ICON Network is a general purpose blockchain protocol based on the native cryptocurrency ICX that can run smart contracts, adopt the BFT-DPoS (Delegated Proof-of-Stake) consensus protocol, and use an economic-governance protocol called DPoC (Delegated Proof-of-Contribution). The ICON Network is powered by a proprietary blockchain engine called 'loopchain' and has the ability to handle hundreds of transactions per second. The ICON project was started to ensure the integrity and transparency of data shared between institutions and companies, and to move mutual assets on heterogeneous blockchains without a centralized organization. In the long term, ICON Network will be an interchain that connects multiple blockchains based on BTP technology.
The ICON Network has a structure for connecting heterogeneous blockchains operating in different domains.
Current blockchains are independently operating in different areas and domains, and there is no standard protocol to exchange data and assets between the different blockchains. For example, when you move assets on a security domain blockchain to an insurance domain blockchain, or when you move assets on Ethereum to ICON, it is almost impossible to transfer because there is no secure and standard way of doing so.
Even though you use an oracle relayer to transfer the asset, there remains a risk of trust in the oracle being centralized. To avoid the trust issue of the oracle, a secure standard protocol that prevents forgery and tampering when moving assets across heterogeneous blockchains was needed.
In the 1970s, different private networks were independently operated and were disconnected from each other. However, once the TCP/IP protocol standard came out to connect private networks and formed a huge network called the Internet, the power of the connected networks has been growing at an incredible rate.
The ICON project aims to create a strongly interconnected blockchain network by integrating various public and enterprise networks in a similar way as TCP/IP. The ICON interchain protocol (BTP) will begin to integrate dApps and wallets (users) on different blockchains, have a role of bridging heterogeneous blockchains invisibly, and penetrate deeper into our lives.
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