Flow is a Layer 1 blockchain created by Dapper Labs, the company behind CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, and designed for consumer apps such as digital collectibles and games. Its native token is FLOW. Flow’s selling points are a user-friendly account model (apps can pay fees for users, and keys can be rotated), its own resource-oriented smart-contract language, Cadence, and since 2024 full Ethereum compatibility through Flow EVM. Its recent history is rougher: a December 2025 exploit, a contested recovery, and delisting from South Korea’s three largest exchanges in March 2026. (If you searched “what is flow” meaning Bitcoin’s stock-to-flow valuation model, that’s a different topic; see our Bitcoin price prediction page, which discusses valuation models.)
For the bigger picture, see the Coin Directory: it compares the options and points to the next guide to read.
Key takeaways:
- Flow was built after CryptoKitties congested Ethereum in 2017, specifically for mainstream consumer apps.
- It splits node work into four roles (collection, consensus, execution, verification) to scale throughput.
- Developers can write in Cadence or deploy unchanged Solidity contracts on Flow EVM (since the Crescendo upgrade on September 4, 2024).
- A December 27, 2025 exploit minted roughly $3.9 million in counterfeit tokens; Flow dropped a rollback plan in favor of an “isolated recovery”.
- FLOW can be staked by delegating to node operators, with weekly reward epochs.
History
Dapper Labs grew out of Axiom Zen, a Vancouver studio led by Roham Gharegozlou. Its 2017 game CryptoKitties became so popular that it clogged Ethereum, pushing up fees for everyone. The lesson Dapper took was that consumer apps needed a chain designed around them, not one shared with high-value financial traffic. It began building Flow in 2018-2019, raised money from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, and sold FLOW to the public through a CoinList auction in 2020. Mainnet launched that year.
Flow exists because of an earlier Dapper Labs hit; our history of CryptoKitties and the Ethereum congestion it caused explains the game that started it all.
NBA Top Shot, licensed highlight “moments” sold as collectibles, launched on Flow in late 2020 and exploded in early 2021, bringing hundreds of thousands of mainstream buyers who paid with credit cards and never saw a seed phrase. NFL All Day, UFC Strike and other licensed sports products followed. After the NFT market collapsed in 2022, Dapper cut staff and later settled a class action over Top Shot for $4 million in 2024 without admitting wrongdoing.
Technical milestones since then:
- September 4, 2024 – Crescendo: added Flow EVM (full EVM equivalence) and Cadence 1.0. (Our old page dated this April 2024; the mainnet upgrade was in September.)
- October 2025 – Forte: introduced “Actions” and “Agents”, building blocks for on-chain automation and scheduled transactions.
- December 27, 2025 – exploit: an attacker abused a vulnerability in Flow’s execution layer to create counterfeit tokens worth about $3.9 million and moved value off-chain through several bridges. The Flow Foundation first proposed rolling the chain back, met heavy pushback from bridges and partners, and switched to an isolated recovery targeting exploit-linked accounts. The network came back online in phases.
- February-March 2026 – Korean delisting: Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone announced they would end FLOW trading. The Flow Foundation and Dapper Labs sought an injunction; on March 13, 2026, the Seoul Central District Court rejected it, and the three exchanges delisted FLOW on March 16. Korbit continued trading it, and Coinbase, Kraken and Binance restored full service after reviews.
- 2026: the Foundation announced token buyback commitments, and a July 2026 fee change began paying staking rewards from transaction fees first, minting new FLOW only for any shortfall, which it estimated would cut issuance meaningfully. Separately, a lending app on Flow EVM, More Markets, lost about $9.3 million to an exploit in August 2026; that was an app-level bug, not a chain failure.
How Flow Works
Most blockchains ask every validator to do every job. Flow divides the work:
| Node role | What it does | Why it’s separate |
|---|---|---|
| Collection | Gathers incoming transactions into batches | Lightweight; improves networking efficiency |
| Consensus | Agrees on the order of batches | Decentralization matters most here |
| Execution | Runs the computation and updates state | Uses powerful hardware for throughput |
| Verification | Checks execution results in chunks | Keeps the heavy execution nodes honest |
The trade-off: execution nodes are few and require serious hardware, so the system relies on verification to catch mistakes. The December 2025 exploit landed in the execution layer, which is why it was serious enough to trigger a rollback debate.
Cadence treats assets as “resources” that can exist in only one place at a time; the language refuses to compile code that would copy or accidentally destroy them. That eliminates some classes of NFT bugs common in Solidity, though, as the 2025 exploit showed, no language removes all risk. Flow EVM runs alongside, so Solidity developers can deploy with standard tools, and the two environments can interact.
