ICN Protocol: When WebFi encounters real needs, this is the correct way to open economies of scale Friends, today let's talk about a very promising Alpha project - ICN Protocol. In the midst of the DePIN project, which was filled with empty promises, the ICN Protocol team quietly worked hard and submitted a stunning report card that amazed everyone. one ⃣ DePIN's dilemma: why are 99% of projects "idle"? When it comes to DePIN, people's minds may still be stuck in the era of 'mining is mining'. The vast majority of DePIN projects have fallen into a vicious cycle - without real demand, they can only rely on token incentives to maintain network operation. Once incentives stop or tokens plummet, the entire network becomes an empty city. The fatal flaw of traditional DePIN projects lies in falling into the "supply side illusion" - the belief that as long as sufficient decentralized computing power/storage is provided, demand will naturally emerge. It's like building a gas station in the desert and expecting traffic to automatically surge. The correct way to activate economies of scale should be through demand driven supply, rather than incentive driven supply. two ⃣ Differences of ICN Protocol: From WebFi Narrative to Real Business Loop The WebFi concept proposed by ICN Protocol is very interesting - it is not just a simple Web3 concept hype, but a fusion practice of Web2+Web3. First, let's take a look at a thought-provoking set of data: AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, the three giants, control over 65% of the global cloud computing market. What does this mean? This means that the lifeline of the global digital economy is in the hands of three American companies. This is not a technical issue, but a power issue. When cloud service fees account for 20-30% of a company's cost structure, these giants actually impose a 'hidden tax' on the global digital economy. What's even more terrifying is that this monopoly gives them the power to "take life and death" - think of Parler, which was banned by AWS, and Huawei, which was cut off by Google. It is not by chance that ICN Protocol chose to start from Europe. In the context of American cloud giants monopolizing and China's relatively closed digital ecosystem, Europe has become the best testing ground for decentralized cloud infrastructure. Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and other countries have strong demands for digital sovereignty, but lack the ability to compete with American tech giants. ICN precisely provides a 'third path': neither relying on US cloud services nor building a local cloud platform from scratch. Cloud computing is a typical marginal cost decreasing industry - after infrastructure construction is completed, the cost of adding one user is almost zero. This is also why AWS can maintain a profit margin of over 30%. But the ICN model is more radical: it redistributes the dividend of diminishing marginal costs to network participants. Let's use mathematics to understand this flywheel: Assuming an ICN network has 10000 HyperNodes, each node's average computing power is 1/100 of that of a traditional data center. However, due to the advantage of geographical distribution, the overall efficiency of the network may be 1.2 times that of traditional clouds. More importantly, as the number of nodes increases, the network's resistance to censorship, disaster recovery, and geographic coverage will all grow exponentially. This is a competitive advantage that traditional cloud providers cannot replicate. When enterprise customers discover that ICN is not only cheaper (saving 80% of costs), but also safer and more resistant to censorship, migration becomes an inevitable choice. And each migration increases the value of the network, attracting more hardware providers and customers, forming a positive cycle. After discussing the grand narrative of WebFi, let's take a look at ICN's operational data: --ARR has exceeded 5 million US dollars (note, it is in US dollars, not tokens) --Serving over 1000 corporate clients (real B2B business) --Processing 100 million file uploads per day --Over 1.5 billion storage operations per week --Accumulated financing of approximately 30 million US dollars, with a valuation of 470 million US dollars From this, it can be seen that ICN Protocol's WebFi is not just a pie in the sky, but a real SaaS business. three ⃣ The technology stack of ICN Protocol: three-layer architecture+satellite monitoring The technical architecture of ICN Protocol is very clever, adopting a three-layer design: --Application layer: Standard cloud services such as object storage, computing, and container hosting --Protocol layer: ICN Protocol core, responsible for resource scheduling, economic incentives, and security verification --Hardware layer: Enterprise GPU+NVMe storage, connected through HyperNodes The most eye-catching feature is the satellite network monitoring mechanism, which is the world's first. HyperNodes will upload performance data in real-time to the satellite network, allowing anyone to verify the network's operational status. This completely solves the "trust black box" problem of decentralized networks. Imagine when you use ICN's cloud services, you don't have to worry about a single point of failure, data being deleted, or service providers running away. Because the entire network's operational status is verifiable through backups in space, it is open and transparent. four ⃣ The 'moat' of business models: how do network effects form? The smartest thing about ICN Protocol is that it has built a multi-party win-win ecosystem: --Hardware provider: Earn ICNT tokens by providing computing power/storage resources --HyperNode operator: Earn revenue by validating and maintaining networks --Enterprise customers: Get cloud services 80% cheaper than AWS --Developer: Can build various cloud applications on the platform This forms a typical bilateral market network effect: the more customers there are, the more hardware providers are attracted; The richer the hardware resources, the better the service quality, and the more customers can be attracted. The key is that ICN Protocol has validated this flywheel model. The deployment of 29000+HyperNodes is not driven by false prosperity fueled by incentives, but by real business needs. five ⃣ ICNT token design: not pure meme, but a value capture tool The ICNT tokens that are about to go on sale have a total supply of 700 million, with node holders accounting for 20%. Each HyperNode corresponds to 2500 ICNTs, and token holders can: --Participate in network governance --Obtain node income dividends --Pledge mining This is not a simple "dig and sell" model, but a true cash flow allocation mechanism. When enterprise customers pay to use ICN Protocol services, these revenues will be distributed to network participants in the form of ICNT. six ⃣ Comparative thinking: Why can ICN Protocol run out? Take a look at Filecoin, which also does decentralized storage. The technology is impressive, but the user experience is worrying, and the adoption rate on the B-end has never improved. Looking at Render Network again, it focuses on GPU rendering, but the market is relatively vertical. The advantages of ICN Protocol are: --Full stack cloud services: not just storage or computing, but a complete solution --Enterprise level product experience: compatible with S3 API, with extremely low migration costs --The real cost advantage: not theoretically cheap, but in practical applications, it can indeed save money --Strong compliance: Following the encryption regulatory policies of Switzerland and the European Union More importantly, ICN has chosen the right expansion strategy: first establish a foothold in Europe, and then replicate to other regions. At present, it has covered Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and other places, and plans to expand to more than 20 locations by 2025. summarize If we extend our perspective to a hundred year scale, we will find that the cloud computing field is repeating the story of the power industry in the early 20th century. At that time, electricity supply was provided by countless small power plants until Edison and Westinghouse established a centralized power grid system. But now, with the popularization of solar panels and energy storage technology, the power industry is moving towards decentralization again. Cloud computing is likely to go through the same cycle: from an early decentralized state, to a centralized stage dominated by giants, and then to a new technology driven redistribution. Of course, this is just a personal observation, DYOR。 However, from the perspectives of network effects, business models, and technological moats, ICN is indeed worth paying attention to. A true DePIN should make users feel less about the existence of "decentralization" and only about "better and cheaper" services. ICN Protocol may be doing this.