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The digital landscape continues to evolve, with the Internet Computer (ICP) protocol potentially playing a significant role in this change. ICP aims to decentralize the internet using blockchain technology, offering increased capacity and presenting potential opportunities for developers, entrepreneurs, and users. However, it is important to consider both the advantages and challenges associated with this innovative approach.

In this article, BeInCrypto explores ICPs impact on democratizing web infrastructure and the advancements in smart contract capabilities.

We also examine the projects rise and fall, exploring the reasons behind its spectacular downfall and the lessons to be learned from its trajectory.

For years, the internet has been dominated by tech giants and government institutions, controlling large swathes of the digital space. ICP seeks to disrupt this status quo by decentralizing web infrastructure and empowering individuals to access and develop on the internet freely.

One of ICPs primary advantages is fostering a more inclusive, accessible internet. By breaking down barriers to entry and reducing reliance on centralized platforms, the protocol empowers smaller businesses and entrepreneurs to compete with large corporations.

This shift enables a fairer, more competitive market and sparks innovation in the digital space.

However, ICPs decentralization comes with potential drawbacks. Decentralized systems can face scalability issues, and ensuring adequate security becomes increasingly challenging.

While ICPs architecture aims to mitigate these concerns, they still pose potential risks to users.

ICPs enhanced smart contract capabilities are transforming industries like finance, healthcare, and supply chain, driving innovation and efficiency.

ICPs smart contracts offer flexibility and speed, enabling secure, tamper-proof automation of complex processes.

With ICP, industries can streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve overall efficiency, all while maintaining a high level of security and trust.

Nonetheless, smart contracts on ICP are not without obstacles. Integrating these revolutionary contracts into legacy systems may prove challenging, and gaining widespread adoption might be slow due to hesitance from traditional industries. While ICP has the potential to transform sectors, its success depends on overcoming these barriers.

ICPs technology allows developers to build open, decentralized applications, leading to a new era of innovation and collaboration.

Developers can harness ICPs decentralized infrastructure to build novel applications and services, free from the constraints of centralized platforms. This environment fosters collaboration, cross-pollination of ideas, and rapid innovation, ultimately benefiting end-users and the broader digital ecosystem.

However, the complexity of ICPs technology may present challenges for developers. Building decentralized applications requires learning new programming paradigms, and the intricacies of ICPs system can be daunting. Consequently, some developers may struggle to adapt or be reluctant to adopt the protocol.

Internet Computer took the world by storm in 2021, with a meteoric rise in its token value and a promise to disrupt the cloud computing industry. However, less than two years later, the project has experienced a spectacular fall from grace. In this section, we explore the reasons behind ICPs downfall and the lessons that can be learned from its trajectory.

The Internet Computer project was launched by DFINITY, a Swiss non-profit organization, amidst a frenzy of excitement for new cryptocurrencies. As a result, its token, ICP, soared in value, and the project quickly became one of the worlds top ten largest coins. With over $166 million in funding from reputable investors such as Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain Capital, Internet Computer seemed poised to revolutionize the digital landscape.

The project aimed to build a decentralized supercomputer capable of running blockchain-based applications comparable to popular services like WhatsApp and Venmo. This ambitious vision garnered significant attention, with some even claiming that Internet Computer could disrupt giants like AWS and Google Cloud.

Despite its initial hype and substantial funding, Internet Computer has failed to live up to expectations. The ICP tokens value plummeted by over 98%, and its total market cap plunged from $9.5 billion to around $1 billion.

One of the primary factors contributing to Internet Computers downfall is the lack of transparency regarding its ecosystem. Unlike other popular blockchains like Ethereum, Polkadot, and Binance Chain, it is difficult to ascertain what has been built on Internet Computer. Many of the apps in its ecosystem have either ceased development or show little to no activity.

Internet Computers dApps, like OpenChat and DSCVR, have faced challenges in gaining user adoption. The process of creating an account on OpenChat, for example, is lengthy, and new members are no longer being accepted. Similarly, DSCVR, a community-owned professional network, lacks meaningful content, leading to a disappointing user experience.

Other dApps, such as DFinance, Portal, and NFT Studio, have faced similar issues, with little to no meaningful activity in their ecosystems.

