Key takeaways
Internet Computer (ICP) has bounced in recent weeks and looks to be gaining momentum heading into 2024, climbing +72% since its October low at the time of writing
The blockchain hit record highs for total value locked (TVL) in recent weeks as several key metrics indicate that Internet Computer has achieved ecosystem growth for the second consecutive year
The ICP price prediction algorithm has forecasted a 7x gain in the next 12 months, a move that would take the native token above $30 in the months after the Bitcoin halving takes place
ICP price prediction: Bullish momentum set to kick in for ICP as the next Bitcoin halving event approaches
The current price of Internet Computer (ICP) is $4.61. ICP has risen +0.30% in the past 24 hours following a period of positive price action in recent weeks. Since the October low of $2.88, ICP has surged +72% to break back above its June to August range.
Internet Computer is a fully decentralized blockchain ecosystem that supports the development of fullstack dApps that can scale without harming performance. Typically, many on-chain applications need to retrieve data from off-chain sources and developers often find it cheaper and simpler to combine both on-chain and off-chain portions of the codebase as opposed to going fully on-chain, which can involve more latency on the user end.
Internet Computer helps to solve this problem by creating a fullstack Web3 ecosystem that includes decentralized cloud storage and Web2 APIs. This allows developers to migrate compute onto the blockchain as opposed to keeping it off-chain and only using decentralized networks for committing transactions.
Internet Computer is a highly scalable blockchain that is processing 4,460 TPS at the time of writing, via Internet Computer
ICP’s unique use case within the world of Web3 could disrupt internet experiences over time. Internet Computer unlocks dApps that don’t need to compromise on decentralization in order to achieve scalability, and the ecosystem has seen consistent growth since its 2021 launch date as a result.
The ICP price prediction algorithm expects that the cryptocurrency will sustain its recent bullish momentum heading into 2024 and beyond. With the next Bitcoin halving event due to take place this coming April, the algorithm has forecasted a major bull run for ICP that would see it climb to $35.77 by October next year.
In total, the algorithm’s projection for ICP after the Bitcoin halving is a +675% gain from the current price.
Total value locked reaches record highs for ICP in recent months, could network growth spark bullish price action?
Internet Computer has enjoyed major growth since it first launched in 2021. The ICP ecosystem report for 2022 showed that the network’s total users rose from 4,979 to 37,224 between December 2021 and December 2022. While the 2023 report has yet to be released, there is some evidence to suggest that this number has once again risen significantly.
For starters, total value locked on Internet Computer has climbed from $287.74k to $2.96m YoY to the time of writing. This is a 10x gain in total when only measuring the total value of assets that are locked within the ecosystem. While this period also coincides with sustained bullish price action across the crypto markets, the +928% gain in TVL far outperforms the gain made to the total crypto market cap (TCAP) during the same time, which measures +77.6% YoY.
TVL on Internet Computer, via DeFi Llama
Secondly, TVL on Internet Computer has reached an all-time high despite the native ICP token being significantly down from its 2021 launch price — which is primarily due to the network being backed heavily by venture capitalists during its early stages. This mismatch between token depreciation and TVL growth further indicates that the ecosystem has grown substantially since 2021.
For starters, ICP is more than -90% down from its May 2021 high. Next, the two biggest DeFi protocols on Internet Computer at the time of writing, ICPSwap and Sonic, now contain 49 and 39 tokens respectively, and each cryptocurrency possesses a liquidity pool that is paired with ICP. Since TVL has risen despite ICP losing more than -90% of its value, it’s likely that liquidity inflows have increased significantly alongside more developer activity.
The official growth figures for 2023 are likely to be reported in December, but an early look at the numbers would suggest that ICP has sustained its strong performance for a second consecutive year.
With network activity growth: +1829%, the #InternetComputer saw exponential growth? in 2022 But it’s nothing compared to what’s in store for 2023 Detailed discussion on 2022 numbers in this chat with @yapignolet & @kylelangham https://t.co/N0WwCuJ6kY pic.twitter.com/A6UgJTuExU
— DFINITY (@dfinity) February 17, 2023
Bottom line: Internet Computer hits record-high TVL, algorithm expects surge from ICP
After another successful year from Internet Computer in which the fullstack Web3 network has reached record highs in terms of TVL, it seems as though the ecosystem has begun to benefit from network effects.
Network effects are like Pareto distribution occurring in real time, where dApps are attracted to blockchains due to the total number of users and users are attracted to blockchains due to the total number of dApps. This can cause a virtuous cycle in which decentralized networks enjoy consistent growth over time, which incidentally helps each distributed system to become more secure and robust.
As Internet Computer gains an increasing level of traction, upside for the native ICP token can be expected. The ICP price prediction algorithm expects a significant surge after the upcoming Bitcoin halving in 2024, targeting a 7x move that would take ICP back above $30 by this time next year.
