It's quite striking to observe how Dfinity charted a distinctly different path for the Internet Computer Protocol long before $ICP gained mainstream attention. What made this particularly noteworthy was their timing—this forward-thinking approach emerged before the 2020-2021 surge when seemingly every blockchain project positioned itself as the next Ethereum killer. While the broader market was caught up in that competitive race, Dfinity had already committed to developing something fundamentally different within the blockchain ecosystem. Their vision diverged from the copycat culture that dominated the period, showcasing an early commitment to genuine innovation rather than incremental improvements on existing protocols.