<s>
ICON	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
decentralized	O
,	O
open-source	B-Application
blockchain	B-Application
with	O
smart	B-Application
contract	I-Application
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ICON	B-Operating_System
was	O
founded	O
in	O
2017	O
by	O
Min	O
Kim	O
of	O
the	O
Switzerland-based	O
ICON	B-Operating_System
Foundation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
the	O
ICON	B-Operating_System
white	O
paper	O
,	O
the	O
vision	O
for	O
ICON	B-Operating_System
was	O
to	O
introduce	O
a	O
new	O
era	O
of	O
decentralization	O
and	O
hyper	O
connect	O
Korea	O
,	O
Asia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ICON	B-Operating_System
's	O
initial	B-Application
coin	I-Application
offering	I-Application
(	O
ICO	O
)	O
in	O
September	O
2017	O
raised	O
150,000	O
ETH	B-Application
(	O
approximately	O
US$43	O
million	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
launch	O
,	O
ICON	B-Operating_System
was	O
supported	O
by	O
various	O
public	O
and	O
private	O
organizations	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Seoul	O
Metropolitan	O
Government	O
in	O
South	O
Korea	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Line	O
Corporation	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2021	O
,	O
ICON	B-Operating_System
2.0	O
was	O
launched	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Changes	O
included	O
improved	O
performance	O
,	O
Java	B-Language
smart	B-Application
contract	I-Application
support	O
,	O
and	O
preparation	O
for	O
future	O
interoperability	O
via	O
the	O
Blockchain	B-Application
Transmission	O
Protocol	O
(	O
BTP	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
the	O
2.0	O
update	O
,	O
Yahoo	B-Application
Finance	I-Application
identified	O
ICON	B-Operating_System
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
top-10	O
interoperability	O
cryptocurrencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ICON	B-Operating_System
is	O
a	O
permission	O
less	O
,	O
non-hierarchical	O
network	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
computers	I-Protocol
(	O
nodes	O
)	O
that	O
build	O
on	O
a	O
growing	O
series	O
of	O
"	O
blocks	O
"	O
of	O
transactions	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
blockchain	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
ICON	B-Operating_System
's	O
consensus	O
mechanism	O
is	O
called	O
Loop	B-General_Concept
Fault	I-General_Concept
Tolerance	I-General_Concept
(	O
LFT	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
modified	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Byzantine	B-Operating_System
Fault	I-Operating_System
Tolerance	I-Operating_System
(	O
BFT	O
)	O
consensus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ICON	B-Operating_System
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
scalable	O
for	O
both	O
public	O
and	O
private	O
blockchain	B-Application
use	O
cases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Decentralized	B-Protocol
finance	I-Protocol
(	O
DeFi	B-Protocol
)	O
is	O
a	O
use	O
case	O
of	O
ICON	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Decentralized	B-Protocol
finance	I-Protocol
applications	O
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
through	O
a	O
Web3-enabled	O
browser	B-Protocol
extension	I-Protocol
or	O
application	B-Application
,	O
which	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
directly	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
ICON	B-Operating_System
blockchain	B-Application
through	O
a	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
these	O
decentralized	B-Application
applications	I-Application
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
dapps	B-Application
)	O
can	O
connect	O
and	O
work	O
together	O
to	O
create	O
complex	O
financial	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Smart	B-Application
contracts	I-Application
are	O
a	O
use	O
case	O
of	O
ICON	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
smart	B-Application
contract	I-Application
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
program	I-Application
or	O
a	O
transaction	O
protocol	O
which	O
is	O
intended	O
to	O
automatically	O
execute	O
,	O
control	O
,	O
or	O
document	O
legally-relevant	O
events	O
and	O
actions	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
terms	O
of	O
a	O
contract	O
or	O
an	O
agreement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
objectives	O
of	O
smart	B-Application
contracts	I-Application
are	O
the	O
reduction	O
of	O
need	O
in	O
trusted	O
intermediators	O
,	O
arbitrations	O
,	O
and	O
enforcement	O
costs	O
,	O
fraud	O
losses	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
reduction	O
of	O
malicious	O
and	O
accidental	O
exceptions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ICON	B-Operating_System
allows	O
for	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
non-fungible	O
tokens	O
(	O
NFTs	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Land	O
,	O
buildings	O
,	O
and	O
avatars	O
in	O
blockchain-based	O
virtual	B-Application
worlds	I-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
bought	O
and	O
sold	O
as	O
NFTs	O
.	O
</s>
