Two major developments in blockchain technology emerged this week, highlighting ongoing efforts to enhance scalability and efficiency across layer-1 networks. Avalanche rolled out its largest upgrade to date, Avalanche9000, introducing improvements that reduce costs for launching subnet blockchains and running smart contracts. Meanwhile, Monad Labs announced the formation of the Monad Foundation, an independent entity focused on governance and ecosystem development, signaling significant progress toward a potential mainnet launch. Avalanche Launches Avalanche9000 Upgrade to Usher in Hundreds of New Layer-1 Blockchains Avalanche (AVAX) - the application-friendly layer-1 blockchain - has officially rolled out its largest-ever upgrade, Avalanche9000, introducing key advancements aimed at enhancing its network efficiency and accessibility. Announced on Monday, the much-anticipated upgrade is poised to revolutionize the blockchain landscape by making it easier and significantly cheaper to launch subnet blockchains and deploy smart contracts. “This is the start of hundreds of Avalanche L1s launching,” Avalanche’s team proclaimed in a post on X. “Avalanche9000 reduces the cost to deploy an L1 by 99.9%, and with hundreds of L1s being developed on testnet, look out for an explosion of launches in the coming months.” Key Features of Avalanche9000 The Avalanche9000 upgrade integrates two major improvement proposals, ACP-77 and ACP-125, signaling a significant leap for developers, validators, and end-users. 1. Validator Optimization Through ACP-77 A major highlight of ACP-77 is its overhaul of validator requirements. Previously, validators had to stake a minimum of 2,000 AVAX tokens – valued at approximately $100,000 – to validate the main Avalanche network alongside any subnets they operated. This setup posed substantial financial and hardware burdens on participants. The “Etna” upgrade, as part of ACP-77, addresses this limitation by decoupling validators from the requirement to validate the primary chain when focusing on specific subnets. This change allows validators to dedicate their efforts to specific layer-1 subnets, cutting down operational costs and enabling more efficient hardware usage. With reduced entry barriers, the Etna upgrade paves the way for projects to bootstrap their own blockchains cost-effectively. Furthermore, it introduces regulatory flexibility, empowering subnet operators to meet specific jurisdictional requirements as needed. 2. Lowering Fees with ACP-125 Another pivotal enhancement is ACP-125, which directly impacts Avalanche’s primary smart contract chain, the C-Chain. The proposal reduces the base fee from 25 nAVAX to 1 nAVAX (roughly $0.00000004), addressing what the Avalanche team described as an ”artificially high” minimum fee. “The current minimum base fee of 25 nAVAX is higher than what the market demands, leading to artificially reduced network usage,” reads the official ACP-125 proposal on GitHub . “By lowering the minimum base fee to 1 nAVAX, we allow the market to dictate appropriate fee levels, resulting in a more efficient allocation of resources and potentially higher network usage.” This reduction is expected to stimulate activity on Avalanche’s C-Chain by making smart contract interactions significantly cheaper, catering to developers and users seeking affordable decentralized application (dApp) deployment. At the heart of Avalanche’s scalability lies its subnet architecture. Subnets are sovereign groups of validators working together to validate transactions on specific blockchains, offering a “blockchain-as-a-service” model that supports customization for diverse use cases. Subnets can tailor their parameters, including tokenomics, validator sets, and consensus mechanisms, enabling developers to create highly specialized layer-1 solutions without being tied to Avalanche’s main chain operations. This flexibility opens doors for innovation across industries ranging from gaming and decentralized finance (DeFi) to enterprise applications. Avalanche claims to already support over 500 layer-1 blockchains, with Avalanche9000 expected to accelerate subnet adoption significantly. The Avalanche9000 upgrade arrives on the back of substantial financial support and developer activity. Earlier this year, Avalanche launched its Avalanche9000 testnet, allocating over $40 million in retroactive rewards to developers building on the network. The testnet saw strong engagement, signaling growing enthusiasm among blockchain builders. Adding to this momentum, the Avalanche Foundation recently secured $250 million in funding through a locked token sale. The round was led by prominent venture capital firms including Galaxy Digital, Dragonfly Capital, and ParaFi Capital, signaling investor confidence in Avalanche’s vision. The capital injection will help ensure a smooth rollout of Avalanche9000 while supporting future ecosystem growth, developer incentives, and subnet launches. Avalanche: A Multi-Chain Powerhouse Avalanche’s architecture comprises three distinct blockchains optimized for specific functionalities: X-Chain (Exchange Chain): Handles the creation and trading of digital assets. P-Chain (Platform Chain): Coordinates validators and manages subnets. C-Chain (Contract Chain): Executes Ethereum-compatible smart contracts, making it ideal for dApp deployment. This multi-chain design, combined with Avalanche9000’s