What is Flow crypto and what is the Flow blockchain used for?

Flow crypto refers to FLOW, the native token of the Flow blockchain, a network built by Dapper Labs for digital collectibles, games and consumer apps. Dapper Labs made CryptoKitties, the 2017 game whose popularity clogged Ethereum, and Flow was its answer to that problem. Its best-known app is NBA Top Shot, a basketball collectibles product built on Flow.

What is the Flow blockchain?

Flow is a layer 1 blockchain, meaning it runs its own network rather than sitting on top of another. Its main design choice is to split the job of a typical validator into four roles, according to Coinbase's guide:

• Collection nodes gather incoming transactions.
• Consensus nodes put them in order and form blocks.
• Execution nodes run the transactions and keep track of the chain's state.
• Verification nodes check that the execution results are correct.

The aim is to scale without sharding, where a chain is broken into separate pieces. Only a small number of powerful execution nodes are needed, while many lighter nodes check their work.

Flow's original smart contract language is Cadence, a resource-oriented language designed for safely handling digital assets. In September 2024 the Crescendo upgrade brought Cadence to version 1.0 and added full EVM equivalence, so contracts written for Ethereum can run on Flow too.

What is Flow crypto used for?

FLOW has several jobs on the network, per Coinbase's guide:

• Fees. Every transaction pays a small inclusion fee, and larger ones also pay a computation fee.
• Account storage. Creating an account needs a one-time FLOW deposit that covers the data it stores.
• Staking. Node operators must stake a minimum amount of FLOW, which differs by node type, and others can delegate to them. Rewards come from newly issued FLOW.

These roles follow the general proof of stake model, where stakers secure the chain in exchange for rewards.

What does Flow do for NFTs and games?

Most of Flow's well-known apps are collectibles. NBA Top Shot was Dapper Labs' early proof that a blockchain could handle mainstream fans buying NFTs, and Flow's blog has also pointed to Disney Pinnacle by Dapper Labs.

What happened with the Flow exploit?

In late December 2025, Flow reported a $3.9 million exploit on its layer 1 chain and halted the network. Its first plan was to roll the chain back to before the attack, which drew criticism from users and partners, including the founder of bridge provider deBridge, who warned it could cause more damage than the exploit itself.

Cointelegraph reported on December 29, 2025 that Flow dropped the rollback. Instead, it restricted the affected accounts, made EVM activity read-only for a first phase, and said valid transactions from before the halt would stand. For more on how such incidents unfold, see how crypto gets hacked. Check Flow's official channels for the network's status as of October 2026.