What Is Avalanche (AVAX)?
Also known as: AVAX, Avalanche C-Chain, Avalanche Network
In short
Avalanche is a smart contract-enabled Layer 1 blockchain platform that uses a distinctive consensus protocol offering fast transaction finality and lets projects launch their own blockchain networks. Its native token is AVAX.
Avalanche was developed by Ava Labs, whose founders include the Turkish-born computer scientist Emin Gün Sirer, and it launched its mainnet in 2020. At the core of the protocol is the Avalanche consensus family, based on sub-protocols such as Snowflake and Snowball, in which validators reach agreement quickly by repeatedly sampling small, randomly selected groups of nodes. This approach allows transactions to usually be finalized within a few seconds.
The primary network consists of three chains: the X-Chain for asset transfers, the C-Chain for EVM-compatible smart contracts, and the P-Chain for coordinating validators and subnets. Most DeFi applications run on the C-Chain. Avalanche's distinguishing feature is that projects can launch their own custom blockchains with their own rules (formerly called subnets, now called Avalanche L1s); gaming and enterprise applications use this structure.
AVAX is used for paying transaction fees, for staking by validators to secure the network, and for the operation of the chains in the ecosystem. Its maximum supply is set at 720 million AVAX, and transaction fees are burned.
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