Omnia.ICP ∞

🚨 The widespread attacks against the Internet Computer continued again today, and thankfully, have failed again. The cabal's latest attack targeted the ckBTC "bitcoin twin" minting canisters. This time, they spent thousands of dollars on ICP tokens in the course of their attack, but only caused minimal disruption. What did happen: the attacks revealed the need for some useful hardening, and the NNS (i.e. the network's autonomous governance and orchestration system) took down the ckBTC canister for an upgrade. The downtime was ~1hr. Though the disruption was minimal, we must not thank the attackers for helping improve the network, because they are criminals. The attacks reveal more about who they are: 1. They are willing to throw buckets of money at their attacks, confirming they are professionals on a mission, rather than amateurs. 2. Since their attacks lack a common thread (such as trying to steal tokens), we can see their true purpose is to harm the reputation of the Internet Computer by causing disruption. Of course, as an ecosystem, we have experienced widespread attacks designed to harm our reputation before, albeit in different forms. Most famously, in May 2021, the Internet Computer was widely seen as a potential crypto industry disruptor. A key narrative at the time was woven around the potential of web3 apps that would actually run on blockchain networks i.e. "onchain," as per the original meaning of that phrase. The fly in the narrative's ointment, however, which was being used to sell the potential of some major up-and-coming chains, was that the Internet Computer was the only network that could actually host general-purpose apps and services built from "smart contracts" (which are far better called "network code") thanks to years of R&D by the DFINITY Foundation. A successful launch of the Internet Computer threatened to puncture this web3 apps narrative, which was at the heart of their marketing and fundraising efforts. Furthermore, their insiders were aware of the years of R&D at scale that had been performed to create the Internet Computer network, and they were downright terrified of the competitive threat it posed. Simply put, in the fever of 2021, they feared that if the Internet Computer launched successfully, it might dramatically reduce their ability to hoover up billions from the markets in the crypto bull run. The resulting attacks by corrupt but powerful industry actors involved massive market manipulation on an exchange before/after launch that made the ICP token price crash, lawsuits by a corrupt law firm secretly on the payroll of a big industry actor, and massive further manipulation of public perception using huge social media astroturf armies, paid crypto press, and even a huge mainstream publication whose key reporter was linked to an actor who is now in jail. Events took place on a historic scale that was completely extraordinary, and I hope the full story, including what it was like dealing with what took place, makes the light of day some day — I am pleased to say there is no comparison to what is happening today. As a result of these past events, to this current day, a large majority of people who consider themselves crypto industry aficionados, and interested investors and journalists, remain completely unaware that most blockchain networks can only host tokens and lightweight financial logic. The corruption and criminality of the time successfully hid what the Internet Computer does differently from other networks, and created a reality distortion field that persists to this day. Crypto Leaks, an investigative journalism website that publishes reports based on covertly recorded video created by undercover investigators, has exposed what was behind some of the extraordinary happenings. Thankfully, several of those exposed by Crypto Leaks now sit in jail, and American judges later took action against the law firm involved, among other wins Crypto Leaks gifted to the industry. However, many of those exposed have so far escaped major consequences, and crypto press has often taken a hear-no-evil see-no-evil approach, preventing people from learning what happened. That's a shame, because we all want the crypto industry to be a clean place, where competition is fair and normal. My personal view, is that the happenings of 2021 marked a pivotal moment for the industry, when the original crypto movement, and technical folks and idealists interested in making the world a better place through innovation and advanced cryptography and computer science, were overwhelmingly steamrollered by sharp-elbowed speculators and manipulators. The Internet Computer ecosystem would have set a standard for the crypto industry that kept it honest, but as a result of its suppression at the time, we got an age of speculation and scams, and vaporware and narratives, in which money could often much more profitably be invested into hyping rubbish than into R&D that produces technological utility. Thankfully, what happened is now far in the rearview mirror for the Internet Computer ecosystem, because it has moved on to mainstream pastures, and has a incredibly exciting future ahead. Those currently paying for the new tide of poisonous trolls on web3 social media, and black hat hackers, will be disappointed to find this isn't 2021. Initiatives such as Caffeine (see caffeine dot ai), the AI chat service that builds apps on the Internet Computer, have shown that the network has enormous mass market utility, which does not depend on tokens and speculation — for example, 99% of those building on the Internet Computer using Caffeine have no idea that their apps run on a secure crypto network that can play the role of cloud. Now, forthcoming advances like ICP "cloud engines", and initiatives such as Open SaaS and the Internet Intelligence Gateway, and growing sovereign tech adoption, and many other things currently underway, promise to take the network to another level entirely. Crucially, as intended since work began in 2015, the network is becoming a revolutionary new tech stack for the AI era, and for the sovereign tech movement generally. While the massive potential exists in mainstream fields, projects like MULTI/DEX (dot ai) also continue to demonstrate how the extraordinary capabilities of the network can also be applied in fields such as defi. As the Internet Computer rapidly approaches escape velocity all over again, the moment when its stunning differentiating features and capabilities will become obvious within the web3 industry also approach again. Today, networks talk about AI tokens, and digital currencies for AI. Cynically, one might imagine these things were created because they are easy for retail investors to latch on to, if not undestand. Meanwhile, the Internet Computer has pioneered a new kind of onchain "AIware" software (Motoko), which, when compared against software running on traditional technology stacks, creates apps and services that integrate AI in game changing and previously impossible ways, which software can also be written and maintained far more effectively and safely by AI agents working autonomously without human oversight. The potential of AI is real and truly beyond anything we have seen before, and I predict that AIware will power one of the largest business transformation stories in history. For the Internet Computer, an exciting event horizon approaches all over again, and my guess is this is agitating some people in the crypto industry. It may even be reactivating bad actors from the past. But, we in the ICP community are not afraid, because these bad actors are a spent force. Moreover, the Internet Computer's future now depends on the mainstream world much more than it goes the crypto world, and the mainstream world affords these bad actors no power. Of course, crypto would be better without them, and that's why DFINITY continues to offer substantial rewards to anyone who can provide information that exposes them, but — This latest growing wave of attacks is in fact just a hot signal that it's game on again for the Internet Computer, which we should all welcome. And, seeing the Internet Computer reach its potential, after all the years of toil and effort, is what keeps my fire, and the fire of many others, burning bright. We stay focused in pursuit of our goals, no matter how long it takes. We are creating the next tech stack for the AI era, we remain undeterred, and the potential of what we have created is tremendous. My thanks again to the ICP community 💪