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Avalanche is an open-source, decentralized blockchain network protocol powered by its native cryptocurrency, AVAX. It was built to be a highly scalable and interoperable smart contracts ecosystem. Avalanche is the work of Cornell University professor Emin Gün Sirer and Cornell Ph.D.’s Kevin Sekniqi and Maofan “Ted” Yin, who also founded Ava Labs.

Avalanche deploys a unique blockchain architecture that makes it an immensely scalable and customizable smart contracts platform. The following are some of its noteworthy features:

• Three chain architecture: The Avalanche blockchain is a network of P, C, and X chains that split the core functions of a smart contract-capable chain between them for better scalability.
• Network gossiping: A unique transaction ordering mechanism where nodes propagate messages to their ‘neighbors’ to achieve faster consensus.
• Subnets: A dynamic set of validators within the network who can customize separate consensus systems to fit their use case.

The Avalanche protocol is primarily a Proof-of-Stake (POS) network that follows a leaderless design. Consensus is achieved when a large portion of nodes communicating with one another at random (gossiping) agree upon the state of the network.

Architecture:

The Avalanche blockchain follows a modular design where the core functionalities of a blockchain are split into three separate – P, C, and X chains. The C-chain is specially designed for compatibility with applications written in Solidity (programming language of Ethereum). The X-chain is responsible for interoperability between different networks within the Avalanche ecosystem. The P-chain is the primary Avalanche blockchain optimized to provide security to the whole network. Such modular designs leave more room for flexibility for app developers than traditional monolithic chains like Ethereum.

An unknown group of enthusiasts under the name ‘Team Rocket’ shared the framework for Avalanche on InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) in May 2018, which was later developed by researchers from Cornell University.

The project launched with an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in July 2020 with AVAX as the native token. The Avalanche Mainnet launched on 21 September 2020, with full EVM support through its C(compatibility)-chain.

The Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism implemented on the Avalanche blockchain follows a leaderless design. Consensus is achieved by propagating the transaction data to a randomly selected group of nodes and having them communicate the message with other nodes until a sufficiently large number of nodes come to an agreement. A validator’s chance of being sampled is proportional to their stake.

All this happens on a decentralized public ledger that anyone can verify. POS networks get increasingly secure as more value is staked by validators. This is because compromising networks as big as Avalanche is a challenging feat since it will take a large amount of capital.

The security of one’s funds in networks as robust as Avalanche is often compromised not by technical issues with the blockchain but due to unauthorized access of users’ online wallets. They are susceptible to online scams and malware attacks that can leak sensitive information like private keys. Even centralized exchanges cannot be trusted because if a CEX goes under, so could users’ funds in it.

On the contrary, hardware/cold wallets offer the most secure forms of storage vaults – physical storage devices. These devices are taken off the grid, making it impossible for scammers to get their hands on them.

Conventional ways of holding crypto assets are CEXs but users have to reveal privacy-invasive information like KYC in order to use them. Even online/hot wallets are susceptible to theft, online scams, or malware attacks that might expose private keys to malicious entities.

Ledger lets its users simultaneously buy and transfer AVAX into a Ledger hardware wallet. With Ledger, users own their wallets and enjoy sovereign control over them with private keys.

Using Ledger is pretty convenient, one may even make payments through traditional channels like Debit/Credit Cards or PayPal. Follow these simple steps:

• Get a Ledger Hardware Wallet.
• Download Ledger Live for web or mobile applications.
• Connect your hardware wallet to Ledger Live and complete the setup.
• Install the Avalanche application from the app catalog on Ledger Live.
• Manage AVAX on the Ledger hardware wallet with the Avalanche wallet.