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ICON (blockchain platform)

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ICX
Denominations
CodeICX
Development
Original author(s)Min Kim
Initial releaseJanuary 2018
Development statusActive
Developer(s)ICON Foundation, ICONLOOP
Ledger
Timestamping schemeDelegated proof-of-stake
Block time2 seconds
Block explorerhttps://tracker.icon.community/
Website
Websitehttps://icon.foundation

ICON is a decentralized, open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality. ICX is the native cryptocurrency of the platform.

History

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Founding

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ICON was founded in 2017 by Min Kim of the Switzerland-based ICON Foundation.[1][2] According to the ICON white paper, the purpose for ICON was to introduce a new era of decentralization and hyper connect Korea.[3]

Launch

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ICON's initial coin offering (ICO) in September 2017 raised 150,000 ETH (approximately US$43 million at the time).[4]

At the time of launch, ICON was supported by various public and private organizations, including the Seoul Metropolitan Government in South Korea, and the Line Corporation in Japan.[5]

ICON 2.0

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In November 2021, ICON 2.0 was launched.[6] Changes included Java smart contract support, and preparation for future interoperability via the Blockchain Transmission Protocol (BTP).[7]

Design

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ICON is a permission less, non-hierarchical network of computers (nodes) that build on a growing series of "blocks" of transactions, known as a blockchain. Each block contains an identifier of the chain that must precede it if the block is to be considered valid. ICON's consensus mechanism is called Loop Fault Tolerance (LFT), a modified version of the Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus.[8]

The nodes are run by public representatives (P-Reps), with a block being generated approximately every two seconds. ICON was designed to be scalable for both public and private blockchain use cases.[9]

Applications

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Decentralized finance

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Main article: Decentralized finance

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a use case of ICON.[10] It offers traditional financial instruments in a decentralized architecture, outside of companies' and governments' control, such as money market funds which let users earn interest.[11] Decentralized finance applications can be accessed through a Web3-enabled browser extension or application, which allows users to directly interact with the ICON blockchain through a website.[12] Many of these decentralized applications (also known as dapps) can connect and work together to create complex financial services.[13]

Smart contracts

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Main article: Smart contract

Smart contracts are a use case of ICON.[14] A smart contract is a computer program or a transaction protocol which is intended to automatically execute, control, or document legally relevant events and actions, according to the terms of a contract or an agreement. The objectives of smart contracts are the reduction of need in trusted intermediators, arbitrations, and enforcement costs, fraud losses, as well as the reduction of malicious and accidental exceptions.[15]

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)

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Main article: Non-fungible token

ICON allows for the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).[16] Since tokens of this type are unique, they have been used to represent such things as collectibles, digital art, sports memorabilia, virtual real estate, and items within games.[17] Land, buildings, and avatars in blockchain-based virtual worlds can also be bought and sold as NFTs.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hong, Min-ki (2019-06-12). "[실리콘밸리 한인 기업 열전] 현실생활에 사용되는 블록체인 세계화 아이콘 재단 창업자 민 킴". The Korea Times (in Kanuri). Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  2. ^ "ICON". Investopedia. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  3. ^ Ramirez, Elaine. "Could This Blockchain In Korea Be The First To Connect An Entire Country?". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
  4. ^ "What is Icon? (ICX): The Beginner's Guide". Kraken. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  5. ^ Ji-young, Sohn (2018-05-15). "Line Plus forms new JV 'Unchain' with blockchain platform Icon". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  6. ^ "Development Progress". The Iconist. 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  7. ^ "ICON commits $200M to interoperability incentive fund". Entrepreneur News. 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  8. ^ "A Primer to LFT (Loop Fault Tolerance) Consensus Algorithm". icon.support.
  9. ^ Brett, Charles (2020-09-29). "ICON 2.0, an architecture for cross-chain interoperability/DeFi". Enterprise Times. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  10. ^ Kim, Min (2021-12-04). "ICON (ICX): A Deep Dive Into Its Enterprise Use Cases". Gemini. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  11. ^ Kauflin, Jeff. "Why Everyone In Crypto Is Talking About DeFi". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  12. ^ "How to invest in cryptocurrency: A beginner's guide to Omm". Omm blog. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  13. ^ Kharif, Olga (2021-12-01). "Why 'DeFi' Utopia Would Be Finance Without Financiers: QuickTake". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  14. ^ Harper, Colin (2018-11-19). "What Is ICON (ICX)? A Guide to the Global Decentralized Network". CoinCentral. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  15. ^ Szabo, Nick (1997-09-01). "Formalizing and Securing Relationships on Public Networks". First Monday. 2 (9). doi:10.5210/fm.v2i9.548. ISSN 1396-0466. S2CID 33773111.
  16. ^ "Focus on NFTs and interoperability pushes Icon (ICX) higher". Crypto Rating. 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  17. ^ Browne, Ryan (2021-02-25). "Crypto collectibles are selling for thousands — and celebrities like Mark Cuban are cashing in". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  18. ^ Howcroft, Elizabeth (2021-04-19). "The 'metaverse' bet: crypto-rich investors snap up virtual real estate". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
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