Avalanche, the eighth-largest blockchain by total value locked, has embarked on a significant technical overhaul. The Avalanche9000 upgrade has gone live on the test network, marking a crucial step towards its implementation on the main network. This upgrade is designed to decrease the costs associated with sending transactions, operating validators, and developing applications on the network. The native token, AVAX, boasts a market capitalization of $16 billion.
The Avalanche Foundation is working to attract developers and encourage users to create customized blockchains, known as subnets or L1s, using its technology. The team aims to launch Avalanche9000 on the main network by the end of the year.
The upgrade comprises seven proposals, with ACP-77 and ACP-125 being the most notable. ACP-77 introduces a new type of validator, enabling users to launch their own subnets at a lower cost and without permission. ACP-125 reduces the base fee for running computations on the primary Avalanche network's C-chain. The Avalanche Foundation has also launched the Retro9000 grants program, offering $40 million in rewards to developers who build subnets on the test network, with $2 million allocated for referrals.