This is part 3 in a series of posts about the Flare Network, a new Turing-complete Federated Byzantine Agreement network that runs the latest Ethereum Virtual Machine.
In part 1 (Flare - A Turing-Complete Federated Byzantine Agreement Network), we introduced the Flare Network, which has been built since December 2018 and is currently undergoing external peer-review from a theoretical perspective and pen-testing by a cybersecurity company that contracts for NATO.
In part 2 (Leveraging Interledger Protocol for Node Remuneration on the Flare Network), we discussed a concrete node remuneration model for Flare Network node operators, leveraging the Interledger Protocol. As mentioned in that post, we are not launching a utility token for the Flare Network. We are instead enabling validators to have control over what currencies or tokens they wish to be remunerated in.
In this post, we are completing the definition of what a Flare Network is by defining how users interact with it.
One of our primary goals for Flare is to simplify its user experience. Because of this, Flare Network accounts will be directly controllable by XRP Ledger wallets. This means that users will only have to hold onto a single key to interact with the Flare Network. This XRP Ledger key can pay for Flare node remuneration using the Interledger Protocol, and that same key can also directly sign transactions on the Flare Network.
This mechanism in effect enables smart contracts with XRP Ledger accounts, which then enables highly interesting use-cases, for example the securitization of real-world assets. Securitized assets need to exist in a contract-form from their inception, because each asset has bespoke requirements on how they can be traded that require more functionality than a whitelist. This whitepaper (https://securitize.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/whitepapers/DS-Protocolv1.0.pdf) expresses the requirements for the complete lifecycle management of digital securities. A digital security, along with a user’s KYC information, can be expressed from its inception on a Flare Network, directly linking it to that user’s XRP Ledger wallet. Exchanges would then be fine in facilitating the trade of the Flare Network securitized asset with a liquid asset on XRP Ledger such as a USD representation. There are many more use-cases for the Flare Network that don’t have to focus on asset ownership, for example: https://www.distributedagreement.com/2019/03/01/what-are-blockchains-good-for/
The Flare Network is launching once we complete all of our external technical due-diligence, which we will share the results of publicly. We expect a beta network to be live in early May.