Flare, the new Ethereum Virtual Machine layer-1 blockchain platform, has gone live with the launch of two core protocols aimed at powering decentralized interoperability applications.
The platform is an oracle network that allows developers to build applications that aim to be interoperable with various blockchains and internet platforms and services.
Flare has two protocols that power the application building suite. The State Connector protocol allows information and data to be used securely and at scale from various blockchains and internet resources using smart contracts. These functions are said to offer robust data to the network and facilitate the development of cross-chain solutions.
Meanwhile, Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO) sources and provides decentralized pricing and data feeds for decentralized applications (DApps) running on a layer-1 blockchain platform. According to Flare’s technical documentation, the FTSO smart contract provides continuous estimation for different types of data.
Independent providers take data from external sources like centralized and decentralized exchanges and provide the data to the FTSO system. The information is weighted according to the voting power of each provider, and the median is calculated to produce the final estimate.
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It operates as an incentive system for data providers, who are rewarded for providing price pairs and other information close to median values from various sources.
The network of two protocols, Songbird and Flare, runs the Ethereum Virtual Machine that allows Ethereum contracts and tools to be used in the development of smart contracts and applications. But this layer 1 network runs independently of the Ethereum mainnet.
Details of the platform’s launch shared with Cointelegraph highlight the importance of providing secure access to data. Flare CEO & co-founder Hugo Philion believes the two protocols can lead to new use cases for blockchain technology, such as triggering Flare smart contracts with payments made on other chains or with input from conventional websites.
“It also facilitates new ways to connect, specifically to bring non-smart contract tokens to Flare for use in applications like the DeFi protocol.”
Flare started its token airdrop on January 9, with 4.27 billion FLR tokens distributed to millions of users on various cryptocurrency exchanges. The airdrop itself marks a unique milestone, as developers can now start using Flare’s EVM and data acquisition protocol.
The initial token distribution releases 15 percent of the full public token allocation, and the remainder is set to be released monthly over 36 months. The allocation method for the remaining token supply will be decided by community vote through Flare Improvement Proposal 01 (FIP.01).