Flare Network, a Layer 1 blockchain, has announced that its FlareDrops distribution program is nearing completion, marking the final stage of a 36-month initiative that distributed billions of FLR tokens to the network’s community.
According to the announcement shared with Finbold on Thursday, January 29, the conclusion of FlareDrops signals the transition of FLR into what the network describes as its operational utility phase.
Launched in January 2023 following a governance proposal approved by 93% of voters, the FlareDrops program was designed to promote broad network ownership and incentivize active participation. Under the proposal, approximately 24 billion FLR tokens were distributed in monthly increments to wallets holding wrapped FLR or staked FLR over a three-year period.
Flare network growth and FLR utility phase
During the FlareDrops period, Flare evolved into a data and interoperability-focused blockchain supporting real-world assets (RWAs) and tokenization. The network now reports 860,000 active addresses and processes around 500,000 transactions daily.
Supported by more than 150 partners, including LayerZero, USDT0, Sentora, Figment, and Ankr, total value locked (TVL) on Flare has reached $200 million and stablecoin market capitalization has surpassed $110 million.
As Flare enters its next phase, FLR is expected to play a central role across the network’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. The token is currently used in multiple protocols and paired with assets such as FXRP, of which more than 90 million tokens have been minted to date. Around 80% of FXRP supply has been allocated to protocols, including SparkDex, Kinetic, and Enosys.
With the end of FlareDrops, Flare confirmed that no additional programmatic FLR distributions are scheduled. Circulating supply is estimated at roughly 85 billion tokens, with total supply at approximately 105 billion, subject to protocol-defined inflation and token burns. The network noted that FlareDrops, rewards FLR, and escrowed allocations were all part of the initial genesis issuance and do not increase total supply.
New FLR issuance is capped at a maximum of 5 billion tokens annually and is expected to decline toward zero over time. The Flare Foundation also said it plans to introduce governance proposals in the first quarter focused on strengthening FLR’s role within the network, including exploring how protocol-generated revenue could support long-term sustainability as FLR enters its utility-focused phase.
Featured image via Shuterstock.
