Since Ethereum’s release, programmable blockchain networks have become a standard in the world of cryptocurrencies. Many offer various unique use cases and capabilities. However, one problem that all the major networks are trying to solve is to become fast enough to support the onboarding of the whole world population at some point. One such network is called Avalanche (AVAX).
Avalanche is a high-speed, low-fee blockchain platform that allows users to create apps and even completely new blockchain networks using its technology. The native token of Avalanche is called AVAX.
Avalanche has taken a unique approach to blockchain technology, having separated it into three different blockchains that perform various tasks. This allows it to be highly optimized and reach transaction per second speeds of 4,500-20,000. It also has almost neglectable, very low fees.
You can use your AVAX tokens to pay for network fees and secure the network in return for a passive income.
At the time of writing (May 16th, 2022), AVAX’s price is $33.3. The current Market Cap ranking is #12, with a market cap of $8.8B.
Avalanche closed the previous year on a strong note, reaching its all-time high price of $134.5 in November. That is a 37x growth on its price at the start of 2021, which was $3.4. 2022 has started with a market correction that has impacted the price of all cryptocurrencies, including AVAX.
AVAX has averaged a 272% yearly growth since its inception.
The max supply of AVAX is 720 million tokens, half of which were created with the cryptocurrency launch.
Similar to the Ethereum network, network fees when using Avalanche are being burned and making a deflationary cryptocurrency.
The current circulating supply is 268M AVAX tokens.
Avalanche had an initial distribution of its AVAX tokens, and it went as follows:
The primary way people buy their AVAX is through centralized exchanges because they offer the ability to purchase them with credit\debit cards, which most people prefer.
Although significantly more complicated, the second way is through decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap. Decentralized exchanges usually require users to already have some cryptocurrencies in their wallets to buy other cryptos.
Finally, it can be purchased easily through a broker app such as our Veli App, where you can get your hands on some AVAX in just a few taps on the screen.
Avalanche was created by a company called Ava Labs. Ava Labs is comprised of an international team of developers, economists, and legal experts. Emin Gun Sirer is the founder and CEO of Ava Labs, a former professor at Cornwell University.
Avalanche has built a fantastic community over the years of its existence. They are present on all the most prominent social media channels, and their Telegram and Twitter channels are available in multiple languages.
Many VCs and investors have supported Avalanche, with Polychain and Three Arrows Capital leading the investment. R/Crypto Fund, Dragonfly, CMS Holdings, Collab+Currency, Lvna Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, participants from an Ethereum Genesis address, and many others have also invested in Avalanche.
The platform’s public token sale raised $42 million in 4.5 hours. In 2021, Avalanche also completed a $230 million private sale of AVAX tokens.
Avalanche has not had any harmful legal activity worth noting.
Avalanche network activity has grown substantially over the first quarter of 2022. Here are some numbers to illustrate this.
Avalanche’s main competitors are Ethereum and Solana.
Ethereum is the world’s first programmable blockchain. The main difference between Avalanche and Ethereum is that Avalanche is much faster than Ethereum with substantially low fees, and due to its consensus algorithm, it’s more eco-friendly.
Solana is a direct competitor since it is also a high-speed blockchain network like Avalanche, offering similar functionality, with the main difference being in the take on the technology. Avalanche separates its network into three chains that perform different tasks, while Solana sacrifices some of its decentralization to achieve high transaction speeds.
Here are some additional numbers that help illustrate this competition better.
| Avalanche | Ethereum | Solana | |
| Transaction per second speed | 4,500-20,000 | 15 | 50,000 |
| Time needed to confirm a transaction | <2s | 6 min | 13s |
| Average transaction fee | 0.06$ | 15$ | 0.00025$ |
| Market cap | $16.34b | $310b | $29.14b |
| Circulation supply | No limit on the number of tokens | No limit on the number of tokens | No limit on the number of tokens |
| Total number of wallet addresses | 2.65m | 150.6m | 2m+ |
| Total number of daily active users | 56.4k | 509k | 195k |
| Launch date | 2020 | 2015 | 2020 |
| Average growth rate per year | 275.20% | 178.20% | 340.60% |
There are obvious risks associated with investing in crypto, just as there are with any other asset class. Because there are so many distinct types of cryptocurrencies, risks may be categorized into two groups: general risks that apply to all cryptocurrencies and coin-specific risks.
We’ve put up a guide that covers general cryptocurrency investing risks and offers tips on how to mitigate them, while risks particular to individual coins are covered in coin guides such as this one.
Website: https://www.avax.network/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AvalancheAVAX
Telegram: https://t.me/avalancheavax
Medium: https://medium.com/avalancheavax
Avalanche is a young platform, but it offers many interesting and exciting opportunities to engage and participate in the new frontier of crypto ecosystems. As the fastest Smart Contract platform in the blockchain industry and with potentially big enough scalability to cover and scale global finance, Avalanche could become the world’s leading and one of the most used blockchain platforms.
Currently, it’s ranked in 13th position of all cryptocurrencies by market cap. The team is working hard on the updates, and with top-tier backers, those can be good signs for the project’s future. However, it found itself in a tough competition crowd, so we can only wait to see how it fares against the best.
