Hello Readers,
I hope all of you are having an awesome time in this wild wild crypto realm and I guess you are enjoying the long awaited pump season right now. By the way, though many of us have been in this world of blockchain and cryptocurrency for a long time and gained experience, do you ever wonder which one among them is the fastest blockchain in the world right now? Today while searching for a blog topic, I also asked myself this and then wildly guessed some of the top chains, but when I went to check the answer on Google, I was surprised to see ICP is the fastest blockchain right now. So in this post, let us talk about this particular crypto project and learn what makes it special. So, if you are interested, let’s take a deep dive without any further ado.
ICP
The Internet Computer (ICP) is a one-of-a-kind advanced blockchain system designed to replace the traditional IT infrastructure and cloud services that we still use largely, and run applications entirely on a decentralized network. Launched on May 10, 2021, Internet Computer aka ICP aims to make the internet that we use in the everyday world fully decentralized and fully accessible to everyone, freeing it from the centralized Big Tech’s control. This layer 1 blockchain is popular for its unmatched speed, security and efficiency, based on which the ICP is writing the new definition of how the world interacts with digital services. Now, Let us look at some features of ICP at below…
FEATURES
- ICP TPS - 1,365 transactions per second
- ICP Max TPS - 25,621 transactions per second
- ICP Max Theoretical TPS - 209,708 transactions per second
- ICP block time - 0.48s
- ICP time to finality - 0s
What Makes ICP Unique?
Unlike most of the other blockchains that focus primarily on cryptocurrency transactions, ICP acts as a global decentralized computer, that can host literally everything from websites to complex applications under a single Roof. Its defining features include…
- Unmatched Speed - ICP handles an impressive 1,365 transactions per second (TPS), with a maximum capacity of 25,621 TPS and a theoretical peak of 209,708 TPS.
- Blazing Fast Block Time - Blocks are created in just 0.48 seconds, and finality is instant (0 seconds), meaning transactions are confirmed immediately.
How ICP Works | Canisters and Reverse Gas Model
At the core of ICP’s technology, the main thing is the Canisters, which are next-generation smart contracts capable of storing data, running code, and performing complex computations. These Canisters have the potential to offer performance far beyond traditional smart contracts while utilizing hundreds of gigabytes of memory and operating at the speed of a modern CPU. For comparison, Ethereum smart contracts have significantly lower memory and processing capacity, so its already providing a great advantage there.
ICP also introduces a reverse gas model, where developers can prepay for transaction fees by simply loading Canisters with "cycles." This allows the users to interact with ICP-based applications without needing tokens or wallets, creating a user experience that mirrors traditional web applications.
What Can Be Built on ICP?
ICP’s powerful blockchain based infrastructure supports the development of a wide range of applications, including…
- Decentralized Social Media - Platforms like Facebook or Twitter without ads or centralized control.
- DeFi (Decentralized Finance) - Applications for lending, trading, and financial management that are secure, instant and transparent.
- Blockchain Games - Fully running on-chain games that grant players ownership of in-game assets.
- AI Applications - ICP is the only blockchain capable of running AI inference models directly on-chain due to its salient features.
End-to-End Decentralisation and Sovereign Hardware
Unlike may other blockchains that rely on centralized cloud services, ICP runs on its own sovereign hardware devices operated by independent node operators around the world. This practice ensures the true decentralization model and eliminates any dependency on Big Tech’s cloud infrastructure. ICP’s governance is managed by the Network Nervous System (NNS DAO), which allows the network to evolve and scale in real-time without centralized control.
Seamless Integration with Web2 and Other Blockchains
- ICP is very user-friendly because it seamlessly integrates with both traditional Web2 resources and other blockchains.
- It processes HTTP requests directly, thus allowing users to interact with ICP applications as they would with any website.
- ICP’s Chain Fusion technology enables a secure cross-chain communication system without the need of centralized bridges, thus allowing it to write transactions directly to other blockchains like Bitcoin (via Chain-Key Bitcoin or ckBTC).
The Future of the Internet
ICP’s main vision is to replace traditional software with smart contracts, and thus making the internet a decentralized, user-controlled space. It is a combination of speed, scalability and security that is setting the stage for the near upcoming future of Web3, where all applications will be unstoppable, immune to cyberattacks and governed by decentralized organizations.