How to Buy Avalanche (AVAX)
Beginner’s Guide
What Is Avalanche (AVAX)?
Avalanche is a layer one blockchain that functions as a platform for decentralized applications and custom blockchain networks. It is one of Ethereum’s rivals, aiming to unseat Ethereum as the most popular blockchain for smart contracts. It aims to do so by having a higher transaction output of up to 6,500 transactions per second while not compromising scalability.
This is made possible by Avalanche’s unique architecture. The Avalanche network consists of three individual blockchains: the X-Chain, C-Chain and P-Chain. Each chain has a distinct purpose, which is radically different from the approach Bitcoin and Ethereum use, namely having all nodes validate all transactions. Avalanche blockchains even use different consensus mechanisms based on their use cases.
How to Buy Avalanche Summary
- Get a Avalanche wallet (e.g. Ledger, Trezor , Exodus, Guarda, AtomicWallet)
- Find an exchange that sells Avalanche (e.g. Crypto.com, Binance , Coinbase , Bitfinex , Kucoin)
- Deposit money and make the trade
- Withdraw the Avalanche to your wallet
Buying Avalanche in 3 Simple Steps
Step 1 – Get a AVAX wallet
Avalanche Hardware Wallets
A hardware wallet is a physical device that securely stores private keys and enables cryptocurrency transactions. Here are some hardware wallets that support Avalanche (AVAX):
Ledger Nano S: The Ledger Nano S is a popular hardware wallet that supports Avalanche and other cryptocurrencies. It is a compact device that can be connected to a computer via USB and has a secure element to protect your private keys.
Ledger Nano X: The Ledger Nano X is a newer version of the Ledger Nano S, with added Bluetooth connectivity and a larger screen. It also supports Avalanche and other cryptocurrencies.
Trezor Model T: The Trezor Model T is another popular hardware wallet that supports Avalanche. It has a touch screen and supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies.
KeepKey: KeepKey is a hardware wallet that supports Avalanche and other cryptocurrencies. It has a large display screen and a sleek design.
Ellipal: Ellipal is a hardware wallet that supports Avalanche and other cryptocurrencies. It has a touch screen and is designed to be easy to use.
When choosing a hardware wallet, it’s important to consider factors such as security, ease of use, and compatibility with other cryptocurrencies. Be sure to do your research and choose a wallet that meets your needs.
The best option for storing any cryptocurrency would be to use a hardware wallet. These are pieces of hardware that store the private key to your coins offline.
Today, there are two leading hardware manufacturers to choose from – Ledger and TREZOR. Both companies have different models of hardware wallets that will get the job done.
If you want deeper insights on specific models, you can read my Ledger Nano X review or my TREZOR Model T review.
Avalanche Software Wallets
A software wallet is a digital wallet that stores private keys and enables cryptocurrency transactions. Here are some software wallets that support Avalanche (AVAX):
Avalanche Wallet: The official Avalanche Wallet is a software wallet developed by the Avalanche team. It is available for desktop and mobile devices and supports AVAX and other Avalanche-based assets. It also supports staking and delegation.
Ledger Live: Ledger Live is a software wallet developed by Ledger, the hardware wallet manufacturer. It supports Avalanche and other cryptocurrencies and can be used with the Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X.
Atomic Wallet: Atomic Wallet is a multi-currency software wallet that supports Avalanche and other cryptocurrencies. It has a user-friendly interface and offers features such as staking and exchange.
Trust Wallet: Trust Wallet is a mobile software wallet developed by Binance. It supports Avalanche and other cryptocurrencies and offers a built-in DEX for trading.
Exodus Wallet: Exodus Wallet is a desktop and mobile software wallet that supports Avalanche and other cryptocurrencies. It has a user-friendly interface and offers features such as staking and exchange.
When choosing a software wallet, it’s important to consider factors such as security, ease of use, and compatibility with other cryptocurrencies. Be sure to do your research and choose a wallet that meets your needs.
