TL;DR: With a new update or project being released almost every day, it’s clear the crypto ecosystem is constantly evolving. Flow has gone through a lot of ups and downs to reach the level it’s at today — but it’s just the beginning. Knowing what brought it here and why it was created will lead you to make better decisions when investing or simply using Flow.
In this article, we’re gonna dive into the Flow ecosystem, answer all the $FLOW related questions and even more. Prepare yourself for a history lesson and a journey to the future of Flow!
What is Flow (FLOW)?
Flow is a Layer 1 blockchain created in 2018 by Roham Gharegozlou, Dieter Shirley and Mikhael Naayem, more commonly known as Dapper Labs. It is a smart contract platform that focuses on supporting NFTs and Dapps in general.
Scalability is defined as the amount of transactions that Flow can process per second, or throughput. In terms of transaction throughput, the Flow prototype demonstrated the ability to execute approximately 1,000 transactions per second back in 2019. The current objective is to ramp up this throughput to an impressive 10,000 transactions per second.
Flow has been meticulously engineered to efficiently process a substantial number of transactions per second (TPS) while maintaining minimal transaction fees. Its distinctive consensus algorithm and layered architecture set it apart, enabling superior scalability. This makes Flow exceptionally well-suited for applications with demanding requirements for transaction speed, like digital marketplaces and gaming platforms.
To give more info, Flow proposes a new pipelining architecture which separates its network two primary layers: the Consensus layer and the Execution layer. The Consensus layer oversees network state maintenance and transaction validation, whereas the Execution layer manages smart contract processing and transaction execution. This division enhances scalability and performance, enabling independent optimization of each layer.
Pipelining, like what Henry Ford implemented in the early days of his car factory, is a fundamental idea that greatly influenced large-scale production worldwide. Ford's concept was all about dividing the work into smaller, specific tasks within a standardized pipeline. This way, each worker could specialize in a particular job, reducing the skills required for each task.
Now, think of networks like Ethereum as if one worker was expected to build an entire car. Each node has to do everything—consensus and computation. On the other hand, Flow's approach is like having a production line where each worker does one specific task really well. Together, these specialized workers create a smooth pipeline that helps overcome the challenges of scalability.
In Flow, a transaction sent to the network is first organized into batches called collections by certain nodes called collectors. These collections are then combined into blocks by consensus nodes. These nodes decide the order of transactions. Execution nodes handle the computations in each block as fast as possible, being the workhorses of the system. Verification nodes keep a close eye on execution nodes, making sure everything is accurate and triggering alarms if needed.
This system is like having checks and balances in a democratic republic. Different nodes have specific roles, ensuring the network remains secure and reliable. Flow's design motivates more people to run nodes because you don't need powerful hardware, enhancing the network's security and decentralization. It strikes a balance between making blockchain participation accessible and ensuring fast, efficient computation with fewer powerful machines. All this is handled seamlessly by the protocol, allowing developers to focus on building great applications while users have a smooth experience.
The consensus mechanism that Flow uses is called Proof of Stake +, which meshes elements of both PoS and PoA (Proof of Authority). PoS+ allows for a high transaction throughput while maintaining a high level of decentralization and security.
Proof of Stake means that Flow gets its security from validators that stake $FLOW to secure the chain. This is different from Proof of Work blockchains, where miners replace the role of validators. Flow has a booming ecosystem that grows daily, all powered by its native token.
The native token of Flow, $FLOW, is used actively throughout the network, from validators to users.
The concept of blockchains is not new, and Flow is one of many such networks. The idea started in 2008 with the release of Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin Whitepaper. This kicked off the subsequent creation of many different types of networks under the same “blockchain” terminology.
Despite being similar in concept blockchains have all different architectures and use cases. What all have in common — including Flow — is that they have to be secure. Security is the ability of a blockchain to prevent attacks and penalize malicious actors. This is usually done through their consensus algorithm and the mechanism they use to reach finality.
Finality is achieved when a block has been created and is now immutable, meaning that nobody can change the date inside.
Over time many different mechanism have been designed, ranging from Proof of Work, Proof of Stake to novel ones called Proof of Spacetime. Each one hopes to achieve the best way of securing the network they are built for.
As noted before, Flow makes use of type of consensus mechanism we call “Proof of Stake+” — or PoS+ for short.
