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Custom Blockchains

Quickly recap our past learnings about Avalanche Custom Blockchains.

An Avalanche Custom Blockchain is a sovereign network that defines its own rules for membership and token economics. It's validated by a dynamic subset of Avalanche validators working together to achieve consensus on the blockchain's state.

Key Concepts

  • Custom Blockchain: A unique blockchain within the Avalanche ecosystem.
  • Validator Subset: A group of validators responsible for a specific blockchain or set of blockchains.
  • Custom Blockchain Network: A subset of validators united to validate one or more blockchains.

Relationship Between Blockchains and Avalanche L1s

  • Each blockchain is validated by exactly one custom network.
  • A Custom Network can validate multiple blockchains.
  • A validator may participate in multiple custom networks.

The Primary Network

Avalanche's three main blockchains form the Primary Network:

  • Platform Chain (P-Chain)
  • Contract Chain (C-Chain)
  • Exchange Chain (X-Chain)

These blockchains are validated and secured by all Avalanche validators, which collectively form a special Avalanche L1 known as the Primary Network.

By definition, all validators participating in custom blockchain Avalanche L1s must also validate the Avalanche Primary Network.

Independence and Scalability

Custom blockchains and their associated Avalanche L1s operate independently:

  • They specify their own execution logic.
  • They determine their own fee structures.
  • They maintain their own state.
  • They facilitate their own networking.
  • They provide their own security.

This independence ensures that custom blockchains don't share execution threads, storage, or networking with other custom blockchain networks or the Primary Network. As a result, the Avalanche network can:

  • Scale up easily
  • Enable lower latency
  • Achieve higher transactions per second (TPS)
  • Offer lower transaction costs

By leveraging custom blockchains and custom blockchain networks, Avalanche creates a flexible and scalable ecosystem that can adapt to a wide range of use cases and requirements.

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