Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has proposed a new financial framework for AI compute, featuring quarterly futures and perpetual swaps. The system relies on the Flop Network, a blockchain project that has not yet launched, to establish a benchmark price for computing power.
The proposed Flop Reference Compute Rate (FRCR) will function as an hourly index based on inference jobs performed on the network. AI agents will pay miners using the native FLOP token to execute model queries. Hayes intends for this spot market to serve as the reference price for all compute-focused derivatives.
The futures contracts will utilize a quanto structure, allowing for dollar-denominated margins despite the index being priced in FLOP. Perpetual swaps will incorporate funding tied to an eight-hour premium index. Sellers are required to post FLOP bonds, which are forfeited if delivery fails within 24 hours.
Flop Labs aims to reach the genesis block in the first quarter of 2027. The project currently lacks a confirmed launch date for its testnet. Hayes previously developed the perpetual swap in 2016 and contributed to the synthetic dollar concept behind Ethena’s USDe, which saw its supply peak near $14.8 billion in October 2025.
