Internet Computer Wiki Staging - User contributions [en]

FAQ

2022-01-19T12:05:08Z

M583:

==What is the Internet Computer vision?==

[[Internet Computer vision]]

==How fast is the Internet Computer?==

For a deeper dive, see [[Internet Computer Performance]].

Below is a high-level overview:

The most helpful way to way to answer this question is by choosing a vantage point.

===From the point of view of a dapp user (e.g. "dapps the speed makes possible") ===

From the point of view of a user of a dapp, the IC is "fast" enough that app consumers would have no idea that it runs with a blockchain under the hood (or Azure or IBM or AWS). It would be comparable to centralized compute providers. This means that while it would be extremely tricky to "build an Airbnb web app on (traditional) smart contracts" because of the slow user experience, developers can create "Airbnb web app on the Internet Computer".

That is how apps like [https://v2.oc.app/ OpenChat], LinkedUp, Distrikt can provide a good user experience.

===From the point of view of a dapp developer (e.g. "latency of calls") ===

There will be two relevant factors:

a. '''How fast a dapp can READ data from a backend on the IC''' - Apps can make query calls to canisters (which hold state) so it can read data in less than a second ('''targeting under 200 milliseconds and regularly hit under 250 milliseconds''').

b. '''How fast a dapp can WRITE data to a backend on the IC''' - Apps can make UPDATE calls. These go through consensus so they take more time. '''Target is 2 seconds''' currently (with constant work to decrease that further). Compared to BTC or ETH, this is orders of magnitude faster. Compared to centralized compute, this MAY seem slow at first, but actually, if you take into account the amount of replication across servers in most stacks, it is par for the course.

More details here: https://wiki.internetcomputer.org/index.php?title=Query_and_update_call_latency

===From the POV of blockchain measurements (e.g "blocks per second & transactions per second") ===

The IC is "unbounded" which means that, unlike most other protocols, it can improve latency and throughput by adding more machines. To double the calls per second... we would just add more subnets. This is a key point in the phrase "the IC is unbounded." As of January 18, 2021, the Internet Computer is processing '''31.7 blocks per second''': https://dashboard.internetcomputer.org/

==How big is the Internet Computer?==

===Size of the Internet Computer===

The Internet Computer's size (read: topology)<ref>https://medium.com/dfinity/a-technical-overview-of-the-internet-computer-f57c62abc20f</ref> can be measured in a few ways:

* Number of smart contracts
* Number of subnets
* Number of nodes
* Number of data centers

[[File:Hiearchy_of_network_building_blocks.jpeg|1000px]]

===Smart Contracts===

As of January 7, 2022, there are '''16,728<ref>https://dashboard.internetcomputer.org/</ref> smart contracts''' created since May 10, 2021. The goal is for this to be '''billions''' in 10 years.

===Subnets===

As of January 7, 2022, there are '''30 subnets<ref>https://dashboard.internetcomputer.org/</ref>''' in the Internet Computer. The goal is for this to be '''hundreds of thousands''' in 10 years.

===Nodes===

As of January 7, 2022, there are '''412 nodes<ref>https://dashboard.internetcomputer.org/</ref>''' in the Internet Computer. The goal is for this to be '''millions''' in 10 years.

===Data Centers===

As of January 7, 2022, there are '''21 nodes<ref>https://www.dfinityexplorer.org/#/datacenters/</ref>''' in the Internet Computer. The goal is for this to be '''thousands''' in 10 years.

==What is the function of the ICP utility token?==

The ICP token is used in a variety ways.

===Computation and Storage===

The first use ICP is used to pay for computation in the form of cycles. 1 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_drawing_rights SDR] of ICP can be converted to a trillion cycles. SDR is a stable basket of currencies tracked by the IMF. Its price sits around $1.42 USD at the time of writing. Cycles are burned to pay for computation, storage, and serving of web pages. As more dapps are hosted on the Internet Computer blockchain, more ICP tokens are converted and burned.

===Governance of the Internet Computer===
The second use of ICP is in the NNS. If you want to vote and earn voting rewards in the NNS, you have to stake your ICP tokens in a neuron. When you vote, you receive voting rewards in the form of newly minted ICP tokens.

===Rewards to node owners===
Lastly, ICP tokens are also minted as rewards to node owners. On the one hand, the total supply of ICP is deflationary because the tokens are converted into cycles and burned. On the other hand, it is inflationary because rewards are minted for node owners and neurons.

==What kind of dapps are possible on the Internet Computer?==

==What is the history of the Internet Computer?==

==Why can the Internet Computer do these things other blockchains cannot?==

The technical reasons go beyond the scop of the FAQ, but a high-level answer is:

=== Unique to the Internet Computer ===

'''Chain key cryptography'''<ref>https://medium.com/dfinity/chain-key-technology-one-public-key-for-the-internet-computer-6a3644901e28</ref> is the engine that drives the Internet Computer and makes its operation possible. It allows for:

* Adding new nodes to form new subnets to scale the network infinitely
* Replacing faulty or crashed nodes with new ones without ever stopping
* Reviving subnets even if too many nodes within have failed
* Upgrading the Internet Computer Protocol seamlessly, allowing the network to fix bugs and add new features

=== Modern technologies leveraged by the Internet Computer ===

The use of WebAssembly as the execution layer<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/dfinity/comments/nrmvim/ama_we_are_akhi_alexandra_islam_and_dimitris_from/</ref> of the Internet Computer gives canister smart contracts an execution environment that allows for very powerful smart contracts

