Binance listed Internet Computer (ICP) on its platform

Binance listed Internet Computer (ICP) on its platform and opened trading for ICP/BTC, ICP/BUSD, ICP/BNB, and ICP/USDT trading pairs today. Users were able to start depositing ICP in preparation for trading on Monday.

Internet Computer (ICP) is a layer-1 protocol. It is currently developing a decentralized public network for smart contracts to run at scale. The project’s goal is to become the internet computer, allowing backend software to be hosted on the network, along with providing the functionality of the public internet.

The company launched its native utility token ICP so that customers could use it for protocol governance and network transactions.

How does the Internet Computer Work?

The Internet Computer is built on an Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) which is also known as a novel decentralized protocol. It combines the collective computing power of many computer nodes to produce a single unified computer platform. The latter is capable of supporting applications of any scale and complexity.

The Internet Computer segregates smart contracts into secure code units called “canisters.” They are the computational units functioning as individual applications, as well as functions. End users can interact with these canisters through an entry point. Their user experience will be like the internet of today.

However, the Internet Computer will directly host and serve applications, along with data on-chain. Unlike the traditional internet, it won’t rely on centralized infrastructure. At its base layer, a network of data centers will be able to launch nodes running the ICP protocol. Afterward, it can arrange the nodes into subnetworks used to host software canisters that customers can interact with as part of their web experience.

The platform launched its semi-public mainnet as of March 2021. Currently, the company is creating data centers and hiring developers. The DFINITY Foundation introduced its 20-year roadmap, which is quite impressive.

The company plans to open schools teaching about the Internet Computer and its programming language Motoko within five years.

The internet computer also aims to be on a path to overtake big tech’s closed proprietary internet ecosystem in ten years. Within 20 years, the ICP may be bigger than the closed internet of today.