Flow’s has been created with the goal of being an alternative to Ethereum. Ethereum has been created in 2014 and introduced the concepts of smart contracts. These are small applications that run inside a virtual machine called the Ethereum Virtual Machine.
The EVM allows for a blockchain to process more than simple token transfers. To give more info, it opened up the possibility to run applications in a decentralized manner. Applications usually run in the cloud or on your computer, so running them on a blockchain was unheard of at the time. This makes them uncensorable (nobody can stop them) and ensures they’re always online — as long as the chain they run on is processing transactions.
Flow has developed its own smart contract language, called Cadence. While similar to Ethereum, it implements a some new improvements to the protocol.
A key characteristic of Ethereum's smart contracts is their immutability post-execution. Once a smart contract is executed, it becomes unchangeable. Every subsequent transaction related to the smart contract is etched into the blockchain, solidifying its unalterable nature. Undoubtedly, this feature enhances trust in the Ethereum platform.
However, certain developers argue that there should be room for modifying the smart contract after its initial deployment. They believe this flexibility is necessary because smart contracts can have flaws and often require rigorous testing.
Flow takes a different approach by enabling the release of smart contracts on its mainnet in a "beta state." This allows the original contract author to gradually update the code. Users can then choose whether to use the current version of the code or wait for its completion before placing their trust in it.
Once smart contract authors are confident in the safety of their code, they can relinquish control over it. At this point, the smart contract transitions into an immutable state. This unique approach, involving thorough code checks and fixes, empowers developers to significantly enhance the security of smart contracts for end users.
Another difference arises from the way Cadence has been designed. As previously mentioned, Flow is not EVM compatible, which means they use a different programming language, called Cadence.
If Solidity is a an object-oriented programming language, the Cadence is resource-oriented. What does this mean?
In essence, object-oriented programming revolves around structuring software development based on data (objects) rather than logic and functions. Besides Solidity, several popular object-oriented languages embody this approach, including JavaScript, Python, C++, Ruby, and more.
On the other hand, resource-oriented programming categorizes data structures as "Resources," signifying their tangible nature to the programming environment. All interactions with this labeled data structure must adhere to specific rules that preserve its value. This programming model proves highly effective for managing digital assets.
Cadence stands out as the pioneering high-level, resource-oriented programming language. Another example of a resource-oriented language is Move, which distinguishes itself by emphasizing performance and efficiency. Move employs a virtual machine and compact bytecode for efficient execution. However, its syntax is minimal, optimized for computer interpretation but challenging for human comprehension. Conversely, Cadence adopts an ergonomic syntax, prioritizing readability and clarity for developers.
Flow is powered by the FLOW token, a central part of the Flow ecosystem. FLOW is an inflationary token due to the way its tokenomics have been planned.
Blockchains such as Flow are sustained by decentralized communities managing the necessary computer hardware, known as "validator nodes," which uphold network activities and ensure the security of assets. Conversely, many other blockchains heavily depend on generating and distributing new tokens, a process known as "monetary inflation," to entice operator participation for their networks.
However, like in any economic system, monetary inflation imposes a cost. The influx of newly-created tokens essentially acts as a tax, diluting the value for all token holders and affecting their day-to-day usage or holdings. This is why Flow imposes a cap on monetary inflation. Notably, inflation on Flow diminishes as network fees rise.
In a stable state, Flow commits to a predetermined payout for node operators and only introduces new tokens when necessary to bridge the gap between transaction fees and the guaranteed payment. As transaction fees approach this payout, the issuance of new tokens approaches 0%. If transaction fees surpass the payout, they are accumulated in an escrow account, offsetting future inflation indefinitely.
Flow has no maximum amount of tokens that can be created.
For more details about how you can earn more Flow by running a validator node at home check out our Flow Mining & Staking guide. It includes the exact steps and best methods of earning more crypto like $FLOW in 2022 and beyond.
When was Flow (FLOW) created?
Flow (FLOW) was created at Dapper Labs, out of the need to expand the capabilities of their blockchain products. Work began on the Flow chain in 2018, but before that, a couple of important events happened. Most events revolve around the company that incubated Dapper Labs, named Axiom Zen.
The first meaningful event is the creation of CryptoKitties, a game on Ethereum that would change the perception of NFTs.
