Premise
Whenever we talk about web3, I see a lot of skepticism and I get it; I'm skeptical about 99% of the projects out there; if you don't know me, I've written many articles against Bitcoin and other projects. But this is not an article about cryptos, investments, tokens or NFTs. This is just about the project, the technology and the solid projects that are being built on top of it.
Throughout this article I will NOT try to convince anybody to invest in IC (Internet Computer), but the opposite: Don't buy the ICP token, because its value has a function and there's no way you can have a good return on investment on it.
What is the Internet Computer?
Internet Computer is a blockchain, but with a twist. It is a layer 1 blockchain that runs on the internet, and it is designed to be a global computer that can run any application at web speed. It is built by the DFINITY Foundation, and it aims to provide a decentralized alternative to traditional cloud computing.
This means that Internet Computer is not focused on being a distributed ledger like Bitcoin or Ethereum, but rather a gigantic distributed computer that can run any application, both backend and frontend, in a decentralized way. And of course running applications, which are called canisters, is extremely fast and cheap.
Even me I've preferred hosting websites on Internet Computer than on other hosting platforms, because of costs and performance.
And you know what's the best part? Applications are written in Rust (or Motoko, which is a custom language created by DFINITY).
Yet another blockchain?
Well, not really. There is a big difference between Internet Computer and the mainstream blockchains like Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana. The main difference is it has the real capacity to run applications. It is basically the only one which can be considered capable of running web3.
If we give a look at the other, we've got Bitcoin which can only be used for exchanging Bitcoins, Ethereum was the first one to have the capability of running Distributed applications, but they are extremely slow, expensive and limited in functionalities. Indeed, they can only be used for storing data, but usually the business logic is run on a centralized server. So is it even web3?
And Solana is... Ethereum but faster and cheaper basically. And it's basically used only for trading shitcoins.
Web3: why do we even need it?
If you don't know what web3 is, it's basically the idea of a decentralized internet where users have control over their data and applications. The goal is to create a more open and transparent internet that is not controlled by a few large corporations.
And you may say, okay but do we even need it?
Well, I'll be honest. We don't. But we may want it.
And the reason is that we are seeing a lot of problems with the current internet. We have seen data breaches, censorship, and a lack of privacy and transparency. And we are also seeing a lot of monopolies forming in the tech industry, which is not good for innovation.
We've already seen some decentralized projects which are much healthier than their counterparts. And the best example for this is Mastodon, which has become very popular after the X.com stuff.
Of course Mastodon is not a web3 project, but it is a decentralized social network that is not controlled by a single entity. And this is what we need: decentralized applications that are not controlled by a single entity.
Now, I'm not saying that we need to get rid of all the centralized applications. I think they are great and they have their place in the world. But for some things decentralization would be much better, expecially for social networks, file storage and other applications that require a lot of trust.
And this is where Internet Computer could come in. Building decentralized applications on top of it is extremely easy, the network is fast, cheap and very reliable so nobody has to worry about setting up a decentralized infrastructure, which is a pain.
Compliancy with the law
Another good thing about Internet Computer is that is compliant with the law about privacy and data protection, a thing that is not true for most of the other blockchains.
For instance the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a law in the European Union that protects the privacy and data of individuals. It requires that companies have to be able to delete data upon request, and this is not possible on most blockchains.
A thing which is written on Bitcoin for instance, is there forever. And this is a problem for companies that want to use blockchain technology, because they have to comply with the law.
But Internet Computer doesn't keep track of data during time, but it just keeps track of the current state of the data. This means that if you want to delete data, you can just delete it and it's gone. And this is a big advantage for companies that want to use blockchain technology and comply with the law.
Also data is secured and not accessible by everyone, so you can be sure that your data is safe and secure. And this is a big advantage for companies that want to use blockchain technology and comply with the law.
ICP token price is healthy
Another very good sign for the project in my opinion is the token price. The token price is not going up and down like a rollercoaster or it is influenced by the global market.
This is a hated thing by cryptoboys, but for me it's a very good sign, because it means that the project is just not about the pyramid scheme behind cryptos, but it's about the technology and the applications that are being built on top of it.
And up to now, I only know two projects that have this token behaviour, but I won't mention the other yet; I will do it in another article dedicated to it.
Just for the record, the token (ICP) is used to pay the fees for running your applications on the network. If you're familiar with other blockchains, usually users pay for making transactions, but on Internet Computer it is up to the owner of the application to pay for the fees. This means that users don't have to worry about paying for transactions, and they can just use the application without having to worry about the underlying technology. This means that potentially user doesn't even need a wallet to interact with the application, which is a big advantage for the user experience.
Where are the projects?
Well, consider that the project is still very young, and it has been launched in 2021. So it is still in its infancy, but there are already some very interesting projects being built on top of it.
OpenChat
OpenChat is a decentralized chat application that is built on top of Internet Computer. It is similar to WhatsApp, but it is decentralized and it doesn't require a phone number to use it. It is also very fast and cheap to use, and it has a lot of features that are not available on other chat applications.
Docutrack
Currently with the ICP HUB Italy & Ticino, I'm working on Docutrack, a decentralized document management system that is built on top of Internet Computer. It is similar to Google Drive, but it is decentralized, documents can be shared with other users and documents are all encrypted E2E, so not even the owner of the node can read them.
Dragginz
Dragginz is a decentralized game that is built on top of Internet Computer. It is a MMORPG entirely running on the Internet Computer. Actually it is still under development, so it's not available yet.
Bitfinity EVM
With Bitfinity, I've worked on Bitfinity EVM which is an Ethereum Virtual Machine that is fully running on Internet Computer.
You can run any Ethereum smart contract on it, so it allows tokens and NFTs to be created, but it is extremely fast and cheap to use.
Orbit
Orbit is a secure and scalable solution for asset management and governance. Designed for teams of any size, Orbit offers multi-signature approvals for transparent decision-making, real-time treasury tracking with streamlined approvals, and auditable smart-contract deployment to enhance operational security and efficiency.
TL;DR it's an orchestration tool for managing permissions, access, updates, etc on your assets, governance and canisters.
Where to start?
If you want to start building on Internet Computer, I suggest you to start with the official tutorial.
Also if you need a project template to start with, you can check out my ic-canister-template.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I truly believe that Internet Computer is a very interesting project that has the potential to change the way we think about the internet and applications. It is a decentralized platform that is fast, cheap, and compliant with the law, and it has a lot of potential for building decentralized applications.
Also currently there is a raising interest in the project from the bank and the financial world to build secure applications on top of it, and this is a very good sign for the future of the project.
While if you read it's a dead project because of the token price, consider it a good thing. It means it's not just a pyramid scheme for shitcoins.