Flare’s Spark Snapshot And What It Means For The Crypto Industry

The highly anticipated Spark token airdrop on the XRP ledger finally happened and the Flare network recorded a snapshot. The latter is an important process for recordkeeping purposes because it makes sure that all self-hosted and registered wallets and exchanges involved as part of the XRP network participate in the airdrop.

The purpose of the snapshot

Airdrops allow the holder of a particular token or digital asset to receive another free token. In this case, the Flare network announced a few months ago that the network launch would also feature an airdrop through which XRP holders would receive free Spark tokens in their digital wallets. Although the process sounds simple on paper, it is quite technical because Flare has to identify how many XRP holders are there, how many XRP digital coins they hold and the service through which they own those tokens. The snapshot is necessary so that the network can obtain all this information.

There are however some factors or conditions that would hinder one from participating in the Spark token even if they have an account. For example, major crypto exchange platform Binance announced that it would conduct a snapshot of its customers with XRP holdings. The exchange announced that it would only send the Spark tokens to accounts with XRP in coin-margined futures wallets, savings accounts and spot wallets. Crypto loan and margin accounts would be excluded from the aidrop.

A token snapshot takes place for a brief amount of time so that token holdings data can be recorded, after which it can change. The organization running the airdrop uses the information to determine how much each investor will receive based on their account holding. If a person buys extra XRP after the snapshot, the extra digital coins will not be considered in the token issuance. The snapshot thus offers a reference point that will facilitate a reference point for the token issuance.

What happens next?

The Flare network launch and Spark token airdrop represent another major step forward for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, and particularly for Decentralized finance or DeFi. The latter is a movement whose goal is to facilitate the development of blockchain-based banking and finance services similar to the traditional finance services.

Some industry experts believe that DeFi should be the crypto and blockchain future because it will facilitate the achievement Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision. The Bitcoin founder dreamed of a world where money and financial services will be independent of government control. The Flare network and Spark token will introduce vital features previously missing from the XRP ledger. The key feature will be the introduction of smart contracts.

Ripple has been working on bringing smart contract capabilities on board for some time. David Schwartz noted that Ripple’s incubation division known as Xpring invested heavily in Flare in 2019. The Spark token launch indicates that Ripple’s investment is yielding favorable results

Blockchain and crypto’s main agenda and reason for creation is decentralization. The industry is thus focused on towing that line and one of the ways it aims to achieve that is by eliminating intermediaries who would otherwise act as centralized nodes in the system. The XRP ledger’s smart contracts courtesy of the Flare network will facilitate the decentralization agenda such that no intermediaries. Smart contract automation will pave the way for a automation where contracts can be automatically drafted and executed in a trustless manner.

The DeFi movement will also push more aggressively towards cross-chain interoperability. The Flare network will leverage the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) thus bridging the gap between The Ethereum blockchain and the XRP ledger. The efficiencies will also be coupled with XRP’s utility thus enabling a better ecosystem for DeFi applications. The crypto community is excited about the Spark token and Flare network because it points towards blockchain developments going in the right direction.

The extra utility courtesy of the latest developments will thus allow DeFi to kick into high gear. Meanwhile, XRP holders are in a great position to reap the benefits of the ongoing growth and also future growth. For example, they will receive FXRP tokens which are pegged to the XRP token, allowing them to gain value from DeFi applications.

Beware of scams

The Flare token will be a valuable addition to the Ethereum network but the crypto market also has a dark side. The decentralized nature of digital currencies creates additional risk in the market such as rampant counterfeit digital assets and crypto theft. Millions worth of cryptocurrencies were lost in the past few years, and scammers are still a major problem. There already exists counterfeit Flare tokens called FLR which are not to be confused with the Spark tokens.

Investors should thus consider exercising caution while investing in digital currencies, and more importantly, they should make sure they have the right market knowledge. The Spark token has been heavily hyped in the past few weeks which means that many people may have developed an interest to the token. However, some of them may not understand the airdrop process and this paves the way for scammers to take advantage. Having the right knowledge is the best way to ensure that you avoid falling victim to scams.

The key things to remember are that XRP holders are eligible for the airdrop and they need to have an XRP account. Also worth noting is that the token will not be issued through a sale, but rather three a free issuance to eligible individuals. Investors should avoid giving out their information to any individuals that may promise to handle the aidrop process on your behalf. The legitimate way to be part of the airdrop is to own some XRP, if you own an account with an exchange and claim your tokens through a message key through which you can claim the Spark token.

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