Released in 2017, CryptoKitties paved the way for NFTs into the mainstream conscience. The collection is made out of 50,000 Gen 0 Kitties which could be traded and bred to create new Kitties with unique characteristics. Every CryptoKitty represents a unique NFT that can be traded on the blockchain, and its value is appreciated solely by the holder.
A test version of CryptoKitties was unveiled at ETH Waterloo on October 19, 2017, an Ethereum hackathon. On December 2, 2017, the first high selling cat was sold for 246 ETH (around $117) on that day. The crypto community caught up and started buying up the CryptoKitties.
Gen 0 Kitties were sold to players in an auction at the rate of one every 15 minutes (672 per week) for one year. The digital pets carry a 257 bit distinct genome with DNA and different attributes (cattributes) that can be passed to offspring. Their unique characteristics were encoded using the ERC-721 standard, the most popular NFT standard we see today.
At the time, developers were experimenting with coding in Solidity, a programming language for writing smart contracts on Ethereum. According to Dieter Shirley, the co-creator of CryptoKitties, they’ve gone through 700 improvement proposals to get to the ERC-721 standard. Unlike the ERC-20 tokens, ERC-721 unlocked the possibility of creating non-fungible tokens. In other words, the ERC-721 asset was unique and could not be duplicated, similarly to a physical painting.
This concept of digital scarcity was enticing to the Ethereum community. Moreover, it turned the attention away from the sober financial side of crypto, and introduced the fun element. People were eager to spend hundreds of ETH to own a unique version of the Kitties.
The game caused an increase in pending transactions on the Ethereum network, and at one point accounted for 25% of the network traffic on Ethereum. Miners increased the gas limit in response to the demand. With more data allocated per block, the Ethereum network was heavily slowed down to the point where it became congested.
Frustrated by the scalability limitations of Ethereum, the CryptoKitties developers have set out to create their own network that could scale NFT transactions for mass adoption. This moment marks the transformation of CryptoKitties into its own company named Dapper Labs.
Roham Gharghozlou, Mack Flavelle, and Dieter Shirley initiated the foundations of Dapper Labs even before its formal establishment as a company. “Dapper Labs” was the moniker for the development team behind CryptoKitties. With an established clientele and partners, Dapper Labs started receiving numerous calls and offers from around the world.
Dapper Labs was officially introduced as a blockchain technology company in 2018. After a thorough assessment of the blockchain and crypto market, Roham Gharghozlou, Mack Flavelle, and Dieter Shirley identified NFTs as their next target. Non-fungible and non-interchangeable tokens were introduced in 2015 and became the most sought-after tokens online six years later.
The three young entrepreneurs understood the necessity of decentralizing both entertainment and finances. They seized the opportunity to provide customers access to some of the best sports moments and events, locked under an NFT license.
Although NFTs gained popularity in 2021, Roham, Mack, and Dieter recognized their potential early on and understood how to utilize them, allowing customers to witness legendary sports moments in history.
After validating their idea, Roham Gharegozlou together with the team at Dapper Labs began building today’s Flow blockchain and codebase. Later on, the team launched the $FLOW token.
The $FLOW token was sold only through a private sale first, and then a public one.
The private sale brought in $15M worth of funds to accelerate the growth of Dapper Labs. In 2020, Flow raised $19.5 million from the public sale. Such a huge investment has allowed Flow to continue building the vision of a fast and scalable NFT compatible blockchain.
Who created Flow (FLOW)?
Flow was created by Roham Gharegozlou together with Dieter Shirley and Mikhael Naayem, his fellow co-workers at Axiom Zen. Roham Gharegozlou is an entrepreneur born in Iran. He worked as a VC at several funds and now serves as the CEO of Dapper Labs.
Roham created Flow with help from his team members at Dapper Labs. In turn, Dapper Labs was incubated by Axiom Zen as a spin-up startup oriented on NFTs. The founders of Dapper Labs are originally part of the Axiom Zen team.
The earliest contributors are: Roham Gharegozlou, Dieter Shirley, and Mikhael Naayem. Their role is to supervise the growth of Dapper Labs’ suite of products. On the Flow development side, there are two main contributors, Layne Lafrance and Leo Zhang.
Roham Gharegozlou started his studies at Stanford University, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s in Biological Sciences in 2008. He completed his Masters Degree in the same field of study one year later.
