Flow(FLOW)

Flow is a developer-friendly, decentralized and fast Layer-1 blockchain that facilitates the easy creation of next-generation DApps (decentralized applications), games and digital assets. It was launched in Jan 2021 by Vancouver-based Dapper Labs, the same company that developed well-known products like UFC Strike, NBA Top Shot, CryptoKitties and Dapper Wallet. 

Dapper Labs faced all kinds of problems, like scalability issues, high gas fees and more, with CryptoKitties, which was developed on the Ethereum platform. Frustrated by the entire experience, the company decided to create its own blockchain, which addressed the chain-congestion problem head-on. The result was Flow, an all-in-one blockchain that is claimed to be developer-oriented, user-friendly, modular and future-proof, all at the same time.

Flow was, purportedly, designed for mainstream adoption right from the beginning. Some of the world’s leading developers and top brands are said to be currently building on the Flow blockchain, delivering fresh experiences to their users. Flow’s ecosystem comprises top venture-backed startups, established development studios and popular entertainment brands, including Opensea, Binance, Sumo Digital, Ubisoft, Warner Music, NFL, UFC and NBA. 

FLOW price

Launched in January 2021, amid favorable market conditions, FLOW coin hit the ground running and FLOW price in USD terms rallied immediately after its release, reaching an all-time high of $46.16 on April 5, 2021. FLOW’s fully diluted valuation was well above $55 billion at its ATH. 

According to our FLOW live price chart, the coin couldn’t hold on to its $40+ valuation for long, and its price soon retraced to under $20 within two months, and further dropped to $7 on June 23, 2021. Although the price of FLOW picked up soon afterward to close in on $30 on Aug. 30, 2021, it has since been declining constantly under bearish pressure and retreated to below $1.5 in Q2, 2022.

How FLOW works

Flow blockchain is powered by its native token FLOW, which is actively used by its users, developers and validators for participating on the network. FLOW also functions as a governance token and a medium to pay transaction fees, on the Flow network. Another important use case of FLOW is that it can be staked to earn regular staking rewards.

The Flow blockchain works with the help of four important pillars as follows:

• Multi-role architecture: The design of the Flow blockchain is such that it allows for easy scaling to serve billions of users, without the need for reducing decentralization or opting for sharding.

• Resource-oriented programming: Flow’s smart contracts are written in Cadence programming language, which is easy to use and enables the creation of secure dApps and digital assets.

• Developer ergonomics: The network offers various innovative features such as the Flow Emulator, upgradeable smart contracts and more, facilitating creation of valuable products for its community.

• Smooth consumer onboarding: As it was developed for mainstream users, Flow allows for easy on-ramping and improves user experience in all possible ways. 

The network is secured using HotStuff, a proven Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, that employs a unique validation mechanism. It follows a multi-node architecture, per which, the validation tasks are split amongst 4 different node types – collection, execution, consensus and verification. This drives dramatic improvements to its transaction throughput, speed and environment-friendliness, without the need of a ‘Layer 2’ scaling solution or the sharding approach.

FLOW news, updates and highlights

In October 2021, Flow integrated Filecoin’s storage services with its network. The collaboration allowed Flow users to easily mint new NFTs and leverage Filecoin’s IPFS (Interplanetary File System) content addressing system, to store tokens in the latter’s decentralized storage facility.

A few months later, in May 2022, Dapper Labs broke another important Flow news story. It announced a $725 million ecosystem fund to promote development on the Flow blockchain. The fund was launched with the backing of large investors in the Flow ecosystem including Greenfield One, Andreessen Horowitz, CoinFund, Liberty City Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Coatue. The fund was created to boost decentralized finance, gaming, content and infrastructure development on Flow. 

In August 2022, Meta, previously Facebook, announced the integration of FLOW NFTs in Instagram, causing the price of FLOW cryptocurrency to surge more than 40%.

Frequently asked questions about FLOW

• Can you mine or stake FLOW?

While it’s not possible to mine FLOW as the Flow blockchain uses a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, you can stake your FLOW tokens for staking rewards, or become a network validator to earn more FLOW.

• What are some of the best wallets for FLOW coin?

Some of the best FLOW coin wallets are Dapper Wallet, Blocto, Finoa, Lilico and Ledger.

• What can you do with FLOW coins?

You can use your FLOW coins to pay transaction fees on the Flow blockchain and/or contribute to its governance. The coin is also actively used for staking purposes to secure the Flow blockchain, and to earn staking rewards in return.

• How to buy FLOW cryptocurrency?

The ideal way to buy FLOW is from trustworthy crypto exchanges, with fiat currency, or with crypto, using trading pairs like FLOW/USDT, FLOW/SOL, FLOW/BTC and FLOW/ETH.