$Flow: Brief Dive
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Web3.0, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) feel like they are moving at the speed of light. Every. Single. Day.
As soon as you find one project you’re completely dialed into… BOOM. There goes a squirrel holding two nuts in his mouth being chased by a rabid dog who has been trying to catch that damn squirrel for the last two years.
It’s not easy keeping pace with something that is evolving exponentially as each day passes.
I implore you to objectively remove yourself from the depths of the Twitter-sphere for one day…
Take a deep breath.
Remind yourself that everything is going to be alright.
(Pause)
Now, focus on one or two things at a time.
I am writing this article on behalf of the electrifying community in the cryptocurrency space, and I am genuinely interested in consuming as much information as I can. Some are veterans of the space who pioneered bitcoin back in 2010 and some are new who decided to take the orange pill yesterday because they recognized that Canada is seizing bank accounts, so they quickly reached out to their basement dwelling, Ethereum-mining cousin to find out how they can avoid that… Or maybe you want to make money. You and I want a piece of that moon, and the thrill of seeing your investments launch into hyper-speed. I am writing this because I want to provide the community with a deep-dive on certain projects that not only I am looking at, but what the communities I’m a part of are watching..
Without further adieu, I bring to you… SLIM SHADY! Just kidding, it’s me, Jake and here I explain the ‘what is’, the ‘why Flow’, and the things I’m doing to get involved.
What is the $Flow Blockchain
The flow blockchain was founded by Dapper Labs who is a privately held–116 investors–Venture Capital-Backed entertainment software company. Led by Co-Founder and CEO, Roham Gharegozlou. A quote from Roham:
“Tokens and collectibles… It’s a new kind of computer. For the first time, it’s software that is permanent, software that’s trustworthy, software that can exist outside of control of their creator.”
I chose to include that quote because of two reasons. One, it’s POWERFUL. Two, the last part, “software that can exist outside of control of their creator.” We’ll touch on this later.
Let’s dive into Flow a little more.
Based on what I found on onflow.org, Flow prides itself on being fast, decentralized, and developer friendly.
It is unique because the blockchain is broken up into four pillars:
- Multi-Role Architecture
- Resource-Oriented Programming
- Developer Ergonomics
- Consumer Onboarding
What is Multi-Role Architecture and Why is it Unique?
Flow separates its blockchain nodes into four different roles for validators; whereas traditional blockchain nodes store the entire state on one node. These traditional nodes also perform all the work associated with processing every transaction. Here’s how Flow works:
- Consensus Node — Decides the presence and order of transactions on the blockchain
- Verification Node — Responsible for keeping the execution nodes in check
- Execution Node — Performs the computation associated with each transaction
- Collection Node — Enhances the network connectivity and data availability for Flow’s dApps
Having this type of architecture greatly enhances efficiency on-chain and provides an outcome to increase user experience.
Resource-Oriented Programming… what?
Now if you are anyone like me, you don’t have a lick of knowledge pertaining to coding or programming. That doesn’t mean we completely ignore it though because having some fundamental knowledge or idea as to what it is allows us to dig deeper.
What Flow is offering is a new paradigm. Their blockchain is designed to be secure and easy-to-use, and the ownership is tracked by the language. That language is called Cadence. It’s the first ergonomic, resource-oriented smart contract programming language.
If you want to learn Cadence or see what it is, I would recommend going to this site:
In addition to this, $FLOW offers open source tooling; which allows developers to become familiar or learn. Here is small list of some:
- Flow Go SDK
- Flow Javascript SDK
- Visual Studio Code Extension
- Flow Playground GUI
And more on their website:
Upgradable Smart Contracts, Why Does It Matter?
Referring back to the quote from Dapper Lands Co-Founder & CEO, Roham, any blockchain that has been submitted becomes permanent. Non-refundable. No more adjustments. It’s live. So what happens if you say… I accidentally placed some code that forces the blockchain to self-destruct in say 10 years? Well, I have no idea if that can actually be done, but if it could be, the blockchain is public and we can foresee any devastating events.
Flow allows it’s developers to launch “beta states” to any projects on this blockchain. This allows projects to launch, test, make adjustments as needed, and if it ever gets to an alpha state, it will at least have worked out the kinks to allow the project to embark on it’s permanent journey.
Why $Flow?
In my opinion–remember not financial advice–flow is empowering thousands of developers worldwide to create and cultivate the flow blockchain. From NFTs related to art, utility, and games, Flow is running alongside the likes of Ethereum, and Solana. I like when people are more than promised words. They deliver outcomes. Flow has certainly provided a ton of outcomes; which is why I think it would be important not to discard what they’re doing.
How I Am Involved With $Flow
The projects that I am currently involved with when it comes to the Flow blockchain consists of:
- NFL All Day
- UFC Strike
- NBA Top Shot
- Rarible
In addition to this, the projects that I am currently looking at consist of:
- Matrix World
- Chainmonsters
- nWayPlay
- Hoodlums
A beautiful website I came across–listed below–shows you a great view of the flow universe:
If you’ve stuck with me this long, I hope you can feel the energy and enthusiasm FLOW through you… Ok, all corny jokes aside, in my opinion Flow is most definitely a top contender in the Layer 1 space that I am watching and currently holding.
What I am most looking forward to is seeing them launch alpha projects that can continue on the blockchain without having the need to make adjustments on a launch to launch basis. With that being said, it could take 12 months, maybe three or more years, but regardless, they have a substantial following surrounding notable projects above.
You are the engineer to your future as these developers are the engineers to our technology. Stay vigilant on investing in projects and chains that produce, and those that are strictly speculative. As always, none of this is financial advice and please be sure to do your own research as I am not a professional in this industry.
Go with the Flow, and I’ll see you on the next one.
