Blackbird Launches Flynet Mainnet for Restaurant Payments

Blackbird, the restaurant loyalty platform created by Resy and Eater co-founder Ben Leventhal, announced on Thursday that its Flynet mainnet is now live, facilitating on-chain restaurant payments.

Flynet operates as a layer-3 blockchain built on Coinbase’s Base chain. The Base layer-2 network enables users to transact atop Ethereum, ensuring faster and cheaper transactions.

The Blackbird team asserts that a layer-3 structure greatly benefits the restaurant sector. By managing payments and loyalty programs entirely through Flynet, Blackbird eliminates traditional intermediaries, lowers transaction costs, and establishes a fresh model to reward both diners and partners.

Previously, Blackbird launched a payments system allowing users to settle their bills using $FLY, the platform’s native token. Users can earn $FLY via the loyalty program by dining at participating restaurants or by purchasing it in the Blackbird app with the USDC stablecoin.

With the introduction of Flynet, $FLY will maintain the same functionalities, with the added ability for restaurants to use the token for platform fees. Furthermore, the team is introducing a new token, $F2, intended for gas fees within the network.

They have announced plans to airdrop 13% of the $F2 token supply to early users and restaurants, with distributions based on specific activity metrics. The remaining 87% of $F2 will be allocated to insiders, the treasury, and future participants over six subsequent seasons, as explained by Leventhal in an interview with CoinDesk.

Blackbird has raised $85 million in funding from notable backers such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase, Spark Capital, and American Express. In 2023, a16z contributed over $24 million during a Series A funding round for the platform.

Currently, Blackbird operates in New York, San Francisco, and Charleston, allowing diners to earn rewards at approximately 500 participating restaurants. Leventhal shared his vision for the intersection of the restaurant industry and blockchain, stating, “What we think we can do is build something where transactions become much more cost effective, and the levers that restaurants have to attract and retain customers will become vast.”

Read more: Blackbird, Web3 Startup From Resy Co-Founder, Wants Diners to Pay for Meals in Crypto