Launched in May 2021 by the Dfinity Foundation under the leadership of Dominic Williams, the Internet Computer (ICP) is an ambitious blockchain protocol designed to act as a "World Computer" that extends the functionality of the public internet. Unlike most blockchains that rely on centralized cloud servers (like AWS) for front-end hosting, ICP allows developers to build and run full-stack decentralized applications—web, mobile, and enterprise systems—entirely on-chain. The network is powered by Chain Key Cryptography, a technical breakthrough that allows it to scale horizontally via "subnets" and process transactions at web speed. The native ICP token is central to the ecosystem: it is used to reward node providers, locked into "neurons" to vote on governance proposals via the Network Nervous System (NNS), and burned to create "Cycles," which serve as the stable-cost fuel for computational power.