==What is the consensus algorithm of the Internet Computer?==

=How does the ICP Ecosystem look like?=

==Where can I see a list of some dapps on the Internet Computer?==

===Example dapps===

* [https://identity.ic0.app Internet Identity]
* [https://nns.ic0.app NNS dapp]
* [https://h5aet-waaaa-aaaab-qaamq-cai.raw.ic0.app/ DSCVR]
* [https://c7fao-laaaa-aaaae-aaa4q-cai.ic0.app/ Distrikt]
* [https://7e6iv-biaaa-aaaaf-aaada-cai.ic0.app/ OpenChat]

===Lists of dapps===

https://dfinity.org/showcase/
https://dfinityapps.co/
https://n7ib3-4qaaa-aaaai-qagnq-cai.raw.ic0.app/
https://github.com/dfinity/awesome-dfinity

==How is the Internet Computer governed?==

==How fast is the Internet computer gaining adoption?==

=Crypto & Blockchain Questions=

==How does the Internet Computer compare with Bitcoin?==

==How does the Internet Computer compare with Ethereum?==

==How decentralized is the Internet computer?==

==How do I build on the Internet Computer?==

==How much does it cost to run a dapp on the Internet Computer?==

==How is the Internet Computer governed?==

==What are the tokenomics of the Internet Computer?==

==How do I stake on the Internet Computer?==

==What do smart contracts on the Internet computer look like?==

==How does the Internet Computer scale?==

==Where can I see the code of the Internet Computer?==

=Node Provider questions=

==How does one become a node provider to the Internet Computer?==

==Another Title==
...and some text.

ICP token

2022-01-18T09:40:24Z

M583:

Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) utility tokens play a multipronged role within the IC. ICP token holders can participate in the governance of the Internet Computer, ICP tokens are used to remunerate node providers, and (indirectly) are used to pay for the resources used by the smart contracts running on the IC. The value of the ICP tokens is determined on the open market [https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/internet-computer/][https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/internet-computer] and are traded on many crypto exchanges.
== ICP tokens and Governance ==

To participate in the governance of the Internet Computer one must lock ICP tokens in a stake. On the IC the stakes are called neurons, and allow participation in the algorithmic governance system implemented on the IC by the [[Network Nervous System]] (NNS). Neuron owners can submit proposals and vote on proposals that guide the evolution of the IC. At regular intervals, (currently, every 24h), the neurons that have voted the proposals settled in the previous period earn rewards proportional to the voting power of the neuron. This wiki also provides further information on [[How_to_stake_on_the_Internet_computer|how to stake ICP tokens]] and [[Governance_of_the_Internet_Computer|how neurons participate in governance]].

== ICP tokens and Canister smart contracts ==

ICP tokens can be converted to cycles. Cycles are the second native utility token of the IC and their primary purpose is to power the smart contract ecosystem built on the IC platform. In particular, cycles are used to pay for creating canister smart contracts and for the resources that canisters use (storage, computation, and bandwidth).

Conversion of ICP to Cycles is a built-in functionality of the NNS: the NNS burns ICP tokens and mints Cycles. The conversion process pegs the cost of Cycles to the value of a basket of currencies called [https://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/rms_sdrv.aspx Special drawing rights] (SDR). In a bit more detail, the IC ingests information regarding the latest ICP to SDR conversion rate and then sets the ICP to Cycles conversion rate so that 1 trillion cycles costs 0.8 SDR. In the conversion process, the ICP tokens are effectively burnt and the corresponding Cycles are minted.

== ICP tokens and node providers ==

ICP tokens are used to pay node providers -- these are the entities that own the computing nodes that make up the IC. At regular intervals (currently monthly), the NNS decides on the number of tokens which each node provider has earned, mints the corresponding tokens, and sends the tokens to the node provider's account.
== How to get ICP tokens ==

There are different ways you can acquire ICP tokens:

* Purchase ICP tokens directly through an exchange that lists ICP tokens available for trade. Coinmarketcap maintains a reasonably complete [https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/internet-computer/markets/ list of exchanges that trade ICP] tokens
* Receive tokens as [[Governance_of_the_Internet_Computer|voting rewards for participating in the governance]] of the Internet Computer
* Receive ICP tokens from somebody who sends them to an account you created
*Receive a [https://dfinity.org/grants/ developer grant] of tokens through the Internet Computer Association (ICA) or the DFINITY Foundation
* Receive tokens as remuneration for providing computing capacity as a node provider

== Ledger of ICP accounts and transactions ==
On the IC, the information about the ICP tokens is maintained in the Ledger canister, a component of the Network Nervous System. The Ledger canister maintains a mapping between account identifiers and (ICP) token amounts. The Ledger provides an API that allows the principal, e.g. a user or a canister smart contract, who controls an account to transfer ICP tokens to any other account. All transfers are recorded as transactions in a ledger of transactions. The ledger also records minting and burning of ICP tokens.

Control over a user’s ICP accounts and neurons is associated with a unique principal. The principal identifies the authorization mechanism that can be used for operations that involve the principal's accounts and neurons. User principals are derived from hashes of public signature keys and to authorize a transaction the user creates a digital signature on it. Needless to say, the user's private signing key should be securely generated (e.g., have sufficient entropy), should be securely stored and should be backed up. Depending on the value of the ICP tokens (or neurons) the key controls, the user can make a trade-off point between security of the key and the level of friction required to utilize the key. Guidance to users for managing ICP holdings can be found [[Managing ICP holdings|here]].

ICP token

2022-01-18T09:40:10Z

M583:

Test editing the Internet Computer Wiki

2022-01-18T09:29:17Z

M583:

This is a test page. Feel free to add, remove and edit the text below.

This is a test "hello world" afsdjg

m583 was here