Gate.io AMA with Flare-A Layer 1 EVM Blockchain

2023-01-29, 06:19

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![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1674972421FmvjpwBWQAM54UK.jpeg)
**<font size=4>Time: Jan 19th, 2023, 10:00 AM (UTC)
Gate.io hosted an AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) session with the CEO &Co-Founder of Flare, Hugo in the [Gate Live](https://www.gate.io/zh/live/video/6cfe3a1ac903f09f7ccd0f7d75b10b41 "Gate Live").
Official Website: https://flare.network/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlareNetworks 
Follow Flare on Telegram and Twitter
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**Guest**
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1674972555123.png)
**Hugo Philion — CEO & Co-founder of Flare**
## Q&A from Gate.io
### Q1: Please tell us why you started Flare and what you see as its role within blockchain?
**Hugo**: For the blockchain industry to flourish, we need more useful decentralized applications. Flare is tackling this through data, not just prices but transaction details, Web2 events, and so on, so that developers can build applications that provide more utility to a larger group of users. 
Flare aims to enable developers to build applications that securely access more data. This type of secure access enables new use cases to be built, such as triggering a Flare smart contract action with a payment made on another chain or with input from an internet API. It also facilitates a new way of bridging, specifically to bring non-smart contract tokens to Flare for use in applications like DeFi protocols.

### Q2: Could you provide a brief introduction to Flare?
**Hugo**: Flare is a purpose-built blockchain with a vision to solve the challenges that have constrained innovation in our industry. It is a high-performance, decentralized, platform that delivers a set of native, open protocols, secured by the network. These protocols enable interoperable and composable applications to be built. From a technical perspective, Flare is a Layer-1 blockchain network utilizing the Ethereum Virtual Machine, or EVM, which offers two native protocols. 
The Flare Time Series Oracle delivers highly decentralized, time series data feeds to dapps on Flare. Currently, this includes digital asset price pairs.
The State Connector acquires information from other blockchains and the internet. This data can then be used securely, scalably, and trustlessly with smart contracts on Flare.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1674972705124.png)
Together, these protocols allow developers to create an ecosystem of robust and decentralized interoperable applications: connecting everything.

### Q3: What is the Flare Time Series Oracle and why is it important?
**Hugo**: The Flare Time Series Oracle, or FTSO, is a highly decentralized protocol for safely retrieving external time series data, such as cryptocurrency price pairs, for use on Flare. It takes data at three-minute intervals from an independent network of data providers, who are incentivized to deliver accurate information.
Independent entities, known as “Data Providers,” are required to harvest and collate individual price-pair data for a set of cryptocurrencies from exchanges. They then send this data to Flare by signing a transaction containing all the information. The FTSO system computes a price estimate for each cryptocurrency and makes it available for any user or application to request the data they require. This data can be used for any number of use cases, such as asset prices in a decentralized lending protocol.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1674972773125.png)
In this process, each data provider’s submission is weighted by delegation from FLR token holders. This creates a reward system that reflects the community’s trust in a particular provider. The result is an incentivization system where all stakeholders can receive a share of rewards. Rewards are based on the data providers’ submission and how close it is to the computed estimate.

### Q4: How can FLR token holders participate in Flare Network today?
**Hugo**: The Flare community can participate in the network with their FLR tokens. 
First, they can wrap their FLR into WFLR and delegate it to FTSO data providers. This enables token holders to directly contribute to the safety of the system. Delegated WFLR tokens remain in the user’s wallet, which enables them to earn rewards in the FTSO system while using their tokens for other purposes. 
Second, by holding FLR tokens, users can participate in network governance by voting on Flare Improvement Proposals with the community. 
You can use the Flare Portal for both delegation and governance. Delegation is also offered natively in-app by some wallet providers, including Bifrost Wallet.

