Conflux Network (CFX) is an independent Layer-1 public blockchain, not a token deployed on another chain. It runs a hybrid Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake consensus on a Tree-Graph, DAG-based ledger, and offers two parallel execution environments: an EVM-compatible Conflux eSpace and its native Conflux Core Space. CFX is the network's native gas, staking, and governance asset, generated at the protocol level rather than through an ERC-20 or SPL contract deployment. The network was founded in 2018 by a team centered on academic researchers.
Conflux positions itself as a compliance-oriented blockchain for real-world-asset (RWA) and payment-finance infrastructure, closely aligned with Chinese and Hong Kong regulatory and state-linked entities. It has partnered with Ant Digital Technologies and China Telecom, and issues an AFSA-approved offshore-RMB stablecoin, AxCNH, alongside a Hong Kong-dollar-backed stablecoin, AxHKD. A 2025 project with Ant Digital Technologies tokenized more than 15,000 lithium batteries as a green-energy RWA asset, illustrating concrete on-chain RWA activity.
CFX functions as a utility and governance token across Conflux Core Space and Conflux eSpace. Holders use it to pay network gas fees and to lock (stake) tokens to gain Proof-of-Stake voting power, with governance rights tied to staked amounts. It also serves as the base settlement asset throughout the ecosystem.
CFX has no hard-coded maximum supply.
New CFX is issued via Proof-of-Work block rewards, Proof-of-Stake interest, and storage-rent payments, offset by a base-fee burn and a scheduled CFX burn-and-staking mechanism, keeping net supply growth low despite the absence of a supply cap.
Conflux was founded in 2018 and completed a private token sale in December 2018, raising approximately $35 million from institutional investors. Reported backers include Sequoia Capital China, Huobi Group, Shunwei Capital, Rong360, Baidu Ventures, F2Pool, Metastable, IMO Ventures, and FreesFund. Conflux did not conduct a public ICO or IEO to retail investors; distribution was structured through private and seed rounds to institutional and strategic investors instead.
Conflux runs its own independent Layer-1 blockchain rather than deploying on another chain's smart-contract layer. It uses a hybrid Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake consensus on a Tree-Graph, DAG-based ledger: Proof-of-Work orders and produces blocks, while a Proof-of-Stake layer, added in Conflux v2.0 via CIP-43 around February 2021, provides transaction finality and voting rather than block production. This hybrid design is intended to protect the network against potential 51% attacks on its Proof-of-Work layer. The chain supports both native Conflux Core Space and EVM-compatible Conflux eSpace execution.
Conflux was founded in 2018 by a group centered on academic researchers. Named co-founders include Dr. Fan Long, described as Founder/President of the Conflux Foundation, who holds a PhD in computer science from MIT, was an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and is a two-time International Olympiad in Informatics gold medalist; Ming Wu, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer; and YuanJie Zhang and David Chow, also listed as co-founders. Dr. Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, a Turing Award winner and Tsinghua University professor, is closely associated with the founding research group.
The Conflux Foundation, a non-profit entity, maintains and develops Conflux Network today. The project has received notable Chinese state-linked support, including a research grant exceeding $5 million from the Shanghai Science and Technology Committee and the Xuhui District government, reported in January 2021. More recently, the Foundation has pursued partnerships with Ant Digital Technologies and China Telecom and positions Conflux within China- and Hong Kong-focused real-world-asset and payment-finance (PayFi) infrastructure, including offshore-RMB and Hong Kong-dollar-backed stablecoins.
Conflux combines a formal on-chain proposal process with staked-weighted voting. Protocol changes go through Conflux Improvement Proposals (CIPs), developed publicly on GitHub. CFX holders gain governance and finality voting power by locking tokens under Proof-of-Stake: each 1,000 CFX locked grants one vote, and the voting committee holds a maximum of 300 seats split into six rotating groups of 50, with the oldest group replaced hourly. Proposals such as CIP-105 tie minimum quorum requirements for on-chain DAO votes to Proof-of-Stake staking levels.
Conflux has scheduled a mandatory network hard fork, v3.1.0, for 25 August 2026, intended to enhance Ethereum (eSpace) compatibility and address key protocol flaws. Binance temporarily suspended CFX deposits and withdrawals around that date to align with the upgrade. Separately, Conflux has been expanding China- and Hong Kong-focused real-world-asset infrastructure: a 2025 partnership with Ant Digital Technologies and dForce tokenized over 15,000 lithium batteries as a green-energy asset, alongside a Hong Kong battery-swapping RWA project, the AxCNH offshore-RMB stablecoin, the AxHKD stablecoin, and a China Telecom partnership.
Conflux states that its protocols and infrastructure have been audited by Quantstamp, SlowMist, Beosin, and PeckShield. The network runs a self-hosted bug bounty program, published on GitHub, in which reward size depends on a vulnerability's severity and impact, with payouts made in cryptocurrency after a fix is confirmed and publicly disclosed.