He started his career in 2010, working as a Venture Associate at Newbury Ventures. After two years he then moved to the role of Partner at Rising Tide Fund, where he worked until 2013. Roham has gained a rich experience in the field of startup founding, and went on to become an advisor and angel investor for a couple startups.
One of his most important projects was Axiom Zen, a venture studio specialized in emerging technologies including blockchain and AI. The company was founded on January 2013, and it’s the creator of one of the biggest early projects in crypto: CryptoKitties.
Launched in 2017, the initial goal with CryptoKitties was to experiment with the concept of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This were the early days of crypto adoption, and the backbone of NFTs was being created. Even the crypto community was skeptical about their utility. Like many things that made little sense in crypto, people actually started to trade CryptoKitties on the Ethereum network.
According to Roham Gharegozlou, the success of CryptoKitties determined Axiom Zen to pursue a better user experience around NFTs. The demand helped them realize that CryptoKitties as a platform wasn’t ready for the scale it was bringing. While the CryptoKitties frenzy was still ongoing, the team decided to create Dapper Labs.
On February 2018, it was announced that CryptoKitties would be spun off into its own company, Dapper Labs. With a fresh founding round of $15 million, Dapper Labs went on to develop several products related to gaming, entertainment and blockchain tech. Several top entertainment brands saw the opportunity to collaborate with Dapper Labs and secure their intellectual property on the blockchain.
Frustrated by the shortcomings of the Ethereum network, the team at Dapper Labs decided to build its own blockchain. In 2019, they’ve announced Flow, a blockchain specially designed to support dapps for gaming and entertainment.
Dieter Shirley, who serves as the CTO of Dapper Labs, said that Flow is the blockchain they wished someone else would have built. Their idea was to come up with a way of scaling while preserving the strengths of a blockchain, namely decentralization and scalability. Building Flow proved to be a difficult task, but it was the only way forward, according to Dieter.
Besides serving as the CTO of Dapper Labs, Dieter Shirley is also the Chief Architect of Flow network. Dieter first heard about Bitcoin in 2011 from a friend how knew his interest in cryptography. After reading the Bitcoin whitepaper he was hooked. Notably, Dieter is the co-creator of CryptoKitties and the creator of ERC-721.
All of Axiom Zen’s early members had been early Bitcoin adopters. Leo Zhang, who joined Axiom Zen in 2014, said that he learned from the company about Bitcoin. He then got the idea of trading Bitcoin in real-time, and pursued to build a prototype called “bitbuybit”. Zhang later admitted that he didn’t understand the problems blockchain is trying to solve until he read the whitepaper. Leo Zhang has joined Dapper Labs in 2018 and ever since, he’s helping scale the Flow network.
Alex Hentschel joined Axiom Zen in 2017 to help with his machine learning skills. He helped with data science for CryptoKitties, and in 2018 was co-opted to work with Dieter Shirley and Layne Lafrance on the Flow blockchain. In the early phases, his role was to take Dete’s conceptual ideas, turn them into full algorithms and prove their correctness and resilience to malicious actors. Now, he is the Lead Architect for Flow.
Layne Lafrance has joined Axiom Zen in 2017 and was taught about blockchain by Dieter Shirley. At Axiom Zen she worked as Product Manager, and now she has the same role at Dapper Labs.
Presently, Dapper Labs collaborates with esteemed sports leagues such as the NBA, NFL, and La Liga. In a recent interview, Roham expressed his determination to expand the customer base to 3 million users and beyond.
Situated in Vancouver, Canada, Dapper Labs boasts a team of over 400 employees and has garnered support from 96 investors. Among their prized products are NBA Top Shot, UFC Strike, and NFL All Day.
While offering their renowned CryptoKitty game, Dapper Labs continues to pave the way for new investors in the crypto and metaverse industry.
In recent times, Dapper Labs has successfully drawn in more than 1 million users, and a steady stream of new customers continues. However, they face competition from rivals like Bridgez, Dharma, Bitpanda, and Topos Network that they must navigate.
How is the Flow (FLOW) token used?
The Flow token is the native token for the Flow network. FLOW is the native token used within dapps, games, and smart contracts on the Flow blockchain. It's the go-to currency for developers and users for transactions within the network. Developers can seamlessly integrate FLOW into their applications for various purposes such as peer-to-peer payments, service charges, or even rewarding users for their contributions.
