With the success of CryptoKitties, developer Dapper Labs knew that for Web3 gaming to grow, an alternative to Ethereum was needed: Enter flow.
Flow is Ethereum’s first major competitor for games, apps, and experiences, and powers many of the most mainstream blockchain applications to date.
Despite the boom in Ethereum’s layer 2 blockchain and the growing popularity of competing layer 1 blockchains, Flow remains at the forefront of the industry – but what makes Flow stand out and how can it be beaten? What about blockchain?
Here is our complete guide to Flow blockchain in 2024.
What is traffic?
Created by Dapper Labs, the team behind CryptoKitties, Flow is a Layer-1 blockchain designed to support high-traffic games, experiences, and digital collectibles.
The popularity of CryptoKitties hit Ethereum’s speed, reliability, and user fees hard, so Dapper Labs built Flow — a modern blockchain that could meet the needs of its popular blockchain game.
Flow is powered by the $FLOW token, a native cryptocurrency involved in trading, staking, and network governance
In addition to CryptoKitties, Flow is home to some of the top blockchain-based games, apps, and platforms, including officially licensed games like NBA Top Shot, NFL All Day, and UFC Strike.
While many of these are internal products, Flow provides extensive documentation to external developers and works with third-party teams to create an entire ecosystem of Flow-based applications, tools, and platforms.
Flow claims to be the “home of consumer Web3,” and its partnerships, products, and growth make that claim a legitimate one.
How does the process work?
Dapper Labs believes that Flow is not an alternative solution, but a better solution.
Flow uses a unique multi-role architecture. Instead of dividing the network into shards, Flow divides transaction processing into four specialized roles:
- Collection node: manages transaction data
- Consensus Node: Orders, Verifies, and Orders Transactions
- Execution node: processing transactions
- Validation nodes: keeping the network synchronized and secure
This allows Flow to process large volumes of transactions quickly, reliably, securely, and is proven to be effective, making the blockchain both developer-friendly and performant.
As a proof-of-stake (PoS) network, users can run nodes or delegate their $FLOW holdings to existing nodes to receive rewards. While many of Flow’s leading products come directly from Dapper Labs, the governance of blockchains is becoming increasingly decentralized, with decision-making power resting with token holders.
For developers, Flow uses a unique programming language called Cadence that is optimized for digital assets and smart contracts. It provides a set of tools and documentation to make building on Flow easier, and hopes that Flow will become the home of mainstream Web3 applications.
The history of flow
The idea for Flow came about following the success of CryptoKitties in 2017.
NBA Top Shot attracted mainstream attention in 2021, becoming the first major Web3 application to do so. This popularity led to short-lived partnerships with Instagram and Facebook in 2022, as well as the launch of NFL All Day, UFC Strike and more officially licensed products.
In recent years, Flow has faced increasing competition from Ronin, Base and Avalanche – although no blockchain has yet matched its mainstream success.
All is not plain sailing. In June 2024, Dapper Labs reached a $4 million settlement with NBA Top Shot holders over a lawsuit alleging that Top Shot collectibles were securities, and it’s unclear what this will do to other officially licensed games on Flow. Influence.
Despite this, Flow’s popularity continues to grow, and its recent Crescendo update, which brings full EVM support, is just the latest of many successes for the Flow ecosystem.
