Flare plans smart contracts for Ripple’s XRPL, Bitcoin and Litecoin

  • Flare Networks will use the FXRP system to implement smart contracts with XRP.
  • The company also wants to set up smart contracts for Bitcoin and Litecoin.

Hugo Philion CEO and co-founder of Ripple‘s partner, Flare Networks, revealed more details about the path the platform will take after its launch in December. In an interview with Crypto Eri, Flare Networks emphasized that Flare’s purpose will be to add value, utility, and new use cases for XRP users. In that sense, Philion started the interview by highlighting that Flare Networks will start by bringing smart contracts to XRP.

The CEO of Flare Networks says that XRP is one of the most important projects in the crypto space. However, Philion believes there is still time for XRP to reach its full potential. Flare Networks, Philion said, is developing use cases for XRP with a “different” offering. Philion is glad to drive the adoption forward:

The immediate purpose of Flare is to provide a platform for XRP value to be used with smart contracts, and we’ve defined that quite succinctly with the FXRP system and the Flare paper. That’s really the first purpose.

As reported by CNF, Flare Networks is funded by Ripple’s investment arm, Xpring. The cooperation was signed in late 2019 and in addition to the use cases that will be applied for the XRP digital asset, Flare is developing a bridge between XPRL and Ethereum.

Currently, Flare Networks has a scheduled an airdrop of their Spark token for XRP holders. A snapshot will be taken on December 12 to determine which accounts will be able to participate in the event. Flare’s CEO said in the interview that the airdrop has received great support from XRP users. However, the co-founder of Flare Networks added that there are still few users who can claim the token.

This is because, for now, registration for the airdrop is only possible using a tool from XRP Labs. Therefore, Flare Networks is in discussions with more exchanges to expand the number of users who can participate in the airdrop and further strengthen the community behind the project.

Smart contracts on Bitcoin and Litecoin

Flare’s CEO pointed out that the system of the platform could be expanded for Bitcoin and Litecoin. Philion noted that the Flare community through the Spark token will have a say in whether the network expands to these and other blockchains. Philion added:

(…) also in that Flare paper, it’s defined something called the Spark-derived applications, and these will allow that system to expand such that the value from other networks that are not Turing complete, like Bitcoin or Litecoin, could be replicated in the same way that FXRP is being put onto the network. That is something that will have to be a governance issue, and something that Spark token holders will vote on over time.

Flare’s CEO said the platform brings big value to the entire crypto ecosystem. Philion explained some weaknesses that projects based on Proof-of-Stake, specifically Ethereum 2.0, have and how Flare Networks will contribute by scaling not only the number of transactions a network allows but by scaling its value.

Philion indicated that Flare Networks will be a more viable alternative for businesses that want to use a public blockchain, without relying on security to be supported by network token holders alone. Flare, like XRP, does not base its security on the value of its token. In that sense, Philion highlighted how both tokens complement each other to create a better use case without affecting XRPL:

The FXRP system is the system that allows for decentralized, or untrusted, broadcasting of XRP in Flare. So what that means is that you have XRP on Flare, and that allows you to use XRP with smart contracts.

Below you can watch the full interview with Flare co-founder and CEO Hugo Philion:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GroQe9mLHiU?feature=oembed&w=796&h=448]