Flow

Flow is a layer-one, proof-of-stake blockchain designed for consumer-facing applications and the digital assets that power them. It uses a multi-role node architecture that separates network functions across distinct node types, which the project positions as a way to increase throughput and achieve near-instant finality without sacrificing decentralization. Developers can write contracts in Cadence, a smart contract language purpose-built for consumer applications, or deploy Solidity contracts through full EVM equivalence. The protocol also offers account-abstraction at the protocol level, account linking, mobile support and cross-chain interoperability.

The current positioning of the network is "consumer DeFi": applications that deliver financial products, yield strategies and automation on consumer-friendly rails. Named protocol primitives include Flow Actions (bundling multi-step workflows into a single atomic operation), Flow VRF (native on-chain randomness), Scheduled Transactions (on-chain automation of closes, resolutions, repayments, top-ups, restaking and recurring strategies without external bots or cron jobs), Capabilities & Entitlements (fine-grained, revocable delegation of access to users or AI agents), and an enshrined Flow Credit Market. Reference use cases presented by the company are autonomous on-chain prediction markets, home-equity lines of credit collateralized by tokenized property equity, automated "on-chain autopilot" transaction rules, and cross-chain swaps and bridging from more than 30 chains. Flow also lists MEV resistance and fiat-to-crypto onboarding paths as design goals, and ships developer tooling including a React library for wallet connection, authentication and transactions, and a Claude Code plugin that supplies AI coding agents with Flow context, skills and security standards.

The FLOW token is the network's native utility asset, used to pay transaction and storage fees, to buy, sell and trade assets on the network, and for staking and delegation to secure the network. Node operators contributing to network security have included Google Cloud, Coinbase, Ubisoft, T-Systems and Samsung.

Founding story

Flow was designed by Dieter Shirley, co-author of the ERC-721 NFT standard and a co-creator of CryptoKitties in 2017. In 2018, Shirley, Roham Gharegozlou and Mikhael Naayem co-founded Dapper Labs following CryptoKitties' viral success. Flow was introduced in a 2019 white paper, and Dapper Labs launched the Flow network in 2020, with NBA Top Shot becoming its first major success. Shirley serves as Chief Architect of Flow.

Business model

Flow operates as public blockchain infrastructure. Network usage is paid for in the native FLOW token through transaction processing and data storage fees, with the token also used for asset trading on the network and for staking and delegation rewards. The company reports that transaction fees are rising up to fourfold while FLOW issuance falls, which it frames as a step toward network self-sustainability.

Protocol-level transaction and storage fees denominated in FLOW, alongside staking and delegation economics for node operators and delegators.

Traction

Flow reports more than 45 million people having used a product on the network, and the site tracks the network's one-billionth transaction. Stated brand partnerships include the NBA, NFL, Disney, Mattel and LiveNation/Ticketmaster, plus PayPal. Flagship applications include NBA Top Shot, NFL ALL DAY and Disney Pinnacle. Stablecoin market capitalization on Flow reached an all-time high of $74.6M in June 2026. Community following as listed on the site: 200.4K X followers, 20.8K Discord members, 1.6K Telegram subscribers and 649 GitHub followers.

Latest developments

Recent items published by the company include a July 2026 change raising transaction fees up to fourfold while reducing FLOW issuance as a self-sustainability measure; a June 2026 all-time high of $74.6M in stablecoin market capitalization on Flow; the May 2026 launch of Flow AI Tools, a Claude Code plugin for building on Flow; a React library for wallet connections, authentication and transactions; a repositioning of the network around consumer DeFi; and Disney Pinnacle activity by Dapper Labs in July 2026. FLOW recorded an all-time low of $0.02369 in July 2026, against an all-time high of $46.16 in April 2021.