Despite its struggles, Internet Computer is not entirely dead. Activity within its ecosystem still exists, as evidenced by its explorer. The question remains, however, whether this activity justifies a market cap of over $1 billion.

Internet Computers meteoric rise and subsequent fall offer valuable insights into the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. While its ambitious goals and substantial funding initially garnered excitement, the projects inability to deliver on its promises and the lack of user adoption ultimately led to its downfall.

As the world of decentralized technology continues to evolve, projects like Internet Computer serve as cautionary tales. To succeed in this competitive landscape, blockchain projects must offer transparent development, user-friendly experiences, and the ability to adapt to changing market conditions. Only then can they hope to achieve lasting impact and growth in the digital ecosystem.

Following the Trust Project guidelines, this feature article presents opinions and perspectives from industry experts or individuals. BeInCrypto is dedicated to transparent reporting, but the views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of BeInCrypto or its staff. Readers should verify information independently and consult with a professional before making decisions based on this content.

Link:

Internet Computer: Hurdles of Decentralizing the Internet - BeInCrypto

Coffee and Portland are simpatico, synonymous, a tale as old as time. This city has been home to one of the countrys leading coffee scenes for decades, from dens of late-twentieth century bohemia to world-shaking name brands turned global megacorps to infamously snobby culinary exhibitions of third-wave attitude.

Roughly one million years ago (you know, the late aughts) you really had to know where to look to find this stuff in cities like Los Angeles and New York. Meanwhile, in Portland, there was fancy coffee in just about every neighborhood. But while coffee culture in Portland grew strong and fast, it also often looked the same. There was an inherent paradoxa bunch of rule-breaking nonconformists who often looked and acted eerily similar, unignorable in their exclusionary posture and monolithic expression. The end result felt like a flattening of coffees possibilities: the same snobby barista looking down at the same mocha over a loud blast of the same indie rock. Like how all bands on a record label (remember those?) end up sounding alike.

How quickly times change. Todays Portland coffee scene is a multiverse, a maximalist, inclusive pleasure dome of forms and versions of cafe culture, offering something for literally everyone, with modifications and self-expression expressly encouraged. Coffee in Portland today looks like a purist shot of espresso on state-of-the-art technology, a sneaker cafe that doubles as a living art gallery, and an outrageously good c ph sa d made from coffee grown in Vietnam. Theres a duality to this thing now, like both lobes of the brain, genuinely earnest, heart-on-sleeve roasters seeking to educate about the true cost of coffee production to none-too-serious coffee lounges with gorgeous interior design, shaking matcha lattes and roasted fig cappuccinos with style and grace. Often, youll find both in the same place.

Portland coffee in 2023 is home to a glorious set of influences and contradictions, from utterly personal owner-operated coffee bars to striving mini-chains making delicious coffee at scale alongside fully realized food programs. There are cafes expressing coffee culture from Korea, Mexico, China, Vietnam, Holland, and Japan, to name just a few, and yet each of these feels indelibly connected to Portland, of the Portland coffee moment, the sort of place that feels uniquely tethered to here.

Decentralization and self-expression abound. Nearly every small cafe in Portland is a roaster now, thanks to increased access to small-scale roasting technology and the work of collaborative roasting hubs, where even the smallest company can rent time and buy coffee as they hone their skills. The citys coffee scene looks very different today from those early famous days, and I think thats something to celebrate as a consumer, a coffee fanatic, someone who loves coffee deeply (and happens to also write about it professionally). Im tired of telling those same old stories, and I think the city is tired of drinking them, toowhich is why our citizens are so ready to support new ideas, new cafes, new versions of a modern Portland coffee scene. Today you could go to a different cafe every day in Portland for a hundred days and not drink the same cup of drip, or have the same exact style of latte, or stare at the same food menu, or hear the same songs. What could possibly be better?

And so we offer a guide as multifaceted and many-splendored as the citys cafe scene itself, with coffees from every corner of the world and cafes to suit any vibe. It is joyfully unrecognizable in many ways from the old days, with new leaders and destinations that have rewritten the script with stirring results.Sometimes the reboot is even better than the original. To that we say, long live the new wave of Portland coffee.

Go here to see the original:

The New, Joyful Face of Portland Coffee - Portland Monthly