### Q5: What is the State Connector and how does it work?
**Hugo**: The State Connector enables information, both from other blockchains and the internet, to be used securely, scalably, and trustlessly with smart contracts on Flare. It does so securely and in a decentralized manner, enabling developers to build a range of interoperable applications. Developers will be able to access the value, liquidity, and information of multiple ecosystems through a single deployment on Flare. It is designed to integrate with any blockchain, without requiring a centralized third party or a code change on the underlying chain. 
The State Connector system uses a set of independent attestation providers to acquire specific information and deliver it to the Flare network. The State Connector smart contract then verifies a suitable level of consensus has been reached among the attestation providers and their submitted information. Once approved, the data is securely reported to the network.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1674972839126.png)
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1674972859127.png)
An example use of the State Connector is to verify whether a transaction has taken place on another blockchain, for example, if 1 [Bitcoin](https://www.gate.io/trade/BTC_USDT) has been transferred from address A to address B.

### Q6: How does Flare’s State Connector differ from third-party oracle services?
**Hugo**: The State Connector derives its safety from combining a decentralized set of attestors with a binary forking protocol, which allows for a malicious majority of data providers to be challenged. In contrast to a proof of stake system where data providers are required to stake value, the security of the State Connector is not limited by the amount staked in the system. In other words, the State Connector is invariant in its safety relative to the size of a transaction. As a result, the secure system can handle large amounts of value.
The State Connector provides information pertaining to systems external to Flare, such as data regarding an individual transaction, including whether it has not taken place on another chain. Furthermore, it can gather memo data fields, such as a utility bill payment reference included in a [Bitcoin](https://www.gate.io/trade/BTC_USDT) transaction from one wallet to another. This offers a powerful class of data on the network and enables more cross-chain solutions to be built.

### Q7: How can developers start building on Flare?
**Hugo**: The best place to start is https://flare.network/start-building/ .
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1674972907128.png)
Flare is an EVM-compatible chain. Any application written in the Solidity programming language can be run on the network. This means developers can use existing Solidity-coded applications running on other EVM chains and deploy them directly to run on Flare. In addition, Flare’s native protocols, the State Connector and FTSO, provide secure access to decentralized off-chain data, giving builders and engineers the flexibility to create innovative & interoperable applications.

### Q8: Tell us about Flare Improvement Proposal 01
**Hugo**: Voting on Flare Improvement Proposal 01, or FIP.01, will begin this coming Saturday 21 January at 7am UTC. Any Flare token holders who want to vote upon the proposal will need to have wrapped their tokens by 7pm UTC on January 19. For those unsure how to do this, please see the recent tweets on the official Flare Network twitter page - @flarenetworks. 
The reason FIP.01 is so important is that both Flare and the blockchain ecosystem have evolved significantly in the years since we first announced our vision. Flare is a larger project than we initially considered: instead of serving a single community with a single utility, Flare’s data acquisition and interoperability protocols are designed to increase the usefulness of the broader blockchain ecosystem and enable developers to build dapps with new, innovative use cases. 
There are two main changes relating to inflation and the public token distribution method. These proposed changes have been designed to preserve original airdrop recipients’ foundational place in the ecosystem while also giving new entrants to the ecosystem a chance to participate. 
You’re probably aware that Flare is providing more than 28 Billion FLR  in a public token distribution. The first 15% or approximately 4.3B FLR was completed last week. The remaining 85% is scheduled for distribution over the next three years, which equals about 670M per month.
The main change proposed in FIP.01 is that these monthly distributions will be sent to wallets that hold wrapped FLR. This means that instead of Flare sending out tokens each month to the airdrop wallet addresses people initially provided, the distributions would be sent to wherever wrapped FLR are kept. The proposal achieves three things:
It empowers FLR holders to choose where they want to receive the remainder of the distributions.
It means distributions are only provided to active participants in the network, incentivizing engagement with Flare.
And it means that when a new entrant to the community acquires any FLR, they also receive access to the remaining monthly distributions.
The second proposed change is to how we will calculate monthly inflation. Rather than basing the calculation on total diluted supply, it would be based on circulating supply. In addition, rather than the rate remaining at 10%, it will be lowered to 7% in year 2 and 5% in year 3. This will help balance liquidity for sustained network stability and growth.
FLR holders are advised to wrap their tokens before 7pm UTC this Thursday 19 Jan to qualify to vote. We recommend hopping over to the official Flare twitter account @flarenetworks and reviewing our docs.

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<div>Author:** Rio Fu.**, Gate.io Community
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
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