Account model: Flow accounts can have multiple keys, keys can be rotated, and apps can sponsor gas. Each account must hold a small minimum FLOW balance to cover storage. These features are why Top Shot users could sign up with an email.
Tokenomics
Data providers listed roughly 1.7 billion FLOW in circulation in late 2026, with no fixed maximum. New FLOW has historically been minted to pay staking rewards. Since July 2026, fees cover rewards first, which reduces inflation when the network is busy and leaves it higher when activity is low. The Foundation’s buyback commitments add another variable. FLOW is used for:
- Staking by node operators and delegators
- Transaction fees on both Cadence and Flow EVM (often sponsored by apps)
- Storage minimum balances
- Governance via Flow Improvement Proposals (FLIPs)
How to Buy and Stake FLOW
Buying
FLOW is available on Coinbase, Kraken, Binance and other global exchanges, but no longer on Upbit, Bithumb or Coinone. Withdraw to a Flow-compatible wallet such as Flow Wallet (or a Ledger via Flow Port). If you want to use Flow EVM apps, add Flow EVM to MetaMask (chain ID 747) and move FLOW to your EVM address; check which address format your exchange expects before withdrawing.
After the 2025 exploit, our step-by-step guide on how to buy FLOW crypto explains the exchange and wallet routes to check first.
Staking step by step
- Hold FLOW in a self-custody wallet that supports staking (Flow Wallet, or a Ledger connected through Flow Port).
- Open the staking section and browse node operators. Look at uptime, commission (operators take a cut of delegator rewards), and how long they’ve operated.
- Delegate the amount you want. It becomes active at the start of the next weekly epoch.
- Collect rewards each epoch; you can restake them to compound.
- Unstake when needed. Tokens unlock after the epoch boundary process, typically one to two weeks, during which they earn nothing.
Reward rates depend on total stake and the new fee-first rule, so check the live rate in your wallet. Key risks: FLOW’s price volatility and, for delegators, choosing an unreliable operator. Our staking guide explains how to compare yields across chains.
Use Cases
- Licensed sports collectibles: NBA Top Shot, NFL All Day and others remain Flow’s best-known apps.
- Games and consumer apps: sponsored transactions and email sign-ups suit mainstream users.
- EVM DeFi: lending and DEX apps on Flow EVM, a small ecosystem that, as the 2026 More Markets exploit showed, carries the usual app-level risk.
- Automation: Forte’s Actions let developers schedule and compose on-chain tasks.
To see how Flow compares with other collectible-focused chains, read our Immutable guide and our NFT explainer.
Risks: What to Weigh Before Buying FLOW
- Security track record: a protocol-level exploit in 2025 and the rollback debate raised questions about both code quality and how decisions are made under stress.
- Liquidity concentration: South Korea had accounted for a large share of FLOW trading volume; the March 2026 delisting removed that venue.
- Demand dependence: Flow’s flagship apps rely on the health of the collectibles market, which has been weak since 2022.
- Centralization: Dapper Labs and the Flow Foundation remain central to development, and execution nodes are few.
- Upside case: a consumer-friendly account model, EVM compatibility and reduced issuance give Flow tools that could matter if mainstream apps return.
FAQ
Is Flow still running after the 2025 exploit?
Yes. After the December 27, 2025 exploit, the network was restored in phases using an isolated recovery that targeted exploit-linked accounts instead of rolling back the whole chain. The Flow Foundation said ordinary user balances were not affected. Major global exchanges restored FLOW services after reviews, though Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone delisted it in March 2026.
Why did Dapper build Flow instead of using Ethereum?
CryptoKitties showed that one popular consumer app could congest Ethereum and raise fees for everyone. Dapper wanted a chain built for high-volume, low-value consumer transactions, where apps could pay fees for users and people could sign up without managing seed phrases. Flow’s multi-role architecture and account model came from that goal.
What is Cadence?
Cadence is Flow’s native smart-contract language. It models assets as resources that can only exist in one place at a time, and the compiler prevents code that would duplicate or lose them. This makes some common NFT and token bugs impossible, though it can’t prevent every vulnerability. Since 2024, Flow also supports Solidity through Flow EVM.
Can I use MetaMask with Flow?
Yes, for Flow EVM. Add the Flow EVM network (chain ID 747) from official Flow documentation or Chainlist, then use EVM apps as normal. Cadence-based apps and native staking typically use Flow Wallet or Flow Port instead. Confirm which address type you’re using before receiving funds from an exchange.
Crypto is volatile and risky; this is education, not financial advice. Do your own research.
