Arthur Hayes proposes to allocate 20% FLOP to test nets

Arthur Hayes proposes to allocate 20% of Flop token supply to testnet participants

Arthur Hayes proposes to allocate approximately 20% of Flop Network's FLOP token supply to testnet participants over the next 10 years, as part of a decentralized computing network that AI agents self-funded.

Summary of Points

Test network participants can receive approximately 20% of the FLOP supply within 10 years. Miners will receive block rewards and fees by processing AI inference requests. Hayes said he self-funded the development team and did not conduct pre-sales. Flop Network will use floating point operations rather than specific model tokens to price computing efforts.

Arthur Hayes said in an article published on August 19 that Flop Network will connect AI agents seeking computing power with miners running Internet-connected hardware, and use FLOP as a payment and reward token for the network.

The BitMEX co-founder described the proposed system through a fictional creation story, but the article also provided new information about the project's token allocation, economic models and target users. Hayes said the token issuance will follow a fair start model and will not require pre-sales because he has raised funds to fund the development team.

According to the planned allocation, at the end of the 10-year period, those contributing to the Flop Network test network will collectively receive approximately one-fifth of the total supply. Hayes did not disclose the total number of FLOP tokens, the release speed of testnet allocations, or the specific activities that determine each participant's share.

Flop Network will sell computing power through FLOP

Flop Network's proposed market will price AI workloads based on the number of floating point operations (FLOPs) required over a specific period of time. Miners will process requests using the model chosen by the customer and receive network-native tokens as remuneration.

According to Hayes, current AI services make price comparisons difficult because each model defines and charges its input and output tokens differently. He describes model tokens as an abstract concept of the computing work performed, rather than a standard unit that customers can compare between different providers.

Cloud companies are already leasing computing power, but Hayes said their billing system does not charge customers based on actual FLOPs consumed. Flop Network will attempt to create a uniform spot price for computing work, regardless of the model, hardware type or machine location used to process the request.

Under the proposed design, anyone with a connected computer can become a computing provider. AI agents and human users will submit tasks that specify how much work they need, available time, and what models they want to use, while FLOP will be used to settle transactions.

Hayes wrote that the currency would represent a "claim on computing power," allowing buyers and sellers to establish a consistent price for a specific amount of processing work. He called FLOP "the food for AI agents" because autonomous software requires computing power every time it performs reasoning or completes a task.

FLOP miners will receive two types of rewards

Unlike Bitcoin miners who use only computing power to generate hashes, Flop Network will rely on a process called "Proof of Useful Inference"(PoUI). Hayes said miners will receive FLOP block rewards through the support network and earn inference fees by completing requests.

The article does not explain how the validator will confirm that the miner has used the requested model, completed the correct number of operations, or returned valid results. It has been previously reported that Flop Labs has not announced technical methods for checking non-deterministic AI output, detecting erroneous work, or punishing providers for submitting false results.

Public documentation also has not determined which blockchain FLOP will support, how many validators will be running at startup, or whether ordinary consumer hardware can compete with dedicated data center equipment. At the time of early reports on August 19, no white paper, security audit report, blockchain browser or official token contract had been released.

In addition to computing power, Hayes said that autonomous agents also need continuous access to stored memories. He believes that keeping these records in decentralized storage will allow agents to retain their historical records without relying on a single company that may restrict or remove access.

His proposed economic cycle combines these two needs. Agents will spend FLOP on processing work and memory services, while miners and other network participants will receive tokens for providing these resources.

Flop Network links testnet use to token allocation

Hayes said FLOP tokens will help Flop Network attract miners, agents and speculators at the same time, solving the difficulties faced by new networks when launched without existing buyers and service providers.

Hayes said he did not sell early allocations to venture capitalists, but instead self-funded the team responsible for web development. He believes that large-scale pre-sales often cause retail buyers to face oversupply of tokens after assets begin trading.

Flop Network will instead allocate approximately 20% of its token supply to testnet users over 10 years. The article did not say whether the remaining supply would be used to fund mining emissions, validators, contributors, funds pools or other groups.

Qualification rules have not yet been announced. Flop Labs has not said whether users will qualify by providing computing power, verifying tasks, storing agent memory, completing test-net transactions or promoting projects as community partners.

Hayes said the allocation should reward those who provide useful work for the network, although his article also claimed that participants could become "generations rich" by holding the tokens they receive. The article comes with a disclaimer stating that his personal views should not be used as investment advice or recommendations for investment transactions.

The project's announcement on August 18 scheduled large-scale FLOP airdrop in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the Flop Network Creation Block in the first quarter of 2027. Neither the article nor the announcement stated how recipients would hold the tokens if the allocation began before the native network was launched.

U.S. smartphone payments have tilted towards stablecoins

Flop Network will enter a machine payment market, while dollar-backed stablecoins are already processing real-time transactions. A Keyrock report in May 2026 found that AI agents settled $73 million through 176 million transactions in 12 months, of which USDC accounted for 98.6% of tracking payments.

Keyrock said that 76% of the transactions were worth less than the $0.30 fee limit associated with bank card payments. According to the report, Layer 2 stablecoin transfers costs approximately US$0.0001 and is suitable for small purchases such as API calls, data access and automated online services.

For U.S. companies, Coinbase began allowing commercial customers to accept USDC payments from agents through its x402 standard in July. The exchange said that agents can receive payment instructions from online services, sign stablecoin transfers, and resubmit requests with proof of payment.

According to Hayes, FLOP will differ from this dollar-based model in that it provides agents with a token tied to the supply of computing jobs. His proposal does not explain how miners can use income from freely trading tokens to pay for dollar-denominated electricity and hardware costs, nor does it provide a way to keep calculated costs stable as FLOP market prices change.

Machine commerce has also raised issues beyond payment settlement. In June, the American Arbitration Association and Integra Ledger introduced legal records of agent transactions, covering consent, governing laws and dispute handling procedures when software purchases services without direct human review.

Hayes said his next article will explain why the intelligent economy needs a spot market priced at floating point operations per unit of time, and how Flop Network plans to create it.