Avalanche is a proof-of-stake blockchain with its own consensus mechanism. The blockchain network promises high transaction throughput with low transaction fees compared to the dominant smart contract platform, Ethereum.

Avalanche is a scalable, customizable, high-performance, and secure blockchain platform that aims to build application-specific blockchains, complex digital smart assets, and scalable decentralized applications. In 2020, Avalanche was launched by Ava Labs.

The Avalanche network achieves throughput of over 4,500 transactions per second (TPS) by using a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and embracing multiple blockchains.

Each chain in the Avalanche architecture represents its own virtual machine with support for many custom virtual machines such as EVM and WASM. This allows chains to contain case-specific functions. Each of these virtual machines is connected to a subnet that has its own incentives to ensure the honesty of the validators. It is a custom blockchain network that consists of a dynamic group of validators working together to build consensus. Therefore, the network can be considered a “platform of platforms,” which consists of thousands of subnets working together to build a single large interoperable network.