Where ICP goes when Internet Computer apps need fuel
Apps on
@dfinity’s Internet Computer don’t pay for computing with $ICP directly. They run on cycles, a kind of prepaid credit. Developers swap ICP for cycles, and the ICP they swap is burned, permanently removed from supply.
Cycles have a fixed price: 1 trillion cycles equals 1 XDR, a basket of five major currencies set by the IMF. That ensures app costs stay steady even when ICP price swings.
New ICP is created to pay node providers, who run the network’s machines, and people who stake ICP to vote on network changes.