[Crypto projects](https://revain.org/projects/) › Flow

# Flow (FLOW): how it works, supply and reviews

## In short

- **Type**: Layer-1 blockchain with a multi-role node architecture, designed to scale without sharding
- **Initial distribution**: 1.25 billion FLOW at genesis: 32% ecosystem fund, 30% backers and community sale, 20% Dapper Labs, 18% development team
- **Risks and caveats**: Staking rewards of 5% a year are funded mostly by newly issued FLOW, so supply grows unless fee income rises.
- **Checked**: 31 October 2026

## Key facts

- **Ticker**: FLOW
- **Official site**: [flow.com](https://flow.com/)

Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.

## What is Flow

Flow is a proof-of-stake layer-1 blockchain built by the team behind CryptoKitties at Dapper Labs for consumer apps, games and digital assets. It splits node work into separate roles and supports two smart-contract environments, Cadence and Solidity (EVM). Its native coin FLOW pays fees and is staked by node operators.

## Network and consensus

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Layer-1 blockchain with a multi-role node architecture, designed to scale without sharding |
| Consensus | Proof of stake; consensus nodes run HotStuff |
| Node roles | Collection, Consensus, Execution, Verification and Access nodes |
| Smart contracts | Cadence (resource-oriented language) and Solidity with full EVM equivalence; both use FLOW for gas |
| Launched | Genesis block created in October 2020 |

## Supply and issuance

| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Initial distribution | 1.25 billion FLOW at genesis: 32% ecosystem fund, 30% backers and community sale, 20% Dapper Labs, 18% development team |
| Unlocks | All genesis allocations were fully unlocked by October 2023 |
| Staking rewards | 5% of total supply per year is paid to validators and delegators |
| Inflation | Rewards are paid first from transaction fees, then from newly minted FLOW; fees are not burned |
| Fee update | Since 8 December 2025, sustained throughput of 250 TPS would make fees exceed new issuance |

## What FLOW is used for

- Paying transaction and storage fees
- Staking by node operators and delegation
- Medium of exchange in the Flow ecosystem
- Gas in both the Cadence and EVM environments

## Who develops and governs Flow

- **Developer**: Flow Foundation (core team) works with Dapper Labs (leading ecosystem builder)
- **Company**: Dapper Labs funded development of the Flow technology and received 250 million FLOW at genesis
- **Foundation**: The Flow Foundation manages the ecosystem development fund
- **Open source**: Yes; the flow-go node software is AGPL-3.0 and open source since 2019

## History

| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2019 | The flow-go reference node software is open-sourced. |
| October 2020 | Genesis block created with 1.25 billion FLOW. |
| October 2023 | All genesis allocations are fully unlocked. |
| 8 December 2025 | A transaction fee update goes live on mainnet. |
| 27 December 2025 | A Cadence runtime exploit duplicates tokens; validators halt the network within six hours and patch it. |
| 30 January 2026 | The Flow Foundation confirms that 87.4 billion counterfeit FLOW were destroyed onchain. |

## Security and audits

- On 27 December 2025 an attacker exploited a Cadence runtime flaw to duplicate tokens and extracted about $3.9 million; Flow says no existing user balances were accessed.
- Validators halted the network within six hours, deployed patches, and the counterfeit tokens were destroyed by 30 January 2026.

## Security incidents

| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 27 December 2025 | Exploit: An attacker used a three-part Cadence runtime flaw to duplicate tokens (including 87.96 billion counterfeit FLOW) and extracted about $3.9 million; validators halted the network within six hours and patched it. Funds returned: Most counterfeit assets were contained onchain or frozen by exchanges; 87.4 billion counterfeit FLOW were destroyed by 30 January 2026. Flow says no existing user balances were accessed. | [flow.com](https://flow.com/post/dec-27-technical-post-mortem) |
| 27 December 2025 | Network halt: Validators executed a coordinated network halt at 05:23 PST on 27 December 2025 (block 137390190) to stop the exploit. | [flow.com](https://flow.com/post/dec-27-technical-post-mortem) |
| 31 August 2026 | Exploit: Third-party: at about 06:18 UTC on 31 August 2026 a vulnerability in Ankr's ankrFLOW liquid staking contract let an attacker create about 8.6 million unbacked ankrFLOW, which was used as collateral on MORE Markets to take about 15.5 million WFLOW (~USD 410,000; ~USD 246,000 realised after slippage). Flow said the Flow network, Flow EVM and FLOW tokenomics were not exploited; some exchanges paused FLOW deposits as a precaution. Funds returned: Flow Foundation, working with Ankr, said it will replace the funds drained from the MORE Markets WFLOW reserve and rebalance the liquidity pools; it said no MORE Markets or ankrFLOW depositor lost funds. | [flow.com](https://flow.com/post/statement-on-the-ankr-liquid-staking-exploit) |

## Risks and caveats

- Staking rewards of 5% a year are funded mostly by newly issued FLOW, so supply grows unless fee income rises.
- The December 2025 exploit required a coordinated validator halt of the network to contain counterfeit tokens.

## Official links

- Website: [flow.com](https://flow.com/)
- Docs: [developers.flow.com](https://developers.flow.com/)
- Tokenomics: [flow.com/flow-tokenomics](https://flow.com/flow-tokenomics)
- Source code: [github.com/onflow/flow-go](https://github.com/onflow/flow-go)
- Security post-mortem: [flow.com/post/dec-27-technical-post-mortem](https://flow.com/post/dec-27-technical-post-mortem)

## Questions and answers

**What is Flow?**

Flow is a proof-of-stake layer-1 blockchain for consumer apps and digital assets, with Cadence and EVM smart contracts. FLOW is its native coin.

**Who created Flow?**

Flow was designed by the Dapper Labs team behind CryptoKitties; today the Flow Foundation and Dapper Labs develop it together.

**What is the supply of FLOW?**

The genesis block in October 2020 created 1.25 billion FLOW; supply has grown since through staking rewards of 5% a year, offset by fees.

**What happened to Flow in December 2025?**

On 27 December 2025 an attacker duplicated tokens through a Cadence flaw and extracted about $3.9 million. Validators halted and patched the network, and the counterfeit tokens were destroyed.

## Sources

- [Flow — Tokenomics](https://flow.com/flow-tokenomics)
- [Flow Developers — Why Flow](https://developers.flow.com/build/flow)
- [Flow Developers — Staking](https://developers.flow.com/networks/staking)
- [flow-go README (GitHub)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/onflow/flow-go/master/README.md)
- [Flow — Dec 27 technical post-mortem (6 January 2026)](https://flow.com/post/dec-27-technical-post-mortem)
- [Flow — Final remediation update (30 January 2026)](https://flow.com/post/final-remediation-update-regarding-the-flow-security-incident-87-4-billion-counterfeit-tokens-have-been-destroyed-)

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- [All Crypto projects →](https://revain.org/projects/)

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Page updated: 2026-10-31

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Source: https://revain.org/projects/flow/