On May 11, in the first day of trading, the DFINITY project’s governance token entered the top-7 by market capitalization, at $51.6 billion.
After the successful launch on May 7 of the Mercury network genesis block, the native Internet Computer (ICP) token appeared on the listings of Coinbase Pro, Binance, FTX, Huobi and OKEx.
That’s a wrap. Thanks to everyone who tuned into the #InternetComputer Mercury Genesis Launch Event 🎬🎉
If you missed the live stream, we’ll be re-posting the content within the coming days. pic.twitter.com/T3tx88egB4
— DFINITY Foundation (@dfinity) May 7, 2021
ICP price at the moment peaked at $730 (aggregate market capitalization exceeded $100 billion). Subsequently, quotes stabilized around $400.
The genesis block began the process of unlocking ICP for token-sale participants in February 2017 and the airdrop in summer 2018. Over 12 months the remaining tokens will be issued in equal parts. At present, one third of the planned ICP is in circulation.
Later, the mechanism for distributing tokens among representatives of the Internet Computer Association (a non-profit) and the DFINITY Foundation, team members, consultants and early participants, will be determined.
The ICP utility token in the NNS serves the following functions:
- facilitate network governance through neurons taking part in voting on proposals;
- production of cycles for computations;
- rewards for voting participants and node operators.
The ICP trading launch followed five years of development and four phases of the project’s implementation (Copper, Bronze, Tungsten and Sodium), as well as alpha and beta versions of the mainnet within the Mercury phase.
This Network Nervous System demo explains how to lock up ICP utility tokens into neurons and participate in NNS governance on the #InternetComputer.
Tune in live here: https://t.co/PrfUvyAO9V pic.twitter.com/KqpAoDD1q5
— DFINITY Foundation (@dfinity) May 7, 2021
DFINITY positions itself as a decentralized “Internet Computer.” The project team aims to create the first blockchain that runs at internet speed with unlimited throughput, while remaining decentralized, secure and scalable.
In the Internet Computer network, developers will be able to build websites, enterprise IT systems, cross-industry protocols, scalable open web services, DeFi and NFTs.
DFINITY is also positioned as an alternative to Amazon Web Services. The developers aim to break the monopoly of centralized IT giants by creating decentralized alternatives to Uber, eBay, Facebook and other well-known platforms.
At present, the DFINITY ecosystem brings together dapps, decentralized social media, DeFi and infrastructure applications.
In February 2018, Polychain Capital and Andreessen Horowitz invested $61 million in DFINITY. In the same year, the project conducted a private token sale for accredited investors, raising another $102 million.
In June 2020, DFINITY opened its protocol to external developers.
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