Share this article
Avalanche Blockchain’s Largest-Ever Upgrade, 'Avalanche9000,' Is Live
The technical changes are designed to attract developers to the ecosystem and let them create their own customized blockchains, known as subnets.
Updated Dec 16, 2024, 5:44 p.m. Published Dec 16, 2024, 3:56 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Avalanche, a layer-1 blockchain launched in 2020 that's now the tenth-largest by total value locked (TVL), activated its highly anticipated Avalanche9000 upgrade Monday, marking the ecosystem's biggest technical changes to date.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
The network has been prepping for these changes for months, with new features that will cut the costs for sending transactions, operating validators and building applications on the network.
Leaders at Avalanche have previously told CoinDesk that part of the goal with the upgrade is to attract developers to Avalanche and encourage them to create customized blockchains using its technology, known as subnets, or “L1s".
The upgrade, also referred to as the Etna upgrade, consisted of seven improvement proposals. The two biggest changes that were implemented were known as ACP-77 and ACP-125.
ACP-77 is a proposal that introduces a new type of validator, so users can launch their own subnets. These new nodes are less costly to operate, with the aim of therefore bringing in more people to spin them up and create their own Avalanche-based networks.
ACP-125 lowers the base fee on Avalanche’s main network that runs smart contracts, known as the C-chain, from 25 nAVAX (about $0.00000098) to 1 nAVAX ($0.00000004.) The goal is to make it cheaper to compute on that network. One nAVAX equals one-billionth of one AVAX. (Avalanche has two other main chains:the P-chain, where users can stake AVAX and operate validators; and the X-chain, which is used for sending and receiving funds.)
The Avalanche Foundation announced that ahead of the upgrade, it raised $250 million in a token sale, led by Galaxy Digital, Dragonfly and ParaFi Capital.
Read more: Avalanche Raises $250M Amid Major Overhaul of Layer-1 Blockchain
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Solana’s new phase is ‘much more about finance,’ says Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante
The Solana ecosystem has spent the past year doubling down on a financial infrastructure, Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante told CoinDesk.
What to know:
- Solana’s latest phase looks a lot less flashy than its memecoin-fueled highs, and that may be the goal.
- Armani Ferrante, CEO of crypto exchange Backpack, told CoinDesk in an interview the Solana ecosystem has spent the past year doubling down on a more sober focus: financial infrastructure. A
- fter years of experimentation as the wider crypto industry focused on NFTs, games and social tokens, attention is now shifting back toward decentralized finance, trading and payments.
Top Stories