For token holders, there are opportunities to earn rewards. They can stake their FLOW as a security deposit and help secure the network by running validator nodes. Alternatively, they can delegate their stake to professional operators for this task. Validator nodes play a crucial role by ensuring security, computation, and storage services for the network. In return, they receive rewards in the form of staking rewards and transaction fees.
Additionally, small amounts of FLOW tokens are needed for various actions on the network, ranging from creating new user accounts to storing assets and smart contracts. As the network advances, FLOW token holders will find increasing utility for their tokens, including:
- Payment for computation and validation services (e.g., transaction fees)
- Acting as a medium of exchange
- Serving as a deposit for data storage
- Being collateral for secondary tokens
- Engaging in governance processes
Flow is currently listed on multiple exchanges. The major ones are Binance, Coinbase and Kraken.
If you want to skip ahead and learn how to earn more Flow by running a validator node at home check out our Flow Mining & Staking guide. It includes the exact steps and best methods of earning more crypto like $FLOW in 2024 and beyond.
Who is developing Flow (FLOW) now?
Development on Flow started in 2018 by a team who later spun out into Dapper Labs. After validating their idea, Roham Gharegozlou and his team at Cornell created Dapper Labs.
Dapper Labs is a company founded in 2018 that handles the development of the Flow (FLOW) blockchain and protocol.
Additionally, Flow is being supported by Flow Foundation (FF), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the network and its ecosystem.
The FF operates distinctively from a typical company or traditional non-profit. Its purpose isn't to govern or direct Flow, nor does it singularly fund pivotal advancements in Flow-related technologies. The FF represents a segment of a vast ecosystem committed to Flow. It achieves this by providing grants to innovators, promoting collaborative efforts within the community, and advocating for the autonomy of the network as a whole.
Parts of the codebase was written by external developers, making open source contributors crucial to the stability of the Flow blockchain. Their GitHub shows 120+ contributors, the majority working under Dapper Labs, or Flow Foundation.
In order boost its open-source library, Flow has initiated a grants program that offers valuable resources to developers, entrepreneurs, and community members who are actively contributing their time and expertise to enhance the Flow ecosystem. It serves as an initial step to encourage impactful contributions within the ecosystem's crucial domains.
Governance for the FLOW token is a dynamic interplay of off-chain and on-chain mechanisms, with the eventual goal of transitioning fully to on-chain governance.
Initially, the development team operates independently, focusing on building for the decentralized community. The Flow GitHub repository welcomes improvement proposals from anyone. These proposals are thoroughly reviewed by a core development team, led by Flow’s Chief Architects. Protocol upgrades are proposed to node operators, who then autonomously decide on adoption.
Starting in late 2020, on-chain voting was introduced as a signaling mechanism. Although these votes are not binding, they are visible to the entire community and serve as guidance for the development team. Various ecosystem development initiatives are distributed across decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), necessitating FLOW or 'FLOW-infused' tokens for voting. The first components to transition to fully on-chain governance are the service protocols built on top of the Flow network.
As the Flow community evolves, it will actively shape and offer feedback on network upgrades involving on-chain governance. Initially, FLOW stakeholders participate in voting for a representative council, entrusted with day-to-day decisions. The council's vote acts as a "default" that every token-holder can either accept without action or override by active participation. Proposals can be presented in a public forum with complete transparency to anyone with blockchain access. In practice, decisions will primarily rest with the council, but they will always be public, allowing any stakeholder to organize grassroots actions by token stakeholders to veto specific decisions or vote to replace council members.
The governance process encompasses three types of decisions: Ecosystem decisions, Protocol parameters, and Protocol upgrades. Ecosystem decisions pertain to network functioning aspects not expressible within the protocol definition, like selecting council members and finalizing grants or prizes set by the foundation.
Protocol parameters can be adjusted through the governance process, and certain aspects of the protocol, such as the number of seats available for each node type, do not mandate a protocol upgrade. Protocol upgrades have the potential to modify any aspect of the protocol; however, they will be infrequent and necessitate significant participation and approval from every FLOW stakeholder in practice.
What are the latest updates on Flow (FLOW)?
