
The developing of blockchain technology assist in giving new solutions to older problems of scalability, usability and interoperability. Avalanche considers taking a different approach with the aid of three individual blockchains in its base. With the support of its native token AVAX and multiple consensus mechanisms, Avalanche claims as being the speedy smart contract base in blockchain industry as controlled by time-to-finality. Let’s get into the detail of Avalanche so that it’s role is clear in the crypto industry.
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Launch Of Avalanche
The blockchain of Avalanche got its launch in September 2020 by Ava Labs team in the U.S. Hence the Ava Labs rose $6 million (US dollar) in their financing and followed it with both public and private token sales with a sum of $48,000,000. The team of AVAX Labs constitutes of Kevin Sekniqi, Emin Gun Sirer and Ted Yin.
Problem Solving By Avalanche
The three basic issues which Avalanche tends to resolve are concerned with transaction fees, scalability and interoperability.
Where Scalability when compared with Decentralisation is: Blockchains have some how struggled for balancing scalability and decentralisation. But a network with enhanced users and higher activity could fail to render consensus on appropriate transactions rapidly. Where Bitcoin (BTC) is proper example of the issue as transactions tend to consumes hours at times or even days for processing the tenure of congestion in network. But one could surely resolve the issue on the basis of making the network more centralised, thereby providing few people with more authority for validating the activity of network. Also if some of the people are required to check and validate transactions, then they could receive the confirmation in a more faster way. Where decentralisation is necessary and expected feature of blockchain technology, as newer blockchains tend to resolve the problem with technological advancements and to this, Avalanche has formed a unique approach.
• Higher Fee
The basic issue which is being discussed in many articles is the gas fee of bigger blockchains as Ethereum. High traffic and increase in contribution of the user is giving way to the problem. Therefore, this is one factor which demotivates users from such blockchains, but the competition on offer is having lesser formed ecosystems. For instance, the fame of Ethereum and missing alternatives have made to around fixed higher fees and high traffic with no relief.
• Interoperability
Each businesses and projects have their own needs, in concern with blockchains. Earlier, the projects have to be based with either Ethereum, yet other individual blockchain is not according to their required needs or private blockchain. The most challenging thing amongst them is to search the balance between cooperation and customisability between various blockchains. Avalanche is helpful in offering solution to the problem with custom blockchains which share network speed, security and compatibility.
• Working Of Avalanche
Avalanche is involved in using various mixture of methods for making it different from others. As Avalanche is basically form of three things based on interoperable blockchain: C-Chain, P-Chain, and X-Chain.
- The Exchange Chain (X-Chain): This chain is having its basic purpose of creating and exchanging AVAX tokens and other digital assets. Such assets are having rules which could be modified further for keeping a note on their behaviour, as Ethereum’s token standards. Transaction token fees is paid in AVAX and Avalanche consensus protocol is being used by the blockchain for the same.
- The Contract Chain (C-Chain): In such sort of chain, the developers could build smart contracts for DApps. Chain tends to imply chance of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), thereby giving its coders a chance to fork over EVM supporting DApps. It’s advance version of Avalanche consensus protocol, named as Snowman.
- The Platform Chain (P-Chain): This chain tends to coordinate with network validators, tracks active subnets and give freedom for building of new subnets. These subnets are sets of validators which render consensus for custom blockchains. A blockchain helps in validating single subnet, where every subnet could validate various blockchains. This chain is also involved with the use of Snowman consensus guideline.
Avalanche enhances speed and scalability, where every blockchain is adopting different roles. This is when it is compared with running of each process on a single chain. When these blockchains are joined together then it’s Avalanche’s native utility token AVAX. Users require the token to stake and pay network fees, thereby providing ecosystem with regular used asset between different Avalanche subnets.
Working Of Avalanche’s Consensus Mechanism
There are various things in similar between the Avalanche’s two consensus protocols. Each of the protocol is designed in a manner of particular blockchain. Such a dual system is basic reason behind the network’s enhanced transaction speed and scalability.
