Reserve FLOP compute ahead: how FLOP Compute Units (FCU) work
Use case: book a fixed rate of FLOP inference for a window of up to 30 days at a price set today. FCUs, formerly CRUs, are design only and not on testnet.
Some workloads can't wait for a spot match. A team that plans a large batch job next week wants to know now that the capacity will be there and what it will cost. Flop's draft whitepaper describes an instrument for that: the FLOP Compute Unit, or FCU, "a miner-bonded commitment to serve a fixed rate of compute over a future window of up to thirty days, prepaid in $FLOP at a price agreed when the reservation is formed."
Status, November 10, 2026: FCUs are "ratified as protocol design; implementation planned after the core protocol." They are not part of the testnet, which is not live either. See the compute use cases hub.
FCU or CRU?
Same thing, new name. When we covered it in October the whitepaper called it the Compute Reservation Unit (our explainer). Section 12 now reads: "FCU is the current name for the Capacity/Compute Reservation Unit (FCU) ratified in D-0434; this rename preserves the existing contract terms."
How an FCU reservation works
From section 12 of the whitepaper:
- Bond and escrow. The miner "locks an over-collateralised bond in $FLOP and the buyer's payment is escrowed in full."
- Using it. The holder "redeems by opening ordinary inference sessions against the reservation at the pre-agreed price, and the miner must serve or be slashed."
- Window. Whole days, no more than thirty, and never more than the miner's "on-chain calibrated capacity."
- Who starts. Either side. A miner posts a standing offer, or agents post "a standing bid, with funds escrowed and pooled," which a qualified miner claims. Unfilled offers and bids refund in full.
- Terms. "The price per unit of compute is the only negotiated variable." Everything else is set by the protocol.
- Scope. "FCUs cover inference only." Training is excluded because a contiguous cluster can't be priced as a flat unit.
What happens if you don't use it, or the miner doesn't deliver?
The whitepaper calls the contract take-or-pay. "Compute the buyer does not draw is not refunded; the buyer's exit is to sell the units," since units are "divisible, transferable and expiring." If the miner fails, the buyer gets the unearned escrow back "with damages paid from the bond," and the slash is proportional to the undelivered share. A slice of the slashed bond pays a backup miner to take over, if one was agreed.
The whitepaper also gives a sizing convention for exchanges: a board lot of "1 TFLOP/s for one hour." It says that lot is an off-chain venue convention, not a protocol parameter.
Who would use compute reservations?
The whitepaper's own comparison is "a reserved cloud instance and firm capacity in power markets." For a buyer that means:
- Planned batch inference where running out of capacity mid-job is costly.
- A broker that has promised capacity to its own customers. Our broker page covers that role.
For a miner it means selling capacity ahead for certain revenue, with "a portion of the payment" earned for proven readiness even when the buyer draws nothing. Miners should read how to mine FLOP first.
Is this the same as FLOP compute futures?
Not quite. Flop Labs posted on October 22 that a contract written on Flop Network can "settle in cash against the price agents actually paid for verified work, or hold to expiry and get the compute." The whitepaper says every settled reservation records "one honest point of tenor, price, quantity and outcome," which is "the transaction-anchored term tape from which compute forwards and futures can be built." FCUs are the reservation. Futures would sit on top of FCU prices later.
Flop's demand FAQ is clear on timing: "mainnet is Q1 2027, so FLOP is not a live hedging venue for contracts launching in late 2026," and "an on-chain forward-booking facility is not yet specified, so treat it as design intent rather than a shipped feature."
Do FCUs count toward the airdrop?
No source says so. The airdrop is earned on the testnet, and FCUs are planned "after the core protocol," so there is nothing to reserve during the testnet. The draft airdrop page shares the agent pool "pro rata to compute purchased in settled sessions," and the testnet page describes only miners, validators and agents doing ordinary testnet work. See our airdrop guide.
There is no FLOP token yet. Anyone selling "FLOP compute futures," FCUs or reserved capacity today is not Flop. Check our scam warnings.
FAQ
What is a FLOP Compute Unit (FCU)?
An FCU is a reservation for a fixed rate of FLOP inference over a future window of up to 30 days, prepaid in FLOP at a price agreed up front, with the miner's bond at risk if it fails to deliver. It is the new name for the Compute Reservation Unit (CRU).
Can I reserve FLOP compute on the testnet?
No. Flop's whitepaper says FCU implementation is planned after the core protocol, with a bilateral launch and short tenors. Nothing in Flop's materials puts FCUs on the testnet.
Are FLOP compute futures live?
No. Flop's demand FAQ says FLOP is not a live hedging venue for contracts launching in late 2026, and an on-chain forward-booking facility is not yet specified.