The XRP Ledger-linked Flare Network has announced a new update in its journey toward transitioning to proof of stake, where FTSO data providers will take on the role of network validators.
Flare stated it is about to enter the second phase of its staking transition and will announce in the coming weeks when the staking will commence.
In an earlier update, the Flare network stated it would transition to a staking model in three phases. Flare successfully started the transition to a proof-of-stake consensus model in July 2023.
To onboard 33 independent FTSO data providers as the first approved infrastructure providers, the Flare Foundation staked a predetermined FLR self-bond amount to the validator nodes of those providers during this initial phase.
This initial set was added to the previous 20 professional validators, bringing the total validator set to 53.
Flare is poised to undergo the second phase of its staking transition now that phase 1 is complete. Phase 2 of the staking model is planned to introduce new ways to delegate staking to validators and earn incentives.
This phase allows all network participants to stake validators on Flare's P-Chain and combines the job of validation with the provision of decentralized data. In this sense, an "infrastructure provider" is an entity that provides both validation and data provision services.
Previously, the Flare Foundation proposed several updates regarding key staking services, staking parameters, reward distribution and management group extension via the Flare Improvement Proposal (FIP.05).
On Sept. 8, the proposal was approved by the community, with 92.02% of votes cast in favor. As a result, the network will proceed with a hard fork to implement these changes later in September; the exact date is yet to be determined.