Hardware wallets cost money, so if you’re not sure how serious you are about cryptocurrencies and just want to get a taste of what they feel like, perhaps you would be better off starting with a software wallet.
A software wallet is a free program that lets you store your coins on your computer or mobile phone.
The easiest Avalanche coin software wallets to get started with are undoubtedly Exodus, AtomicWallet and Guarda . All wallets are very intuitive. Exodus, Atomic Wallet and Guarda is available on desktop for Windows, Mac and Linux, as well as on mobile for both iOS and Android. If you want more information you can read my Exodus, AtomicWallet and Guarda review.
Step 2 – Find an Avalanche (AVAX) Exchange
Buy Avalanche through Crypto.com
- Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency exchange company based in Singapore. As of May 2022, the company reportedly had 50 million customers and 4,000 employees. The exchange issues a token, Cronos. The company was initially founded in Hong Kong by Bobby Bao, Gary Or, Kris Marszalek, and Rafael Melo in 2016 as “Monaco”. In 2018, the company was renamed as Crypto.com following a purchase of a domain owned by cryptography researcher and professor Matt Blaze. Domain sellers valued the domain at US$5–10 million.
Buy Avalanche through Binance
- Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange which is the largest exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2017 and is registered in the Cayman Islands. Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao, a developer who had previously created high frequency trading software.
Buy Avalanche through Coinbase
- Coinbase is a convenient and cheap way to buy Ethereum and the platform is open to 200+ countries). Coinbase will sell you CRO for a variable fee that depends on your payment method (credit cards have a higher fee than wire transfers), order size and market volatility. Here’s how you buy Ethereum on Coinbase: Open a Coinbase account Add your payment method (Credit card or bank account) Go to “Buy/Sell” and select the amount of Ethereum you desire Click “Buy Cronos”
Buy Avalanche through Bitfinex
- Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency exchange owned and operated by iFinex Inc registered in the British Virgin Islands.Their customers’ money has been stolen or lost in several incidents, and they have been unable to secure normal banking relationships. Bitfinex was founded in December 2012 as a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange, offering digital asset trading services to users around the world. Bitfinex initially started as a P2P margin lending platform for Bitcoin and later added support for more cryptocurrencies.
Buy Avalanche through Kucoin
- Kucoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange for numerous digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Launched in September 2017, KuCoin has grown into one of the most popular crypto exchanges and already has over 8 million registered users from 700+ countries and regions. According to Alexa traffic ranking, KuCoin’s monthly unique ranking is in the top 5 globally. Known as the “People’s Exchange”, KuCoin operates in Seychelles, providing users with multi-language and 24/7 customer service. Meanwhile, KuCoin has established local communities all over the world in South Korea, Japan, Spain, Italy, Vietnam, Turkey, Russia, India, and other regions, providing users with the most local services. Currently, 1 out of every 4 crypto holders in the world is with KuCoin.
Step 3 – Withdraw Your Avalanche
Once you decide on an exchange, open an account and buy your Avalanche. Make sure to withdraw the Avalanche from the exchange to your personal wallet.
Never leave coins on an exchange, as you risk losing them all if that exchange gets hacked or shuts down (which has happened in the past) and always double check address before send coins because you can send the coins to wrong address .
OVERVIEW
Avalanche Built-in Blockchains and Subnets
Avalanche has three primary built-in blockchains.
Avalanche is a platform that supports the creation of multiple built-in blockchains and subnets, each with its own set of rules and governance structures. Here are some of the built-in blockchains and subnets that are supported by Avalanche:
X-Chain: The X-Chain is the primary blockchain of Avalanche and is used for the transfer of AVAX and other Avalanche-based assets. It supports smart contracts and has a throughput of up to 4,500 transactions per second.
P-Chain: The P-Chain is the platform chain of Avalanche and is responsible for coordinating cross-chain communication between the X-Chain and other blockchains. It also serves as the primary governance layer for the Avalanche network.
