Avalanche (AVAX) Price, Chart, Value & Market Cap | CoinCodex

The Avalanche network consists of three blockchains. The first is the Exchange Chain which uses the AVAX token and allows creation and exchange of assets. Next, we have the Platform Chain, which enables creation and keeping track of subnets, which are basically customizable blockchains. Finally, we have the Contracts Chain, which allows for the creation of smart contracts.

The Exchange Chain utilizes a unique consensus mechanism called Avalanche. This consensus mechanism is unique because it combined the two most used consensus models called the ‘Classical’ and the ‘Nakamoto’ consensus mechanisms. The consensus protocol which is able to process transactions in parallel, meaning that certain transactions won’t slow down the whole network like they would on other blockchains.

This consensus mechanism uses a method called ‘gossiping’ where the nodes will “talk” with other validators to check if the transactions on the network are valid. This increases their confidence that they are submitting a valid transaction. 

Validators are selected depending on how many tokens they have staked on the network. The more tokens they stake, the higher the chance that they will be selected.

The Platform Chain and the Contracts Chain use a different consensus mechanism called Snowman. Unlike the Avalanche protocol, Snowman is chain-optimized, making it suitable for smart contracts.