What it is
Avalanche mainnet opened in September 2020. AVAX pays fees and is staked. The primary network runs the exchange, the contract chain, and the platform chain. Projects can launch their own chain that connects back to it.
AVAX
Avalanche
Last updated Sep 1, 2026
A proof-of-stake network that lets projects run their own chain.
Live price
Checking the price.
- Launched
- 2020
- Consensus
- Avalanche (Snow) consensus
- Settlement
- Seconds
- Supply
- 720 million AVAX cap
- Job
- Smart contracts & custom chains
Not proof of work
Avalanche consensus is a repeated subsample of votes — the Snow family — not mining and not XRPL’s validator list. Speed comes from that design. A subnet, or a later custom chain, is someone else’s rulebook sitting next to the primary network. Know which one you are on.
What beginners get wrong
A token deployed on Avalanche is not AVAX. Bridged assets add a bridge you have to trust. A fast confirmation is not a refund desk. Read what you sign.
Sources
The September 2020 launch, the 720 million cap, and the three primary chains are summarized from Avalanche’s documentation at docs.avax.network. This is a classroom summary, not a forecast.
Not financial advice. Knowing a ledger is not the same as buying the asset.