Chapter 1: An Introduction to Flare
Imagine the blockchain world as a group of separate islands (blockchains), each with its own unique rules and resources. Flare serves as the bridge that connects these islands, allowing them to share information and work together, making the whole system stronger and more connected.
Flare is a Layer 1 blockchain, like Ethereum, but with a superpower—it’s built to access and utilize high-quality data from both other blockchains and the internet. This opens the doors to decentralized applications (dApps) with new use cases, better monetization models, and cross-chain compatibility.
Since Flare is Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible, developers already comfortable with Solidity can easily deploy their applications on Flare without learning a new language or tooling.
What Problem Does Flare Solve?
Let’s face it: while blockchain technology is revolutionary, most dApps today revolve around financial speculation (e.g., trading and DeFi), which limits their real-world impact. One key reason for this is the lack of diverse, reliable data on-chain.
Imagine trying to create a weather-based crop insurance system but only having access to on-chain weather data for one specific region. Flare’s mission is to break these barriers by providing developers with access to decentralized, high-integrity data, enabling real-world applications that matter to more people.
With Flare, developers can finally unlock broader, more meaningful blockchain adoption—think apps that integrate sports scores, cross-chain transactions, or even IoT data!
What’s Unique About Flare’s Technology?
Flare stands out because it doesn’t just provide data—it ensures the data is secure, decentralized, and reliable. This is achieved through two native protocols:
- The Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO)
Think of the FTSO as a bustling farmer’s market, where independent farmers (data providers) come together to offer fresh, diverse produce (data). The buyers (dApps) rely on these farmers to provide accurate, high-quality produce.
The FTSO selects data providers every 1.8 seconds using a stake-weighted randomness algorithm. FLR token holders can delegate their tokens to these providers, earning rewards while ensuring data quality.
- The Data Connector
Imagine the Data Connector as a courier service that delivers off-chain data (e.g., blockchain transactions, API responses) to Flare in a trustless and decentralized manner. It ensures multiple couriers (attestation providers) independently verify the package (data) before it’s accepted.
These two protocols make Flare the blockchain for data, offering unparalleled data acquisition capabilities for dApp developers.
Chapter 2: Native Data Acquisition Protocols
The Data Connector: Bringing the Outside World On-Chain
Let’s say you want to know whether a Bitcoin transaction has occurred between two parties. Most blockchains would struggle with this, as they can’t trustlessly verify events happening outside their network.
Flare’s Data Connector solves this by enabling dApps to securely access off-chain event data—such as transactions on another blockchain or real-world events stored in Web2 databases. Multiple independent attestation providers verify this data, ensuring it’s accurate before it’s brought on-chain.
This is like hiring several inspectors to confirm that a painting is authentic before displaying it in a gallery.
The Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO): Decentralized Data Feeds at Lightning Speed
If the Data Connector is the courier, the FTSO is the weather forecaster—reliable, decentralized, and constantly updated. It provides real-time price feeds and other time-sensitive data to the network, making it ideal for use cases like:
- Lending and borrowing
- Options trading
- Cross-chain order books
With around 100 independent data providers selected through delegation by FLR token holders, the FTSO ensures accuracy and decentralization.
Chapter 3: Using FLR Tokens
Delegating FLR Tokens: Be a Part of the Data Economy
Delegating your FLR tokens is like voting for your favorite artist in a talent show. By temporarily assigning your tokens to FTSO data providers, you support their efforts to deliver accurate data and earn rewards in return.
- Tokens remain liquid—you can undelegate them anytime.
- Rewards can be claimed every 3.5 days (on Flare) or weekly (on Songbird).
Staking FLR for Validators
Flare is transitioning to a staking model where you can lock your FLR tokens to secure the network. This works like depositing money in a bank for a fixed term—the longer you lock your tokens, the more rewards you earn.
The minimum stake is 50k FLR, with a minimum duration of 14 days. Developers can use the staking tool or the Command Line Interface (CLI) for advanced control.
FlareDrops: Monthly Token Distribution
Holders of WFLR (wrapped FLR) can participate in 36 monthly FlareDrops, with over 24.2 billion FLR being distributed. To participate, you may need to move your FLR tokens to a wallet and wrap them into WFLR.
Wrapped FLR (WFLR): Expanding Token Utility
Wrapping FLR into WFLR is like turning cash into a prepaid card—it expands its utility. WFLR tokens can be used for:
- Delegating to the FTSO
- Participating in governance
- Engaging with EVM-compatible dApps
Songbird: Flare’s Canary Network
Songbird is like the rehearsal stage for a Broadway play. It’s a live operational blockchain where new features and applications are tested under real-world conditions before being deployed on Flare.
Governance: Giving Developers a Voice
Governance on Flare is designed to be transparent and participatory. Proposals originate either from the Flare Foundation or the Songbird network and can be voted on by FLR and SGB token holders.
Developers can view and submit proposals through the Proposals Repository and vote via the Flare Portal.
Chapter 4: Building with Flare
Why Build on Flare?
Flare’s ability to seamlessly integrate data from multiple sources makes it a playground for developers who want to innovate beyond DeFi. Whether you’re building cross-chain marketplaces, IoT applications, or gaming ecosystems, Flare provides the tools to make it happen.
Getting Started
- Familiarize yourself with Flare’s documentation and tools.
- Use Flare’s EVM compatibility to deploy existing Solidity dApps.
- Explore data acquisition with the Data Connector and FTSO.
Join the Flare Ecosystem
Discover projects being built on Flare at Flare.Builders, and contribute to a growing ecosystem of dApps pushing the boundaries of blockchain innovation.
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