The Blockchain to end all blockchains!
Learn why its native token has soared by as much as 13X in the last 7 months!
Which blockchain can process 640 times as many transactions a second as Bitcoin, has a unique and unparalleled consensus algorithm, allows anyone to create and customize their own blockchains, can run Ethereum dapps, and is powered by a deflationary token?
It’s called Avalanche and it’s one of the most innovative and promising blockchains around. It’s quickly risen to become one of the top blockchain networks despite being launched less than a year-and-a-half ago. Find out why Avalanche could be what sweeps Ethereum and the likes away.
A superior consensus model
Unlike most other blockchains, Avalanche neither uses the Proof-of-work (POW) nor the Proof-of-stake (POS) consensus algorithms. Instead, it uses the Avalanche consensus model, developed by AVA labs (creators of Avalanche). This advanced algorithm is quite similar to POS but is superior to both POS and POW.
- With the Avalanche consensus model, a consensus is reached within a certain timeframe regardless of how many nodes (i.e people) are in the network. This runs in contrast to POW and POS where the number of nodes in the network can significantly affect the time taken to reach consensus.
- Avalanche, thanks to its advanced consensus model, is significantly more difficult to attack than POS & POW. An attacker would need to control about 80% of the nodes in the network to take control of it. In POS & POW, only 51% of the staked tokens and nodes respectively would be required to control the network.
Super fast and scalable
The Avalanche network can handle up to 4500 transactions/second per subnet (there can be thousands of subnets!) and has a finality rate of fewer than 2 seconds. Compare this with Bitcoin’s 7 transactions per second and finality rate of 1 hour or Ethereum’s 15 transactions per second and finality rate of 10 minutes and you can see who’s boss.
Now you’re probably wondering what the heck “subnet” and “finality” mean. I’ll explain.
Subnets
A Subnet, or Subnetwork, is a dynamic set of validators working together to achieve consensus on the state of a set of blockchains. Each blockchain is validated by exactly one Subnet. A Subnet can validate arbitrarily many blockchains. A node may be a member of arbitrarily many Subnets.
A subnet is a sort of network within the main Avalanche blockchain. They can be linked to multiple blockchains with different consensus algorithms and virtual machines and can be made publicly accessible or private.
Subnets allow just about anyone to quickly provision highly-customizable blockchains. A private or government organization could leverage Avalanche to quickly create their own blockchain(s) with custom rules and membership conditions, thereby drastically reducing the time and money investment involved in building and maintaining their own blockchain.
To create a subnet, one first must stake AVAX (the native token). This will likely continue to be a sustainable source of demand for AVAX tokens.
Finality
Finality is the assurance that a cryptocurrency transaction cannot be altered, reversed, or canceled after it is completed while finality rate is how long it takes a transaction on a blockchain to reach finality.
Superb Infrastructure
Avalanche is made up of three built-in blockchains. These blockchains are part of a subnet called the Primary network. All members of all Subnets must also be a member of the Primary Network.
Avalanche’s built-in blockchains — the Exchange chain, the Platform chain, and the Contract chain — serve different functions.
The Exchange Chain
The Exchange Chain, or X-chain, is the default asset blockchain on Avalanche and enables the creation of new assets, exchanging between assets, and cross-subnet transfers.
The Platform Chain
The Platform Chain, or P-chain, coordinates validators, keeps track of active subnets and enables the creation of new subnets.
The Contract Chain
The Contract Chain, or C-chain, is the default smart contract blockchain on Avalanche and enables the creation of any Ethereum-compatible smart contracts.
Ethereum dapps can be moved over to Avalanche by just copy-pasting their contract code! Contracts can be deployed on Avalanche for a tenth of the price on Ethereum.
It’s also worth mentioning that while the X-chain implements the Avalanche consensus protocol, the P-chain and C-chain implement the Snowman protocol.
The Snowman protocol is a chain-optimized consensus protocol. It has a high throughput, is great for smart contracts, and is powered by the Avalanche consensus protocol.
Tokenomics
The AVAX token is a deflationary asset as it has a max supply of 720 million. It’s also a governance token and thus incentivizes platform users to hold and stake it.
It’s worth noting that about 18% of the supply was sold in a pre-sale to early investors, most of which have vested. You may check here to see future dates. Also, another 20% was given to the foundation and the team.
Conclusion
Avalanche is a platform that doesn't just improve on the major shortcomings of similar platforms before it but introduces new, innovative features that provide unprecedented and powerful capabilities to the blockchain ecosystem and the global financial industry as a whole.
Disclaimer
The content of this article is for informational purposes only and should not be misconstrued as investment advice.