C-Chain: The C-Chain is a customizable blockchain that can be used to create and deploy smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) on the Avalanche network. It supports the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and has a throughput of up to 450 transactions per second.
Subnets: Avalanche also supports the creation of subnets, which are smaller networks that can be used to create customized blockchains with their own governance structures and rules. Subnets can be used for a variety of purposes, such as scaling individual applications or creating private networks for specific use cases.
By supporting multiple built-in blockchains and subnets, Avalanche enables developers to create customized solutions for a variety of use cases, from decentralized finance (DeFi) to gaming and supply chain management.
Contract Chain (C-Chain)
Avalanche’s chain for decentralized finance, as it is the chain used for smart contract and DeFi apps. Most of Avalanche DApps are housed here and compatible with MetaMask.
These three networks are secured and validated by the Primary Network, a special subnet. All custom subnets need to validate on the Primary Network by staking at least 2,000 AVAX.
Avalanche subnets, or subnetworks, are dynamic sets of validators working together to achieve consensus on the state of a set of blockchains. Every blockchain is validated by one subnet, whereas one subnet can validate various blockchains. Validator nodes can be a member of multiple subnets.
Every subnet validator has an incentive to adhere to an individual subnet’s security and resource requirements. Every subnet can customize these incentives and may include token rewards, governance, etc.
Subnets aims to bring application-specific networks to the broader Avalanche ecosystem. For example, an individual application, product, or service may require certain validator properties, such as memory or internet bandwidth. Validators meeting those requirements can join the Subnet to ensure smooth operations. Additionally, Subnets may have a native token economy and customized fee markets.
Avalanche Subnets also support private blockchain development, in which predefined validators join. Those validators are the only ones who can see the content of that private blockchain, an option for organizations who want to keep sensitive information private.
Who Are the Founders of Avalanche?
Avalanche was launched by Ava Labs, founded by Cornell University professor Emin Gün Sirer, and Cornell University computer science PhD’s Kevin Sekniqi and Maofan “Ted” Yin. Gün Sirer is a veteran in cryptographic research, having designed a conceptual peer-to-peer virtual currency six years before the release of the Bitcoin whitepaper. He was also involved in work on Bitcoin scaling solutions and research on Ethereum before the infamous The DAO hack in 2016.
From that research arose the whitepaper that led to the foundation of Ava Labs in 2018. The project closed a seed round in February 2019 that included investors such as Polychain, Andreessen Horowitz and Balaji Srinivasan. Avalanche closed its initial coin offering in 2020 in under 24 hours, raising $42 million in the process.
What Makes Avalanche Unique?
Avalanche is a blockchain platform that is unique in several ways. Here are some of the key features that make Avalanche stand out:
Avalanche Consensus: Avalanche uses a novel consensus mechanism called Avalanche consensus, which is designed to provide high throughput and low latency. This consensus mechanism allows multiple transactions to be confirmed simultaneously, increasing the speed and efficiency of the network.
Sub-second finality: Avalanche is capable of providing sub-second finality, which means that once a transaction is confirmed, it is immediately considered final and cannot be reversed. This feature is particularly useful for applications such as payments and financial transactions.
Customizable Blockchains: Avalanche allows developers to create their own customizable blockchains, which can be tailored to specific use cases and governance structures. This flexibility enables the creation of decentralized applications (dApps) that are optimized for specific industries and use cases.
Interoperability: Avalanche is designed to be interoperable with other blockchain platforms, allowing for the seamless transfer of assets between different networks. This interoperability enables developers to create cross-chain applications that can leverage the unique features of multiple blockchains.
Staking and Governance: Avalanche has a robust staking and governance system that enables token holders to participate in the network’s decision-making process. This system ensures that the network is decentralized and provides a mechanism for stakeholders to vote on important decisions such as protocol upgrades and network parameters.
Overall, Avalanche’s unique consensus mechanism, sub-second finality, customizable blockchains, interoperability, and governance system make it a powerful platform for the creation of decentralized applications (dApps) and enterprise blockchain solutions.
