Internet Computer (ICP) is posting one of the strongest moves of the week +20.49% on Binance today, spiking from $2.386 all the way to a 24-hour high of $3.708 on volume of $37.45 million USDT. But what makes this move special is the chart not a single spike, but a clean, sustained uptrend grinding higher every single day since May 5th. This is accumulation turning into markup. Here's the full story.
What Is Internet Computer The $1 Trillion Cloud Challenger
The Internet Computer is a decentralized cloud blockchain that pursues the $1+ trillion cloud market hosting apps, websites, and enterprise systems fully onchain, where they benefit from extraordinary security and resilience. A core goal is to evolve into a "self-writing cloud," where AI builds sophisticated applications based on natural language prompts. Smart contracts on ICP can write transactions to other chains without any centralized intermediaries, enabling decentralized Bitcoin DeFi and multi-chain DeFi.
No AWS. No Google Cloud. No middlemen. Just pure decentralized compute and AI that builds the apps for you.
Catalyst 1 Cloud Engines Demo on May 10th
This is the biggest near-term catalyst. DFINITY has scheduled a major demonstration of its "Cloud Engines" technology on May 10, 2026 the network's fifth anniversary showcasing sovereign cloud technology, agentic AI builds, and dedicated GPU-backed AI nodes, aiming to position ICP as a decentralized alternative to traditional cloud hyperscalers like AWS and Google Cloud. A live demo of enterprise-grade decentralized cloud infrastructure backed by real GPU nodes could be one of the most significant technical showcases in ICP's history.
Catalyst 2 Cloud Engines Burn ICP Tokens
This is the structural story that most people are missing. The new Cloud Engines economic model directs 20% of all engine revenue to buy and burn ICP tokens, while node providers earn 80% creating a direct link between enterprise network usage and token scarcity. Every enterprise workload running on ICP's Cloud Engines directly reduces circulating supply. More adoption = more burns = less supply = higher price. That is a deflationary flywheel.
Catalyst 3 MISSION70 Kills Inflation
The MISSION70 governance upgrade, enacted in early 2026, targets a 70% reduction in ICP's annual token inflation aiming to lower the rate from 9.72% down to between 2.92% and 5.42% by year's end achieved through cuts to node provider rewards and the usage-based burn mechanism from Cloud Engines. Slashing inflation by 70% while simultaneously creating new burn mechanisms is a double supply shock. The market is only now beginning to price this in.
The Token Burns Are Real and Growing
The Internet Computer ecosystem has witnessed a significant achievement in 2026, with 295,777 ICP tokens already burned a clear sign of growing network usage and increasing compute demand on the platform. Nearly 300,000 tokens permanently removed from supply. As Cloud Engines scale, this number grows exponentially.
The Weekly Performance Confirms the Trend
With a price increase of 23.90% in the last 7 days, ICP is outperforming the global cryptocurrency market which is up just 4.80% and outperforming similar smart contract platforms which are up only 5.30%. ICP claimed first position in Layer 1 protocols with 9% daily gains, leading the entire CoinDesk 20 index higher alongside NEAR Protocol. The strongest Layer 1 in the market this week by a wide margin.
The Technical Picture Is the Best It's Been in Months
The Binance 1H chart is a textbook breakout. After holding support at $2.20, the surge propelled ICP price above the 20, 50, and 100-day EMAs in a single aggressive green candle signaling a sharp sentiment shift, ending the horizontal trend and initiating a vertical move toward previous yearly highs. The volatility squeeze has been broken in favor of the bulls, with price above the upper Bollinger Band.
All three EMAs on the 1H chart EMA(25) at 3.173, EMA(50) at 3.068, EMA(100) at 2.901 are fanning perfectly upward with price trading above all of them. The May 10th Cloud Engines demo is just 2 days away.
Predictions suggest a 2026 high of $27 is possible if ICP holds above the $3.50 resistance zone a level that was just decisively broken today. ICP's all-time high was $700 in May 2021. At $3.55 today, the recovery runway is unlike almost anything else in the top 100.
Disclaimer
This analysis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments are extremely volatile and risky. The author may hold positions in mentioned assets. Always conduct thorough research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.