The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) has made remarkable strides since its launch on May 10, 2021. In just three years, it has undergone numerous upgrades, processed over three billion blocks, integrated with major networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum, and even ran AI on the blockchain.

This rapid development is the result of extensive R&D from some of the brightest minds in the tech industry. The overarching goal of ICP is to make blockchain singularity a reality, reimagining humanity’s services and operations on a decentralized platform. The updated roadmap, shaped by community feedback, outlines nine key focus areas that will drive the next phase of ICP's evolution.

Key Areas of Focus in the Updated Roadmap

1. Compute Platform

ICP aims to become the dominant platform for running the world’s software on smart contracts, removing limitations and enhancing user experience.

• Tokamak Milestone: This is the first milestone in this domain, and it focuses on reducing latency by optimizing the networking and consensus layers, maximizing block rates, and introducing a new synchronous ingress submission endpoint.

• Stellarator Milestone: This milestone addresses data handling, introducing a new storage layer to support over 1TB of canister smart contract memory and boosting throughput via consensus layer improvements.

2. Decentralised AI

Decentralised AI (DeAI) on ICP addresses AI’s trust issues by enabling AI training and inference as on-chain smart contracts.

• Cyclotron Milestone: This milestone improves performance in the WebAssembly runtime, allowing fully on-chain inference on larger AI models.

• Gyrotron Milestone: This milestone will define a deterministic API for smart contracts to access GPUs, facilitating AI inference and training on-chain.

3. Chain Fusion

Chain Fusion enhances ICP’s interoperability with major blockchains, enabling cross-chain interactions without intermediaries.

• Tritium Milestone: This milestone enables ICP to interact with Ethereum and EVM smart contracts, introducing the EVM RPC canister and enhancing chain-key ECDSA functionality.

• Deuterium Milestone: This milestone extends support to emerging Bitcoin protocols with Schnorr signatures and full access to Bitcoin block headers.

• Helium Milestone: This milestone integrates Solana with ICP, combining the capabilities of both networks for enhanced dApp functionality.

4. Privacy

ICP enables privacy-preserving dApps where users control their data through advanced cryptographic protocols.

• Niobium Milestone: This milestone completes the vetKeys protocol, allowing secure on-chain data encryption and decryption directly on user devices.

5. Platform Decentralisation

Decentralisation of ICP involves eliminating central control points and enhancing the network’s operational aspects.

• Solenoid Milestone: This milestone decentralises ICP boundary nodes, splitting their roles to improve routing, caching, and HTTPS translations.

• Levitron Milestone: This milestone makes API boundary node access logs publicly accessible, ensuring transparency and providing developers with valuable insights.

6. Identity

A privacy-preserving, self-sovereign identity solution is crucial for web3 adoption.

• Separatrix Milestone: This milestone introduces verifiable credentials and identity attributes, enhancing Internet Identity with assignable attributes verified by dApps.

7. Digital Assets

ICP aims to drive web3 adoption through DeFi protocols, real-world asset tokenisation, and novel digital asset solutions.

• Toroidal Milestone: This milestone introduces Oisy, a user-friendly, self-custodial, multi-chain smart contract wallet accessible via browser.

• Poloidal Milestone: This milestone develops Orbit, a digital assets framework supporting advanced security features for managing tokens and canister installations.

8. Governance and Tokenomics

ICP’s governance involves both the Network Nervous System (NNS) for protocol governance and the SNS framework for dApp DAOs, incentivising participation and alignment with long-term goals.

• Plasma Milestone: This milestone advances liquid democracy on ICP by broadening the set of expert voters, ensuring better decision-making for network integrity.

9. Developer Experience

Improving developer experience is key to ICP adoption, involving canister development, testing frameworks, and protocol development tools.

• Beryllium Milestone: This milestone simplifies canister development and operations, providing tools like snapshotting, logging infrastructure, and improved error handling.

Looking Ahead: The Future of ICP and Blockchain

The Internet Computer roadmap showcases a compelling picture of the future of blockchain. ICP encourages the community to actively participate by providing feedback and suggestions. This roadmap serves as a collaborative effort to propel ICP and the entire blockchain industry forward.

This summary captures the essence of the Internet Computer Protocol's latest roadmap, highlighting its key themes, milestones, and vision for a decentralised future. Together, we can shape the future of blockchain technology and realise the full potential of a decentralised world.