Avalanche attempts to solve the blockchain trilemma, which posits that blockchains cannot achieve a sufficient degree of decentralization at scale. A consequence of this are high gas fees, as is often the case on Ethereum.
To solve this problem, Avalanche designed three interoperable blockchains.
- The Exchange Chain (X-Chain) is employed to create and exchange the native AVAX tokens and other assets. Similar to the ERC-20 standard on Ethereum, these tokens follow a set of standardized rules. It uses the Avalanche consensus mechanism.
- The Contract Chain (C-Chain) hosts smart contracts and decentralized applications. It has its own Avalanche Virtual Machine, similar to the Ethereum Virtual Machine, allowing developers to fork EVM-compatible DApps. It uses the Snowman consensus mechanism.
- The Platform Chain (P-Chain) coordinates network validators, tracks active subnets and enables the creation of new subnets. Subnets are sets of validators, sort of like a validator cartel. Each subnet can be validating several blockchains, but a blockchain can only be validated by one subnet. It also uses the Snowman consensus mechanism.
This division of computing tasks enables higher throughput without compromising on decentralization. For instance, private blockchains on the network could require its subnet’s validators to be sufficiently geographically decentralized or comply with certain regulations. Following this modular structure, Avalanche improves its interoperability with other blockchains wishing to integrate with the Avalanche ecosystem. Furthermore, the two different consensus mechanisms are designed with each blockchain’s requirements in mind, further improving their efficiency.
How Many Avalanche (AVAX) Coins Are There in Circulation?
The total supply of AVAX is 720 million. Its token distribution is as follows:
- 2.5% – seed sale, with 10% released on mainnet launch and the rest being released every three months.
- 3.5% – private sale, with 10% released on mainnet launch and the rest being released every three months.
- 10% – public sale, with 10% released on mainnet launch and 15% released every three months over a period of 18 months.
- 9.26% – allocated to the foundation, released over ten years.
- 7% – community endowment, released over twelve months.
- 0.27% – testnet incentive program, released over one year.
- 5% – strategic partners, released over four years.
- 2.5% – airdrops, released over four years.
- 10% – team, released over four years.
- 50% staking rewards
Staking AVAX currently provides an annual reward of 11.57%, with the minimum time for staking being two weeks with a minimum of 2,000 AVAX.
How Is the Avalanche Network Secured?
The Avalanche network is secured using a combination of cryptographic algorithms and economic incentives. Here are some of the key security features that help to keep the Avalanche network secure:
Avalanche Consensus: Avalanche uses a novel consensus mechanism that is designed to be highly secure and efficient. The consensus mechanism is based on a system of validators who are responsible for validating transactions and securing the network. Validators are selected based on their stake in the network, and they are incentivized to act honestly through the reward system.
Proof-of-Stake: The Avalanche network uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, which is designed to be more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly than traditional proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanisms. In a PoS system, validators are required to stake a certain amount of cryptocurrency in order to participate in the consensus process. This provides an economic incentive for validators to act honestly and secure the network.
Avalanche-X Chain: The Avalanche-X Chain, which is the primary blockchain of the Avalanche network, is secured using a combination of cryptographic algorithms, including SHA-256, ED25519, and SECP256k1. These algorithms provide a high level of security and resistance to attacks.
Validators and Delegators: In addition to validators, the Avalanche network also includes delegators, who can delegate their stake to validators in order to participate in the consensus process. This helps to distribute power and ensure that the network remains decentralized.
Network Upgrades: The Avalanche network is regularly updated and improved through a process of network upgrades. These upgrades are designed to improve security, performance, and functionality, and they are implemented through a decentralized governance process that involves token holders.
Overall, the combination of cryptographic algorithms, economic incentives, and decentralized governance helps to make the Avalanche network highly secure and resistant to attacks. However, it is important to note that no system can be completely secure, and there is always a risk of potential vulnerabilities or attacks. As such, it is important for users to follow best practices for securing their assets and using the network.