Flow in 2019
Dapper Labs kickstarted 2019 with the creation of its first product after CryptoKitties. The name of the platform is NBA TopShot, and it represents a collaboration with the NBA to put collectibles on the blockchain.
Through NBA TopShot, fans could engage with their favorite basketball players, teams and each other in entirely new ways. At the heart of the platform were the NFTs which contained memorable moments from the NBA. The digital collectibles can be either owned forever or used to compete against other players in online tournaments and leagues on-chain.
Dapper Labs failed to gain sustainable traction with Ethereum-based games following CryptoKitties. The project gradually attracted fewer than 200 users, down from the 2017 peak of 14,914 daily active users.
For this reason, the team decided it was time to take matter into their own hands and build a scalable blockchain that would meet the demand for consumer application like games and digital collectibles.
On December 9, Dapper Labs have announced their own blockchain called Flow. The reception of Flow was welcomed by the partnering brands and helped the company scale its future products.
Some of the types of experiences supported by Flow include: artists or bands using tokens to interact with fans, games that reward players for adding value, or platforms for sports fans around the world to trade verified, authentic, limited-edition digital memorabilia in real-time.
The company also announced $11 million in new funding to continue to develop Flow and attract developers to the ecosystem. In addition to the new investment, Dapper Labs announced partnerships with leading entertainment publishers such as Warner Bros, Ubisoft and Animoca Brands.
In parallel with the development of the Flow blockchain, the company has forayed into partnerships with various brands looking to release an NFT collection.
On July 31, 2019, the NBA announced the development of NBA Top Shot, a new digital platform for basketball fans to collect, trade, and own some of the greatest moments in league history on blockchain.
NBA Top Shot featured a social experience built around digital collectibles and a complementary head-to-head game designed to create a fun, authentic, and accessible fan engagement on the blockchain. Like other sports games or fantasy brackets, fans who played the game were tasked with creating their ideal squad, but in this game, their rosters were built by acquiring live in-game moments from the NBA season.
These moments, such as a Kevin Durant 3-point shot or Joel Embid dunk, which were acquired as digital collectibles or tokens, could then be either owned forever or used to compete against other players in online tournaments and leagues on-chain. By introducing innovative features and mechanics to the team-building experience and simplifying the head-to-head gameplay, NBA Top Shot offered a fun and compelling experience that was accessible to basketball fans of all ages.
Flow in 2020
2020 had been a powerful year for Dapper Labs. The company was on a mission to build partnerships around its upcoming Flow blockchain.
On February 25, Dapper Labs announced a new licensing partnership with UFC, the world's premier mixed martial arts promotion. Under the terms of the new agreement, UFC and Dapper Labs will develop a new digital experience that will provide UFC fans around the world with opportunities to purchase, trade, and own UFC-branded digital collectibles on Flow.
On July 21, Dapper Labs made a new partnership. This time it was with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, one of the most iconic children’s book. Featuring some of Dr Seuss' most iconic and popular characters, including Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Horton and Thing One and Thing Two, the web experience opened up the possibility for fans to collect digital packs of their favorite characters and own them on the blockchain.
On October 1, Dapper Labs’ NBA TopShot came out of the private beta. The stats up to that moment were staggering: over $2 million in pack sales, more than 17,000 participating users and 158,000 transactions.
While Top Shot’s initial interface uses NFTs to combine trading cards with digital clips, Dapper Labs also said it was developing a more immersive experience within Top Shot called “Hardcourt,” a 3D game where players could use the “moments” they own to upgrade their players’ abilities. The initial release for Hardcourt was scheduled towards the end of the year.
Freshly out of beta, an NBA TopShot pack was selling at the price of $29 with a limited supply of 8991. The contents of the pack remained a mystery, but users could opt to buy a common, rare and legendary pack. The idea was to enhance the pack opening experience which was made so popular in other games such as Hearthstone or FIFA.
On November 27, Flow had announced Flow Port, a portal to the “decentralized world of Flow.” In plain words, this was a user-friendly interface where users could manage thier assets, stake and delegate their FLOW tokens.
Flow in 2021
2021 was Flow’s best year to date, reaching an all time high of $46,16. This was heavily influenced by a few key events and updates.
The biggest catalyst was the NFT bull run, which boosted the NFT market cap to a whooping $17 billion in a matter of months. Everyone and their dog was crazy about buying fancy pfps, which could then be flipped for profit.
