks, and “gas” is the economic value that users of the network pay to the node providers who keep the network running.
- Cycles - A token used to pay the gas/compute costs for canisters. 1 SDR (a stable value asset based on a basket of international currencies use by the IMF) worth of ICP tokens can be irreversibly burned to create 1 trillion cycles. This keeps the cost of cycles, and therefore network gas costs, stable despite ICP token price action. This removes the large gas price spikes which are common on other blockchains.
- DAO - Stands for “Decentralized Autonomous Organization”. It is a dapp that’s designed to trustlessly execute the collective will of a member-owned community which has no centralized leadership. This is typically accomplished through governance tokens available on the open market which grant any token holder voting rights for a specific DAO. A DAO might be used to manage the governance of a treasury or dapp.
- Public Ledger - Most blockchains are constructed on top of a public list of transactions which tracks the token balances for the accounts of users and smart contracts across the network. ICP is fundamentally different. For example, with Ethereum you can only build on top of their public ledger but you cannot create anything like ICP, whereas on ICP you can create public ledgers like Ethereum and even host an EVM L2.
- Immutable - In Web3 this typically refers to permanently destroying the ability of a dapp to be controlled so that no one will ever be able to make changes to how it works again.
- Oracles - Blockchains cannot directly connect to the normal internet because they need to remain deterministic to maintain consensus. In simple terms, this just means every node in the network needs to be able to arrive at the same answers every time they execute a function so that they can all agree on the result. The problem is that the normal internet gives different answers depending on when a node requests data. To solve this, most blockchains use a single trusted source-of-truth called an oracle which gives consistent answers that allow the blockchain to collect outside data while remaining deterministic.
- Cross-chain Bridge - A bridge is a combination of 2 smart contracts: one deployed on each chain that allows for cross-chain transfers of value. For example, ETH deposited into the contract on the main net will provide a balance denominated in (say) ERC-20 tokens on a sidechain like Polygon. Bridges are highly complex and they are often a target for clever exploits which steal user funds. ICP is called “bridgeless” because canisters can directly hold and control assets on other chains without the need for deploying a bridge smart contract onto that chain.
- NNS - Stands for “Network Nervous System”, and it’s a DAO which controls everything on ICP. The NNS is governed by a community of ICP users who stake ICP tokens for voting rights on DAO proposals which control everything on the network, including protocol source code updates.
- SNS - Stands for “Service Nervous System” which is a type of DAO which controls a specific ICP dapp. An SNS DAO is governed by a community of dapp users who stake the dapps native governance tokens for voting rights on SNS DAO proposals which control the dapp, including source code updates for that dapp.
- ZKP - Stands for “Zero Knowledge Proofs”, which is a class of cryptographic algorithms that make it possible to validate specific qualities of a set data, without the data being revealed. For example, a ZKP platform could make it possible for someone to prove they are over 21 to an online alcoholic beverage website without revealing their actual age or any identifiable information about themselves. This means web users could get the ability to prove specific things about themselves as needed (to retailers, advertisers, government agencies, etc) without ever losing any privacy.
- TPS - Stands for “transactions per second” and is a measurement for the overall speed of a blockchain.
Disclaimer: The mention of any individuals, organizations, or entities in this Ecosystem Guide is purely for informational purposes. Code & State does not endorse, support, or promote any of the mentioned parties. The information provided in this guide is intended to offer a broad overview of the ecosystem and should not be interpreted as an endorsement or recommendation of any kind. Use at your own risk, and do your own research.