Flow Decentralization Progress

The path for Flow has always been progressive decentralization over time. In the last year, various upgrades have enabled network participants to stake Flow, run nodes & validators, and more to drive the chain toward decentralization. Visualize that progress; how many nodes or validators are run on the network, & how does that compare with other chains? How much FLOW is staked, and by how many users? What else can you add to visualize the progress?

What is FLOW?

Flow is a blockchain platform designed for the development of decentralized applications (dApps) and digital assets. It was created by Dapper Labs, the team behind CryptoKitties, one of the first and most successful blockchain-based games.

Flow is designed to be developer-friendly and scalable, allowing for the creation of complex applications with high throughput and low fees. It uses a novel consensus algorithm called Proof of Stake with Hot Stuff, which combines the HotStuff consensus protocol with a delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) system.

One of the key features of Flow is its ability to support non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other types of digital assets, including fungible tokens and even smart contracts. This makes it well-suited for building blockchain-based games, collectibles, and other applications that require unique, verifiable digital assets.

Overall, Flow aims to make blockchain technology more accessible and user-friendly for developers, while still maintaining the security and decentralization that is characteristic of the blockchain.

FLOW Decentralization

Decentralization in the context of Flow refers to the distribution of power and control among participants in the network, rather than being owned and controlled by a central authority.

In a decentralized network, there is no single point of failure, and decisions are made through a consensus mechanism where all participants have a say in the governance of the network. This ensures that the network is more secure and resistant to attacks or manipulation, as no single participant or group of participants can exert undue influence over the network.

In the case of Flow, the network is secured by a decentralized group of validators who are responsible for confirming transactions and maintaining the integrity of the blockchain. Validators are selected through a DPoS mechanism where token holders can vote for representatives to act as validators on their behalf. This ensures that the network is governed in a fair and democratic manner.

Furthermore, the Flow protocol is open-source, meaning that anyone can inspect and audit the code, and developers are free to build and deploy applications on top of the network without requiring permission from a central authority.

Staking on FLOW

Flow is a global network of computers working together to maintain the security and integrity of its users' data.

This global network is made up of many individual nodes: software applications run by people. Every node in the network shares a small part of the responsibility to keep the network running smoothly and to ensure that other nodes are doing the same. This shared responsibility is sometimes called decentralization, because no single central node is solely responsible for the security and integrity of the network and the data it contains.

Node operators are what we call the people who run nodes. In order to connect their software applications as nodes on the network, a node operator must first purchase tokens. Every node operator has to temporarily give (or ‘stake’) a large number of their tokens to the network as a promise that they will not modify their node to do something that is against the rules of the network, like steal funds from users' accounts. This process of temporarily giving up tokens is called staking.

If a node ever breaks the rules defined by the network, a number of the node operator's staked tokens will be taken from them as a punishment. This process is automatic. Every node knows the rules defined by the network and automatically watches other nodes and reports them if they misbehave. Meanwhile, the network pays the node operator a reward from a mixture of transaction fees and newly minted tokens on a regular basis provided their node does not break the rules.

If a node operator breaks the rules, they lose the tokens they've staked. If they operate their node with integrity, they get rewarded with more tokens! This is the basic incentive that enables a decentralized proof-of-stake network, like Flow.

How Does Staking Work on Flow?

The Flow protocol maintains a list of node operators. The list contains important information about each node, like their public keys, node address, and what kind of node they are running. (Collection, Consensus, Execution, Verification, or Access)

A node operator registers a node by submitting a transaction containing their node information and the FLOW they wish to stake. If they meet the requirements to run a node, then will be accepted to join the network!

Once a node is staking and operating properly, it will receive periodic reward payments, assuming it stays online and actively participates in the protocol without committing any actions that would harm the network, which we call slashable offenses. Once nodes have registered, they are required to operate for a protocol-specified timeframe. This timeframe is otherwise known as an Epoch.