NBA Top Shot had reported sales exceeding $230 million. Utilizing Dapper's Flow blockchain, users piled in to buy packs containing in-game moments. These packs are consistently sold out, prompting users to resort to a secondary marketplace to acquire specific moments.
Notably, a LeBron James highlight was recently sold for $200,000, and a Zion Williamson spotlight fetched a similar amount.
Another important event was the release of Flow’s native stablecoin.
FUSD is a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the USD and issued by Prime Trust, a fully regulated comprehensive financial infrastructure provider for digital asset and fintech innovators. This stablecoin facilitates global access to the expansive Flow ecosystem, enabling financial institutions and wallet providers to offer a seamless fiat on-ramp.
The integration of FUSD expanded project reach and enhanced potential user engagement. This was driven by the user-friendly onboarding facilitated by FUSD, allowing the integration of straightforward fiat-to-crypto onramps like Ramp at the time and Moonpay in the future.-
Additionally, FUSD reduced friction in user interactions beyond onboarding. Users no longer needed to track various conversion rates or stay updated on token fluctuations. This resulted in increased transparency and comprehension of value transactions for consumers.
Over the course of 2021, Flow continued to announce more partnerships with brands and artists.
Flow in 2022
The year 2022 has been sobering for Flow. With the NFT hype dying down, Dapper Labs continued to build partnerships and promote their blockchain for NFTs.
On March 9, Flow celebrated its first DAO on the network. Emerald City is divided into three Guilds: an Education Guild, a Building Guild, and a Governance Guild. Each of these guilds is focused on an aspect of the Flow ecosystem.
For example, the Education Guild has launched the Emerald Academy, a series of educational resources to onboard people into the Flow ecosystem and teach people how to develop on Flow.
The Building Guild launched its own equivalent of a proof of participation system, intended to allow event creators to reward and recognize their community members for participating in their events. Whether it is for a Twitter space, a proof of completion certificate for an educational course, or whitelisting purposes, the system had no limits. The event host has complete autonomy to determine how their FLOATs were distributed and for what reasons.
The Governance Guild is in charge of creating a reputation system for DAOs on Flow using a “guild-based architecture.” According to Flow, token-based voting is problematic and aligns incentives poorly. Emerald City promises to implement an on-chain reputation system that all DAOs on Flow can share.
On July 5, Flow permissionless smart contract deployment went live on Flow. With permissionless deployment, developers are no longer required to undergo a review process to deploy a smart contract. As a result, they can transition directly from testing the smart contract on testnet to deploying it on mainnet.
On August 25, Flow had opened the gates for anyone to run a Flow node. This new node type, called Observer node, is an unstaked node that runs on regular hardware, and provides a locally accessible, continuously updated, verified copy of the block data.
By introducing the permissionless Observer node, the network opens up participation opportunities to all. Running your own node means you no longer have to rely on information about the network's state from a third party. This change brings multiple advantages, including enhanced privacy, heightened security, reduced dependence on third-party servers, resistance to censorship, balanced distribution of network load, and increased decentralization.
While the NFT market experienced a 90% drop in value, projects building on Flow were not deterred at all. In fact, 35/90 projects have been approved for a grant. Among the financed project are a Flow block explorer, dev libraries, risk score tool, and a lot of other technical tools that enrich the Flow ecosystem.
By the end of the year, Flow had reached over 15 million wallets and 10,000 developers!
Flow in 2023
2023 resembled some of the 2021 NFT hype for the Flow ecosystem. With development growing strong, Flow has snatched a new partnership.
On January 25, Doodles 2 announced they will be launching their 10,000 NFT collection on Flow. According to the Doodles team, this was a strategic decision to launch on a network that aligned with their brand identity. From seamless checkout flows, to world-class security, Doodles 2 will be accessible to every Flow user.
On the technical front, Flow has made several changes to its software and infrastructure in order to acommodate more users. With the update, transaction finality has been improved by 20% – this means faster transactions and better resilience.
Flow is in a constant growth cycle, and network participants like us can earn more $FLOW without too much hassle or technical knowledge, right from the comfort of our homes.
Learn how to do that in our Flow Mining & Staking guide, which includes the exact steps and best methods of earning more crypto like $FLOW in 2024 and beyond.