Profound Insights from Ecosystem Call Amidst Staking Phase 2 Preparation, Unlocking Flare's API Gateway, and Network Updates

The past week has witnessed a flurry of dynamic activities within the Flare Network, where the term "busy" barely encapsulates the vibrant energy that has permeated the ecosystem.

Against a backdrop of remarkable developments, our central focus will revolve around unveiling exclusive insights gleaned from the past week within the Flare ecosystem. These insights have been drawn from captivating discussions with Arkham Intel and Flarescan.

We are also thrilled to inform you about the new partnership Flare has with Web3Auth and to update you on the ongoing evolution of existing collaborative endeavors.

Moreover, we will guide you through the new Flare documentation, explaining the intricacies of accessing the Flare API Portal and bringing you up to speed on the latest ecosystem updates, covering critical areas such as Staking, Governance, and beyond.

Ecosystem

Flare has recently issued two new official documents, one of which contains a significant announcement targeting individuals who have relocated their governance votes to alternative addresses.

This announcement comes in conjunction with an important update to the Flare Portal, designed to safeguard the majority of token holders from the alterations.

Under the updated system, the number of votes attributed to an address will be determined by a combination of the WFLR (Wrapped Flare) holdings and the staked funds on the P-chain at a specific block.

Consequently, staking activities will not diminish one's ability to participate in governance. It's worth noting that these enhancements will affect individuals who have previously transferred their votes to different addresses or from their Personal Delegation Account (PDA).

If this applies to you, navigate to the Flare Portal's voting page where you can easily safeguard your active voice by clicking the "Transfer Votes" button.

Developers and enterprises who want to gain access to Flare nodes and leverage its technology now have three primary avenues to access Flare nodes. First, the Flare Foundation provides a free public API with rate limits suitable for basic functions.

Second, Node-as-a-Service companies offer APIs with higher bandwidth options and tiered payment levels, making it more accessible. The Flare API Portal, backed by the Flare Labs team, provides unparalleled support and reliability. The API Portal seamlessly integrates with the Google Cloud Marketplace, ensuring a secure and user-friendly experience for accessing Flare nodes within your current cloud setup.

Moreover, it distinguishes itself as the sole provider of Blockchain Explorer APIs for Flare networks, boosting its usefulness and establishing it as an all-encompassing solution for developers and enterprises.

If infrastructure setup is not your preference, Flare collaborates with Node-as-a-Service partners, such as Ankr for global multi-chain tools, NOWNodes for affordable shared RPC nodes, and Blockdaemon, connecting institutions and developers to major networks.

Third, you have the option to run your own node, either using Docker from DockerHub, following Flare’s documentation instructions, or directly from the GitHub code repository. Each method offers unique advantages and access to Flare's decentralized oracles optimized for decentralized data acquisition.

Ecosystem Call

The latest gathering within the Flare ecosystem was a content-rich, hour-and-a-half-long session featuring special guests, including CEO Miguel Morel from Arkham Intel and Giacomo Barbieri from the Flarescan Team. If you couldn't join, don't worry – we've condensed the key highlights and significant insights for your convenience. To streamline the information, we've organized the call into distinct categories as outlined below:

Arkham Intel

CEO Miguel suggests that the core objective of Arkham Intel is to enhance transparency and knowledge within blockchain technology. To achieve this, they have developed a technology solution that enables users to access information about the owners of blockchain wallets.

There are two main ways Arkham is used: The first is for end users primarily using a point and click UI/UX whereby they do their research and leave. The second is for the more sophisticated developers, who access it for raw data which they can manipulate, produce their custom dashboard, or analyze different metrics.

Bridge integration with Arkham was mentioned. Currently, there is no support for bridges, but it's planned for the future, with the current focus on DeFi support. API access to historical data for developers was highlighted where developers can apply for access to leverage Arkham Intel technology. Wallets can be labeled for transparency using either a manual team-based approach or an automated algorithmic method when integrating new blockchains into Arkham.

Flarescan

Flarescan acts as a unified explorer, offering users the ability to view transactions on both Flare and Songbird networks, eliminating fragmented information. This unified explorer enhances the user experience, making it easier for developers and users, especially those testing applications, to access contract details and source codes for all chains supported on Flare.

Giacomo expressed excitement about developing Flarescan, emphasizing their expertise in Avalanche technology. Flarescan specializes in indexing and displaying P-chain data, including staking and validator information. Their commitment is to expand the functionalities of Flare, both on the EVM and staking aspects. Giacomo shares that "a lot of P chain information will be running from November," and he adds, "that is when public staking will be live on Flare."

