How Avalanche Subnets Work (AVAX Simplified) : Detailed Explanation

With its triple-chain architecture, Avalanche has become the crowd favorite when it comes to deploying independent yet interoperable DeFi smart contracts and applications. Unlike traditional monolithic blockchains, Avalanche offers increased flexibility, scalability, and interoperability.

The Avalanche L1 or Layer-1, which was previously known as the Avalanche subnet, or subnetwork, is a powerful tool that enables developers to deploy their own independent blockchains that can be operated without the broader constraints of the main blockchain and without stressing the main blockchain for resources.

With the L1(previously known as the Avalanche subnet, or subnetwork) in its full potential, able to operate seamlessly under the main blockchain, the importance of this aspect of Avalanche has been increasing with time. With more developers and DeFi enthusiasts pooling in, the L1(previously known as the Avalanche subnet, or subnetwork) has exploded with activity and is a huge contender to Solana and Ripple in terms of cross-border global financial settlements, as Avalanche, with its L1(previously known as the Avalanche subnet, or subnetwork), is capable of performing the same duties faster, cheaper, and en-masse.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the workings of Avalanche Subnets, which was the previous term used to refer to the present Avalanche L1 or Layer-1 blockchains.

What Is An Avalanche Subnet?

Avalanche subnets or subnetworks are a dynamic subset of network validators. These subnets are considered their own blockchains and reach consensus independently. Their workings do not affect the main blockchain or other subnets. When there are specific services to be launched on the Avalanche network, these subnets are a great way to neatly package and launch them.

The subnet, being an independent entity, ensures that the individual projects launched on subnets do not rely on a single shared state or the main blockchain. This means that the main blockchain is never clogged due to the vast number of projects and smart contracts launched under it.

Avalanche validators are separately incentivized for their support in running independent subnet blockchains. These subnets have their own economies, meaning that the gas fee can be collected in any token as per the subnet’s design and does not require using AVAX solely for the purpose of paying gas fees. The validators are paid out of the token that is used to collect the gas fee on the subnet.

In addition to this, Avalanche subnets have the built-in ability to quickly become compatible with regulatory constraints. These subnets can be permissioned or permissionless, meaning a KYC(Know Your Customer) of the users may be mandatory or not required, as per jurisdictional requirements. This allows a greater flexibility for Avalanche to be used as a financial gateway by developers. Even though Subnets were originally envisioned to become a hub for financial markets, the developers are actively using Subnets as an extension to their projects when the existing chain can no longer handle the project’s requirements.

Why Developers Choose Avalanche Subnets?

Avalanche’s popularity has risen over the years due to specific applications of the blockchain that allow developers to launch and scale projects on a whole different level. Subnets have a huge role to play in providing this popularity as they are the lifeblood of the Avalanche blockchain ecosystem.

Fast finality is one of the major use cases that developers are keen to take advantage of. The Avalanche finality mechanism is unique. It achieves finality in just one block. This process of validating a single block typically consumes around 2 seconds on the C-chain. By making use of the Avalanche subnets, developers can tap into the power of fast finality since these Subnets make use of the same consensus mechanism used by Avalanche.

When applications or projects require more decentralization, the Avalanche blockchain becomes the de facto standard since it allows an unbounded number of Validators to be added to a subnet. As the number of validators in a subnet increases, so does decentralization, and consequently, the trust in the subnet and the system. In contrast to other PoS(Proof of Stake) consensus mechanisms, where an increasing number of validators or nodes clog up the system, the Avalanche blockchain is capable of having an unbounded number of validators without compromising block settlement speed.

Subnets have high interoperability, and this is the third main reason why developers chose the Avalanche network for launching their projects. Interoperability is a great advantage as different subnets can communicate with each other via bridges. The subnet mechanism presents the opportunity to prevent project clutter and thereby achieve more clarity without having to build highly complex interoperable systems additionally.

Avalanche Subnet Costs

The cost when it comes to a validator to be part of a subnet is 2000 AVAX tokens. The validator must stake this much AVAX on the primary blockchain to become a validator in a subnet. The developers who are looking to find validators can reach their destination through two distinct methods.

If a team has enough footing in the community, they can spin up enough validators for their project from within the ecosystem. However, if the team or developer is relatively new to the ecosystem, they will have to find enough validators by themselves who are willing to partake in the consensus mechanism of the subnet of the project.

Subnets, when they were new, had been notorious for their difficulty in gaining validators to back up the project. However, with enough subnets, 410 as of writing this article, this process has become relatively easier as newer teams can reach out to existing validators who have experience partaking in the subnet deployment process.

Conclusion

The Avalanche subnets are a great tool for developers who are looking to build systems that require high throughput, lower cost, and immense scalability. With the growing interest in Avalanche subnets, the network is able to scale its own ecosystem well beyond what was projected at the time of its inception.

With numerous active subnets to date and more developers jumping on the bandwagon, the future for Avalanche subnets seems to be stable and protected. What was once a difficult process has now become easy and cost-effective thanks to the hundreds of developers and development teams engaged with the Avalanche subnet ecosystem.

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