XRP Holders Welcome The Launch Of Flare Network’s FLR Token

It’s been a long time coming but the wait is finally over. On January 9, Flare’s FLR token will be airdropped to XRP holders who qualified for the December 2020 snapshot. Two years is an eternity in crypto, and a lot has changed since Flare first proposed its interoperable network to free generation-one blockchain tokens from their confines, heralding a new era for cross-chain compatibility.

While crypto has evolved significantly since the Flare airdrop on December 12, 2020, some things have remained the same. One of these is the difficulty in safely transferring assets across blockchain networks. More than $2 billion was lost in bridge exploits last year, most of it occurring on EVM chains, Solana, and Ronin.

The issuance of Flare’s native token won’t just be welcomed by XRP holders: it’ll also be a boon to multi-chain users at large, who can look forward to a more secure system for moving assets between blockchains.

Flare Fuels Cross-Chain Breakthrough

Flare is a layer-1 EVM blockchain. In that respect, it sounds no different to the scores of other networks that sprung up over the last two years. What is different is the way in which Flare connects to other blockchains, enabling their native tokens to be freed to roam other realms.

One cornerstone of Flare’s tech stack is the State Connector, used to securely and accurately determine the current state of the opposing blockchain. This allows information from other chains to be trustlessly used on Flare. Then there’s the Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO). It’s used to provide accurate pricing for assets on other chains, ensuring the Flare equivalent is closely mapped to it.

The FLR token plays a key role in incentivizing accurate data provision from the FTSO. As a protocol token, it’s also used for governance. Transaction fees are naturally paid using FLR as well, a requirement in order to prevent spam attacks.

Three-Year Airdrop Commences

To bootstrap its new network and ensure stability, Flare has elected to airdrop its token to XRP holders over a 36-month period. Initially, 15% of the total supply will be allocated on January 9 followed by monthly disbursement. While FLR is tradable on one exchange at present, following the airdrop it’s likely to become available elsewhere.

It’s not just XRP holders who will be interested in putting the nascent network and its native token through their paces; Flare has also been designed for other first-generation chains that lack smart contract compatibility.

“Approximately 70% of the total market capitalization of digital assets is composed of Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin,” points out Flare CEO Hugo Philion. “Wide-scale usage of non-smart contract assets in Defi would mean greater liquidity for the market and reduced reliance on centralized services for users.”

The XRP community has had precious little cheer in recent months. The long awaited launch of FLR should bring some joy to airdrop recipients – and unlock new use cases for XRP.