The problem with cross-chain data Most blockchains have no native way to verify what is happening on other networks. A smart contract on one chain cannot confirm whether a payment settled on
Most blockchains have no native way to verify what is happening on other networks. A smart contract on one chain cannot confirm whether a payment settled on another, which is why cross-chain activity has long depended on bridges and trusted intermediaries. @FlareNetworks takes a different approach, using its Flare Data Connector (FDC) to bring verified external data directly on-chain.
According to Flare's developer documentation, the FDC is an enshrined oracle designed to validate external data for Flare's EVM state, allowing smart contracts to consume attested information without relying on users for data integrity.
The process starts when a developer submits an attestation request for an external event. That could be a payment on the XRP Ledger, a $BTC or $DOGE transaction, or data returned by a Web2 API. Flare's independent data providers each verify the event independently, and their responses are combined into a consensus result.
Once consensus is reached, the verified data is stored as a Merkle root on-chain. Attestation requires more than 50% signature weight from data providers, ensuring decentralized consensus, and only the Merkle root is stored on-chain to minimize costs. Any smart contract can then consume this proof, turning external events into on-chain inputs without trusting whoever supplied the original data.
The FDC and Flare's Time Series Oracle (FTSO) represent what Flare describes as its most advanced and fully decentralized data protocols, empowering the network to acquire price, Web2, and blockchain data quickly and securely.
This architecture also supports a broader roadmap. In conjunction with the FTSO and FDC, applications can be built on Flare that harness price data, process data from other blockchains or Web2 sources, and execute transactions across Flare's connected chains.
The most concrete application of this infrastructure is FAssets, Flare's system for bringing non-smart-contract tokens into DeFi. With FAssets, assets that were not built for smart contracts can be used in programmable markets: trading, lending, vaults, staking, and cross-chain financial applications.
Flare has launched FXRP, a wrapped version of XRP that can be used in DeFi applications, and is the first live deployment of the FAssets system, which turns non-smart contract tokens like XRP into overcollateralized assets that can interact with DeFi protocols. Flare plans to expand FAssets to $BTC and $DOGE, bringing more non-smart-contract assets into its ecosystem.
Within its first seven months, more than 155 million FXRP had been minted, with most of that supply actively deployed across DeFi.
The Data Connector sits at the centre of this process. The FDC verifies the underlying transaction, and the equivalent FAssets are then minted as ERC-20 tokens on Flare. The result is a system where cross-chain applications are built on verified events rather than bridges alone.
Sources:Flare Developer Hub: Flare Data Connector OverviewFlare Network: FAssetsThe Block: Flare Network launches FXRP to let XRP be used in DeFi apps
