Internet Computer (ICP) will make it possible to organize smart contracts with Bitcoin (BTC) on its network. You consider yourself a technological pioneer.
Since the debut of the Internet Computer (ICP) on the stock exchange in May, which was accompanied by a lot of hype, the Altcoin has been rather quiet. Internet Computer’s all-time high of nearly US$740 at the time looks like a relic of ancient times with current values below US$50. Today, the DFINITY Foundation, which is at the origin of ICP, is trying to give new impetus to the project. In a press release, the DFINITY Foundation reports that an upgrade to Internet Computer will make it possible to process smart contracts with Bitcoin (BTC) directly in the ICP network.
According to the DFINITY Foundation, these Bitcoin smart contracts will be the first of their kind on Internet computers in the industry, opening the doors to Web 3.0 for BTC. The upgrade is made possible after a vote by network participants at ICP, which resulted in 96.5% approval. According to the proposal roadmap, Bitcoin smart contracts are expected to be integrated into ICP by the end of the year.
Bitcoin Smart Contracts – really a world first?
Internet Computer refers to its “chain-key cryptography” as the technological foundation that allows digital signatures to be issued on external blockchains, like Bitcoin here. Coupled with BTC reserves, it will be possible to confirm smart contracts with Bitcoin in 2 seconds and not have to wait up to 40 minutes to confirm a Bitcoin transaction in the BTC blockchain. Sounds convincing so far – but doubts about the meaning of BTC smart contracts at ICP are still allowed.
Because Bitcoin (BTC), as a key currency in the crypto industry with its current market capitalization of US$800 billion, has long since moved towards DeFi and Smart Contracts. Tokens such as Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) use a solution that is actually quite simple. In order to chart Bitcoin in foreign blockchains – in the case of WBTC it is that of Ethereum (ETH) – BTC is deposited as collateral and then tokens are generated for the external ecosystem at a ratio of 1 :1. Wrapped Bitcoin for Ethereum is even ahead of Internet Computer in the ranking of the most capitalized cryptocurrencies. The Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has Bitcoin BEP2 (BTCB) and such solutions are also used in other ecosystems. They always come with the fact that the incompatibility of the original Bitcoin blockchain is bridged, so that the scalability, smart contracts, and speed of external blockchains for BTC can be accessed.
Conclusion: Internet Computer is looking for use cases
A look at the DFINITY Foundation’s online presence for Internet computers is sobering. The use case references presented there are modest, an ICP Messenger, for example, only has 36,000 users to date and a LinkedIn copy therefore only has 19,000 entries. When launched, Internet Computer thought about attracting users and creating use cases for PKI with decentralized versions of popular web services. So now Bitcoin is supposed to serve as the raison d’etre for ICP – but the Internet Computer price curve did not turn positive after the announcement of BTC Smart Contracts, but remained in a downward trend.
Internet Computer is listed on Binance. If you don’t have a Binance account yet, you can create one here and save 10% in fees. You will find everything you need to know here.