Avalanche officially launched its highly anticipated Avalanche9000 upgrade on the mainnet, a major step forward in its blockchain infrastructure. This upgrade brings sweeping improvements, reducing costs, optimizing performance, and enabling more flexibility for projects.

Key Features of the Avalanche9000 Upgrade

Avalanche9000 is designed to improve scalability and lower operational expenses across the Avalanche ecosystem. The core changes include:

• Lower C-Chain Fees: Basic fees on the C-Chain drop from 25 nAVAX (~$0.00000098) to just 1 nAVAX (~ ($0.00000004), making transactions more affordable for users and developers.
• Cheaper Subnets (Layer-1s): The cost for validators to launch a subnet shifts from a fixed 2,000 AVAX per instance to a subscription model of just 1.33 AVAX per month.
• Independent Chain Operations: The "Etna" module allows subnets to operate independently, reducing startup costs and enabling projects to meet varying regulatory needs.
• Enhanced Interchain Communication: Better communication between chains fosters a more connected and efficient blockchain environment.

The Avalanche Foundation emphasized that these changes will streamline the process for developers building on Avalanche, particularly for institutions and projects aiming for regulatory compliance.

From Testnet to Mainnet Success

Before the mainnet launch, Avalanche9000 successfully debuted on the Avalanche "Fuji" testnet on November 25. After weeks of testing, the team proceeded with the mainnet launch as planned on December 16.

Ben Forman, founder of ParaFi Capital, praised the upgrade, describing Avalanche as a "major player" in enabling on-chain institutional finance.

In the lead-up to the Avalanche9000 upgrade, the Avalanche Foundation secured $250 million through a token sale. The raise was led by notable firms such as Galaxy Digital, Dragonfly Capital, and ParaFi Capital.

More than 40 investors participated in the sale, including:

• SkyBridge
• SCB Limited
• Hivemind
• Republic Capital
• Morgan Creek Digital

The new funding bolsters Avalanche’s already impressive treasury, valued at approximately $3 billion in AVAX tokens.

This is not the first major funding success for Avalanche. In 2021, the project raised $230 million in a private token sale led by Polychain and the now-defunct Three Arrows Capital.

Avalanche AVAX is trading at $49, gaining 9% over the last seven days, at the time of writing.