Flarescan will be supporting validator statistics and signal provider statistics. Validator statistics, including revamped staking and p-chain data, will be available from December Sneak peeks for Flarescan. In the pipeline is full support for the p-chain, allowing browsing of all p-chain blocks, access to staking data, historical data, and uptime. Expected rollout from November to December. Following this, Flarescan also aims to deploy support for FLR domain names. Custom features for bridges will also be introduced, and other specific Flare features.

Community Q&A

Towards the end of the call, the community had the opportunity to pose questions, and CEO of Flare Network, Hugo Philion, shared insightful perspectives on the advantages of staking versus delegating. Hugo explained that staking brings about higher yields because it represents a pivotal contribution to the network. In this process, users essentially commit their funds, bearing the risk of not earning to ensure the network's security.

He emphasized the importance of staking, highlighting Flare's mission to be the network for data and ensure the provision of top-quality data through FTSOs and future web connectors. The overarching goal is to make the network useful for applications, developers, and users. Another inquiry pertained to the real-world utility of Flare. In response, Hugo discussed the realm of machine learning, highlighting the growing demand in the market.

He pointed out a challenge where many companies, particularly small to medium-sized ones, grapple with adopting or utilizing machine learning due to the cost and scarcity of data science expertise.

Hugo revealed that he has been actively collaborating with external partners to devise a solution, aiming to establish a marketplace for machine learning engineers. The vision entails the ability to provide your backlog of data to an engineer who can fine-tune and craft a tailored, optimized machine learning model for your specific company, akin to an ChatGPT-like service.

Payments for these services can be executed through the blockchain, and the integrity of the work can be validated by attesting the data from the machine learning model onto the blockchain via web connectors. Payment release would be contingent upon demonstrating a substantial improvement in the machine learning model's performance.

As an additional point of interest, it's worth mentioning that Hugo's educational background includes a focus on Machine Learning at University College London. This journey seems to have come full circle, offering intriguing food for thought.

Flare Ecosystem Call with Arkham & Flarescan

Flare

Partnerships

Flare has joined forces with Web3Auth, a leading Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS) provider, with the goal of enhancing the user experience for both mainstream and crypto-savvy users.

This collaboration simplifies access to Web 3 apps by introducing email and social logins, eliminating the necessity for intricate seed phrases. Importantly, Web3Auth preserves non-custodial wallet management, ensuring user control and privacy in line with blockchain principles.

Users can now enjoy a more user-friendly 'web2.5 experience', akin to popular platforms such as Google, Apple, Telegram, and more, ensuring seamless access to Flare's dApps. Developers can seamlessly integrate the Web3Auth Software Development Kit (SDK) in under 8 minutes, enabling their users to establish secure, non-custodial wallets in seconds.

This empowers users to maintain complete control and ownership of their cryptographic wallets, reinforcing the core principles of privacy and security within blockchain technology.

Project Developments

FlareDashboard

FlareDashboard proudly announces a platform upgrade. Data Providers can now self-authorize on the transparency platform and submit new data types to share insights about their Provider operations.

It's essential to emphasize that as a network participant, you should actively engage in due diligence to acquaint yourself with the providers you're delegating to. For more information on FlareDashboard's upgrade aimed at Data Providers, visit their recent Medium blog.

FlareBuilders

FlareBuilders has embarked on a new endeavor by creating a Flare Validator Tracker, which displays essential information such as the Validator's name, node ID, stake amount, fees, uptime, and more. This tool is crucial as we approach the staking phase.

Furthermore, FlareBuilders has initiated a blog series, and their inaugural article highlights Nik Christodoulakis, CEO of Ēnosys.

In the article , he shares his perspective, stating, “I don’t think any other blockchain can combine the utilities of Flare – it is fast and secure with an endless list of new products, such as FAssets, LayerCake and more, coming down the track, I don’t think anyone else simply has that kind of value proposition.”

The blog post also offers an overview of their dozen live products, ranging from Dex's to APY Cloud and more, available on the Ēnosys SuperApp. Be sure to check it out. Metropolis World: The NFT future is taking shape with Metropolis World's first partnership drop with Flare. Craft your unique Flare avatar for free, choosing from a fashionable range of styles. Co-Founder Rania Ajami shared insights in a recent call, describing the collaborative creative process with Flare.

Flare is illuminating the path towards a more vibrant blockchain future, offering items like jetpacks, space suits, and vibrant helmets that can be minted for free at https://metropolisx.io/.

xSpectaverse

xSpectaverse introduces recent enhancements to the Flare Network, enabling land purchases using $FLR or $SGB. Each land parcel is now a unique, mintable NFT, empowering users to unleash their creativity in developing businesses, amusement parks, games, and more.

As we conclude yet another action-packed week in the Flare ecosystem, here's a quick heads-up for developers in London: remember to register for the ETH London Hackathon taking place on the 27th of October for an opportunity to win some enticing bounty prizes. Until next time Flare community.