Where Avalanche consensus protocol does not require a leader for meeting the consensus as Proof of Work (PoW), Proof Of Stake (PoS), or Delegated Proof Of Stoke (DPoS). Such a reason enhances decentralisation of Avalanche network without even keeping scalability at stake. On the other hand, PoW, PoS and DPoS work on one actor process transactions, and their work is then validated by others. But Avalanche tends to use every nodes for processing and validating transactions, thereby implementing a directed acyclic graph (DAG) optimised consensus protocol. This graph gives permission to the network for processing the transactions side by side. Validators tend to vote randomly for other validators, so as to confirm about the validity of a new transaction. After a specific number of repeated random sub sampling, it is a proven fact statistically that it would not be possible for a transaction to be fake.
Every transaction is thereby finalised, with not having the requirement of other confirmations. This results in, that there are no blocks, rather parented transactions named as vertices.
Snowman
This consensus protocol is made up on Avalanche consensus protocol but orders transactions linearly. In cases where one has to deal with smart contracts, here such a property is advantageous. As Avalanche consensus protocol, Snowman tends to create blocks.
AVAX Token
Avalanche’s native token is named with AVAX, with a supply of 720 million. Where the fees is paid on the network and is burned as deflationary system. This token is having three basic uses:
- Serving as common unit of account for each subnets, thereby enhancing interoperability.
- For becoming a validator, one could stake their AVAX for becoming a validator or delegating it behind a validator. Validators tend to earn around 11% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) and thereby fix custom percentage fee of reward.
- The subnet subscriptions and transaction fees are payable.
Ways Of Staking AVAX
The holders of AVAX could earn rewards by staking tokens with network. One could earn rewards on the basis of being a validator or even through staking tokens with a validator. For initiating validating, hardware demands are low and so any desktop or laptop is suitable. One could even stake tokens behind validator and rewards are so received on the appropriate completion of transactions.
Avalanche Blockchains Custom Based
The way Ethereum is functional, Avalanche at its base level tends to offer similar functionality. New tokens are thereby created by the developers and NFTs, DApps and smart contracts. Users tend to validate transactions, use DApps and could also stake. The advantages as per them are coming their way cause of improvements made to these actions. Avalanche therefore as a basic feature also, give permission for the creation of customised blockchains. Also a customised blockchain usually use scalable base towards larger needs of enterprises. The compatibility of EVM is countable with Avalanches own virtual Machine(AVM).
Every blockchain would have custom native tokens and transaction fee is then paid with the same. Creation fee is being paid in AVAX for subnet and a blockchain build up.
Difference Analysis of Avalanche From Other Scalable Blockchains
Avalanche tends to compete with various other scalable bases and also with interoperable blockchains as Polygon, Polkadot and Solana. But Avalanche difference with other alternatives could be measured with the aid of following factors:
- Basic difference is DAG-optimised Avalanche consensus mechanism. Moreover, Avalanche isn’t the only blockchain with novel consensus mechanism.
- Next clear difference is Avalanche’s finality time of sub 1 second. This is having a clear meaning with TPS being one metric with measuring speed. One could process about 100,000 transactions in one second, but with delay in finalisation, the network might get slow for its valuable users.
- Another point which makes Avalanche unique is with its claim of being committed to decentralisation. When compared with size and age, it is having huge number of validators cause of its reduced basic requirements.
- The Avalanches interoperable blockchains are another point of differentiation as they are unlimited in number. It’s in direct competition with Polkadot, which is popular for offering customised and interoperable blockchains. Here the difference is noticeable with Polkadot having limited space, which is being auctioned in Parachain Slots, where Avalanche tends to work with easy subscription fee.
Popularity of Avalanche is been in space since it’s upcoming, but there is still a question mark with its ability of competing with other blockchains as Solana or Polygon. It has also made its place in blockchains cause of its EVM compatibility and lowered fees.
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