Avalanche’s December upgrade, Avalanche9000, has significantly lowered transaction costs, resulting in a 38% increase in daily activity on the network.
Since the upgrade went live on Dec. 16, transaction fees—commonly known as gas fees—have dropped by an average of 75%, according to data from Flipside and Bitquery. The number of daily transactions has surged to an average of 354,691, reflecting greater network usage.
A Major Cost-Cutting Overhaul
Avalanche, a DeFi-focused proof-of-stake blockchain and the fifth-largest smart contract platform by market cap, operates a multichain structure:
- C-Chain – Handles smart contracts
- P-Chain – Manages staking and validator coordination
- X-Chain – Processes asset transfers
The upgrade included seven improvement proposals, with ACP-125 making one of the biggest impacts by reducing the base smart contract fee on the C-Chain from 25 nAVAX to just 1 nAVAX (one nAVAX is a billionth of an AVAX).
Additionally, the validator fee—previously set at 2,000 AVAX—was replaced with a monthly subscription model ranging from 1 to 10 AVAX, making it easier for new projects to launch Layer 1 (L1) protocols on Avalanche.
A More Accessible Future for Developers
The changes are part of a broader effort to enhance affordability and increase adoption. Stephen Buttolph, chief protocol architect at Ava Labs, explained in an earlier interview that the goal was to cut costs across the entire Avalanche tech stack, from C-Chain fees to capital requirements for validators.
With cheaper transactions and easier validator entry, the Avalanche network is now positioned as a more competitive and scalable smart contract platform, drawing increased activity from developers and users alike.
