Flop Network Details Emerge as Arthur Hayes Seeks Inference Blockchain

Arthur Hayes has released more details about his proposed blockchain project, FLOP Network. The network aims to connect artificial-intelligence agents directly to miners for inference and validators to settle proofs of completed work. According to the draft documentation, agents would send a session request to the network mempool with specific requirements, including model-weight hash, maximum latency, and fee offered.

Miners with suitable hardware would then accept the request, run the inference, and return a proof. Validators would place the proof hash in a block, after which the miner receives the session payment and part of the block reward. The specification targets one-second average blocks and caps the validator set at 1,000, with roughly 50 expected to rotate monthly.

The network requires miners and validators to stake the network token, and dishonest inference claims or blocks could trigger slashing, creating a financial penalty for false work. Holders that do not operate infrastructure would be able to delegate stake and receive a proportional share of rewards. The draft still needs to prove useful work can be verified without exposing sensitive prompts or making validation more expensive than computation itself.