Internet Computer
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About Internet Computer
The Internet Computer runs full web applications on-chain — serving HTTP directly from smart contracts rather than storing state for a separate frontend. Its canisters bundle code and memory into units that can hold gigabytes, which is a fundamentally different scale of on-chain computation from what other networks attempt.
Canisters are programs with real memory
A canister is a WebAssembly module with persistent storage measured in gigabytes rather than the kilobytes typical of contract state elsewhere. That allows an entire application — database, logic and interface — to live on-chain, which is the network's central claim and the reason its resource model differs so sharply from everything else.
Reverse gas: the developer pays
Users do not need tokens or a wallet to interact. Canisters hold cycles, a stable-valued compute credit that developers top up, and consume them as they run. This removes the biggest onboarding barrier in the industry, and it means an application that becomes popular faces a rising operating bill it must fund.
Chain-key cryptography
The network maintains a single public key that verifies its output, so a client can check a response without downloading the chain. Subnets sign collectively using threshold cryptography, which also lets the network hold keys for other chains and sign transactions on them directly, without a bridge contract.
Subnets divide the work
Rather than every node processing everything, nodes are grouped into subnets that each host a set of canisters and can be added as demand grows. Capacity scales by adding subnets. Node providers are vetted rather than permissionless, which is a real centralisation input and a deliberate one given the hardware requirements.
What to weigh
The ambition is unmatched — full applications on-chain with no cloud dependency. The costs are a complex architecture, vetted node providers and a smaller ecosystem than chains that chose narrower goals. Its cross-chain signing capability is genuinely novel and worth understanding on its own terms.
Technical data
Frequently asked
What is a canister?
A WebAssembly program with persistent memory measured in gigabytes, capable of serving web content directly. It bundles code and storage into one on-chain unit.
Why do Internet Computer users not pay gas?
Canisters hold cycles that developers fund, and consume them as they run. Users need no tokens or wallet, while developers carry the operating cost.
What is chain-key cryptography?
A scheme where the network signs its output with a single public key using threshold signatures. Clients verify responses without syncing the chain, and the network can sign transactions on other blockchains without a bridge.