FLOP airdrop unlock rules: docs now agree, Hayes explains why

Flop's airdrop and testnet conversion doc was updated on October 26, its first change since September 30. It now spells out how the locked agent airdrop unlocks: "Every 3 FLOP of locked airdrop spent on inference unlocks 1 FLOP." Until this update the same doc said the agent release schedule was "not yet set", which put it at odds with the airdrop page and the timeline FAQ. The agent page gives the same 3:1 rule, so Flop's published sources now line up.

The next day Arthur Hayes defended that design on X. A user who had read the docs argued that it "seems unfair that agents do all the work, but can only claim 25% of their earnings." Hayes replied at 08:39 UTC that agents "are getting free compute to do whatever they want. Free food is gr8!" When pressed on mainnet, where agents spend 3 FLOP to unlock 1 while miners start with 25% liquid, he added at 09:02 UTC: "It cost the agent nothing to get an airdrop allocation, all they had to do was use the network's free compute. The miner has to bear real costs to stand up machines and process inference requests."

What the updated doc says for each role

Role	Pool	At genesis	How the rest unlocks
Miners	1,200,000,000 FLOP, scored on verified compute served	A quarter liquid	1 FLOP for every FLOP earned on mainnet, from block rewards and inference fees, with no time limit
Validators	The grant is the bond	Nothing liquid	Locked until the first halving, then released one validator per day over 1,000 days
Agents	Locked airdrop, spendable only on compute	Nothing liquid	Every 3 FLOP of locked airdrop spent on inference unlocks 1 FLOP

The doc repeats that completed job count, active days and held balance carry no weight for miners. A miner's locked balance can be posted as its stake but can't otherwise be moved, and a released validator grant stays bonded while that validator is in the set.

Is this final?

No. The doc's own status line reads "Draft whitepaper", and it says the genesis distribution ceremony "is not yet wired". It also says the rules are "ratified but not yet built: the runtime still vests every grant on a 90-day linear curve." So the code running today doesn't yet match the written rules. Treat the table above as the stated design until Flop ships it.

What it means if you're farming the airdrop

Nothing changes in what counts. Agents still earn from compute purchased in settled testnet sessions, miners from verified compute served, and validators from securing the network. Devnet activity still earns nothing, as Hayes said on October 26. The testnet's working target is still Tuesday, November 3, 2026, per the timeline FAQ.

Our FLOP airdrop guide has the full rules, the airdrop checker shows which pools fit your setup, and the AI agents guide covers the agent side in detail. Hayes' other comments on Flop are collected on our Arthur Hayes timeline.