Flare Network to Integrate Litecoin Ahead of Its Mainnet Launch; FLR Airdrop to LTC Holders Coming

Flare Networks, a smart contract integration protocol, has announced that it is gearing up to integrate Litecoin. According to an official tweet, the Ripple Labs-backed network will support the Litecoin protocol as part of the lead-up to its launch, which is set for the year's second quarter.

Litecoin Comes to Ethereum

Flare said that the Litecoin integration would improve Litecoin's compatibility with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. DeFi users will now be able to interact with Litecoin on Flare with Ethereum-style smart contracts, all in an environment that ensures interoperability and composability.

A follow-up tweet confirmed that Flare plans to airdrop its FLR tokens to Litecoin users as part of its anticipation building for the mainnet launch.

Flare also added that it would reduce the number of FLR tokens that it had planned to distribute to its founders by five billion. The reduction will help the company facilitate the airdrop to Litecoin users, with Flare promising to reveal more details on the airdrop soon.

Many have followed Flare's forthcoming launch with great hype. The Ripple-backed network has been making moves for a while now, promising a new age in the crypto space as it ushers in more functionalities.

In August, it marked a milestone as it revealed the details of a new bridge to connect XRP with the Ethereum blockchain. The trustless bridge will allow all XRP tokens on the Flare network – known as FXRP – to be used within the network. At the same time, Flare explained that the bridge would provide a “scaling platform” for Ethereum tokens and applications.

As for XRP, Flare will integrate the Ethereum Virtual Machine to offer advanced smart contracts on its network. The move was praised by many, including Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse and the XRP Army.

Flare's Relationship with Ripple

Flare eventually conducted an airdrop of its tokens to XRP users on December 12. At the time, XRP had joined several large-cap cryptocurrencies that had rallied. Sadly, things went awry for XRP after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) slammed Ripple Labs with a lawsuit.

According to a complaint with a Manhattan federal court, the SEC alleged that Ripple had engaged in an unregistered securities offering when it conducted its XRP Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2013. The case is set for pretrial hearings in February, although many in the industry have reacted to it.

Some cryptocurrency exchanges delisted XRP, while others halted trading in the asset pending the hearing's outcome. Despite the delisting, XRP rallied by almost 50 percent last week, as every crypto rode Bitcoin's bullish run. At press time, XRP is trading at $0.28, following a 14% decrease in price.