improvements, positions Avalanche as one of the most scalable and versatile layer-1 networks in the blockchain ecosystem. Monad Labs Unveils the Monad Foundation to Drive Blockchain Development Ahead of Mainnet Launch In related news, on Monday, Monad Labs announced the establishment of the Monad Foundation, an independent organization dedicated to advancing the growth, governance, and adoption of the Monad blockchain. The formation of the foundation marks a critical milestone for Monad, which recently rolled out its testnet and is now positioning itself closer to a potential mainnet and token launch. In its official blog post , the Monad Foundation described its mission as fostering validator-driven governance, supporting community-led improvement proposals, and providing tools and documentation for developers. The foundation will also play a pivotal role in ecosystem growth, marketing, and advisory initiatives for the Monad blockchain. ”We are sharing an exciting organizational update, signaling a next step in the evolution of the Monad blockchain: the Monad Foundation, an independent organization dedicated to encouraging the development and adoption of the Monad blockchain protocol,” the foundation announced. While the statement refrained from explicitly confirming a mainnet or token launch, the timing of the foundation’s launch has fueled speculation that such milestones could be imminent. This comes on the heels of Monad Labs' progressive testnet rollout, which began in November, a step widely regarded as a precursor to a full mainnet deployment. The Monad Foundation’s core focus areas include: Validator-Led Governance:The foundation will facilitate decentralized governance through validators, ensuring that key decisions about the protocol’s evolution are driven by stakeholders within the community. This approach aligns with the decentralized ethos of blockchain technology. Developer Support and Tools:Providing detailed developer documentation, tools, and educational resources will be central to the foundation’s activities. The goal is to create a robust developer ecosystem that supports the growth of decentralized applications (dApps) on the Monad blockchain. Ecosystem Development and Adoption:The foundation will engage in ecosystem development, offering marketing and advisory support for projects building on Monad. By fostering strategic partnerships and promoting community-led improvement proposals, the foundation aims to accelerate Monad’s adoption. The formation of the Monad Foundation comes amid increasing interest and investment in the Monad blockchain ecosystem. In July, three projects built on Monad announced securing venture capital funding, signaling growing confidence in the network’s potential. Earlier this year, Monad Labs made headlines when it raised $225 million in a Series A funding round led by Paradigm in April, reportedly at a $3 billion valuation. The funding points to strong backing from major players in the blockchain investment space and highlighted the industry’s recognition of Monad as a promising layer-1 solution. Monad aims to address Ethereum’s current scalability challenges by offering significant improvements in throughput and efficiency. Unlike layer-1 networks that replicate Ethereum’s existing codebase, Monad is building a brand-new Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) from the ground up. Monad leverages a pipelined architecture, a technical innovation that allows the blockchain to process multiple steps of transactions simultaneously. This design significantly enhances transaction throughput, making Monad a high-performance alternative to traditional Ethereum-compatible chains. By improving Ethereum’s operational efficiency while maintaining EVM compatibility, Monad enables developers to deploy Ethereum-based dApps with higher scalability, lower latency, and greater performance. The approach positions Monad as a next-generation layer-1 solution capable of supporting demanding decentralized applications. Mainnet Launch on the Horizon? The timing of the Monad Foundation's formation and the recent launch of Monad’s testnet have fueled anticipation within the crypto community. Typically, testnet deployments allow developers to test applications and protocols in a simulated environment, ironing out bugs before launching a mainnet. With Monad’s testnet already in progress, the community is speculating that a mainnet rollout—and potentially a token launch—could soon follow. The foundation’s focus on governance and ecosystem development further hints at readiness for a fully operational network. Validator participation, governance frameworks, and developer adoption are all critical components that must align ahead of a successful mainnet deployment. Monad’s emergence comes at a time when scaling solutions and Ethereum alternatives are in high demand. Ethereum remains the dominant smart contract platform, but its limited throughput and rising transaction fees continue to present challenges for developers and users. By building a new EVM optimized for performance, Monad positions itself as a solution that retains Ethereum’s compatibility while offering a scalable, high-throughput alternative. This is particularly significant as decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, and other dApp sectors require networks that can process large volumes of transactions efficiently.
