Flare (FLR) is the native token of Flare, its own Layer-1 EVM-compatible blockchain known as the Flare Network, which launched its mainnet in July 2022.
Flare provides two core infrastructure services: the Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO), a decentralized system delivering on-chain price and time-series data, and FAssets, a trustless, over-collateralized bridge connecting non-smart-contract chains such as XRP, Bitcoin, and Dogecoin to Flare for use in DeFi. FLR is used to pay network gas fees.
Flare differentiates itself by providing enshrined, protocol-level oracle and bridging infrastructure for chains that otherwise lack smart-contract functionality, rather than relying on third-party bridges or oracles.
Its flagship FAssets system lets assets like XRP be minted as FXRP and used directly in Flare DeFi. As of 2026, more than 90 million FXRP had been minted, with roughly 80% deployed into lending, liquidity, and options protocols such as Derive.
FLR is Flare's utility and governance token, used to pay network gas fees and to stake with Proof-of-Stake validators for network security.
Holders also delegate FLR to Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO) data providers to earn rewards, and holders who are not the Flare Foundation or Flare VC Fund can vote on Flare Improvement Proposals (FIPs), which pass by simple majority.
Circulating supply is approximately 87.11 billion FLR as of 2026-08-31, with an implied maximum supply of roughly 106.45 billion FLR estimated from fully diluted value.
Flare's whitepaper was published in August 2020 under the name "Spark," while the Flare Network mainnet did not launch until July 2022, nearly two years later.
FLR launched via airdrop: 15% of total supply (over 4.28 billion FLR) went to XRP holders on January 9, 2023, based on a December 12, 2020 snapshot at a ratio of about 1.0073 FLR per XRP. Separately, Flare Networks raised $46.3 million across three private rounds from 17 investors, including Digital Currency Group and New Form Capital, with a $35 million round around February 23, 2024.
Flare is its own Layer-1, EVM-compatible blockchain rather than a token deployed on another chain.
The network runs its own validator set under a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, in which FLR is staked to validators to secure the chain. Flare's EVM compatibility allows standard Ethereum tooling and smart contracts to run on it.
Flare was founded by Hugo Philion (CEO), Sean Rowan (CTO), and Naïri Usher (Chief Scientist), who met while studying machine learning at University College London (UCL).
Philion previously worked as a commodity derivatives portfolio manager and holds a degree in investment and financial risk management from Cass Business School plus a master's in machine learning from UCL. Rowan holds a master's in machine learning from UCL, and Usher holds a PhD in quantum computing from UCL. The initial whitepaper was published in August 2020.
Flare is developed and maintained by Flare Networks, the operating company behind the project, alongside the Flare Foundation, a separate entity that administers token distribution.
The Flare Foundation holds a reserve allocation for the network's public FlareDrop distributions, distinct from Flare Networks' role in building and operating the protocol.
Flare uses on-chain governance: FLR holders, excluding the Flare Foundation and Flare VC Fund, vote on Flare Improvement Proposals (FIPs), which pass with a simple majority.
Holders can delegate FLR to Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO) data providers to earn rewards, and a separate FTSO Management Group of eligible data providers votes on punitive actions and adding new data feeds. The most recent major governance action, FIP.16, restructured FLR tokenomics for long-term sustainability, with voting concluding April 24, 2026.
Flare's 2026 roadmap centers on expanding FXRP (wrapped XRP) utility across DeFi and institutional finance.
Flare's FAssets bridge, which connects XRP, Bitcoin, and Dogecoin to the network, has been independently audited by OpenZeppelin and Coinspect.
OpenZeppelin's audit of FAssets is dated January 27, 2026, and Coinspect audited the FAsset V1.1 Core Vault in April 2025. Flare has also run public audit competitions via Immunefi and Code4rena, including a Code4rena FAssets competition (August 19 - September 23, 2025) with a $190,000 USDC prize pool. Separately, Seoul police dismantled an unrelated scam impersonating the "Flare Network" brand to steal XRP from investors, a brand-impersonation risk rather than a flaw in Flare's protocol.