Avalanche's Upgrade Slashes Fees, Boosts Transactions by 38%

Avalanche, a leading smart-contract blockchain, recently implemented a significant upgrade, Avalanche9000, which went live on December 16. This upgrade has resulted in a dramatic 75% reduction in transaction costs, according to data from Flipside. The impact of this change has been substantial, with daily transactions surging by 38% to over 354,000. This increase in activity can be attributed to the more affordable smart-contract operations, which are now significantly cheaper, encouraging greater blockchain adoption.

The upgrade, which included seven key improvement proposals, made significant changes to Avalanche's fee structure. The base fee for running smart contracts on the C-Chain was reduced from 25 nAVAX to just 1 nAVAX. Additionally, validator fees were made more manageable, with a monthly subscription of 1 to 10 AVAX replacing the previous hefty fee of 2,000 AVAX. These changes were aimed at making every aspect of the Avalanche tech stack more affordable, as explained by Stephen Buttolph, chief protocol architect at Ava Labs.

Avalanche's multichain structure, which includes the C-Chain for smart contracts, the P-Chain for staking and validators, and the X-Chain for asset transfers, enhances the usability of the platform. This structure allows Avalanche to handle a wide range of transactions efficiently, contributing to its growing popularity.

The impact of the upgrade is reflected in the price of Avalanche's native token, AVAX, which is currently sitting at $33.93. This price increase is a result of the growing demand and renewed investor interest driven by the lower transaction fees and greater network activity. The Avalanche9000 upgrade has not only made the platform more affordable but has also attracted more validators, further strengthening the network.