Avalanche Economic Research

snapshot-2025-11-28

11 min read

Avalanche Network Data Snapshot

Snapshot Date: 2025-11-28 Data Collection Period: November 2025 Purpose: Centralized source of truth for Avalanche economic modeling

Token Supply Metrics

MetricValueSourceDate
Maximum Supply720,000,000 AVAXProtocol DesignFixed
Total Supply (Minted)460,628,513 AVAXCoinMarketCapNov 2025
Circulating Supply428,959,550 AVAXCoinGeckoNov 2025
Staked Supply~189,200,000 AVAXMessari Q3 2025Sep 2025
% of Max Supply Issued64.0%CalculatedNov 2025
% of Circulating Staked40.7%Messari Q3 2025Sep 2025
Remaining to Max Supply259,371,487 AVAXCalculatedNov 2025

Notes:

  • Circulating supply represents tokens available for trading (excludes locked/vesting)
  • Q3 2025 saw significant staking reduction: staked supply fell from 221.7M to 189.2M (-14.7% QoQ)
  • Staking ratio declined from 47.9% to 40.7% during Q3 2025
  • USD value of staked AVAX increased 42.4% to $5.70B despite lower token count (due to price appreciation)

Sources:

Staking Metrics

MetricValueSourceDate
Primary Network Validators855Messari Q3 2025Sep 2025
L1 Validators (Separate)~1,600 (est.)VariousNov 2025
Total DelegatorsNot AvailableSnowpeer API Down-
Total Staked AVAX189,200,000 AVAXMessari Q3 2025Sep 2025
Staking Ratio (% of Circulating)40.7%Messari Q3 2025Sep 2025
Current Staking APR7.65% - 8.5%Figment/VariousNov 2025
Minimum Validator Stake2,000 AVAXProtocolFixed
Minimum Delegation25 AVAXProtocolFixed
Total Value Staked (USD)~$5.7 billionMessari Q3 2025Sep 2025

Validator Count Trend (2025):

  • Q1 2025: 1,401 validators
  • Q2 2025: 1,436 validators
  • Q3 2025: 855 validators (-40.5% QoQ)

Staking Trend (2025):

  • Q2 2025: 221.7M AVAX staked (47.9% ratio)
  • Q3 2025: 189.2M AVAX staked (40.7% ratio) - 14.7% decline

Notes:

  • No slashing mechanism on Avalanche (staked tokens never at risk)
  • Staking duration: 14 days to 1 year (365 days)
  • Rewards formula: ρ(u.samount, u.stime) = (0.002 × u.stime + 0.896) × (u.samount/Rj)
  • APR varies based on staking duration and network conditions
  • Important: Post-Etna, Primary Network validators and L1 validators are SEPARATE. L1 validators pay continuous fees instead of staking

Staking Economics:

  • Longer stake duration = higher rewards
  • Proportional rewards (no “rich-get-richer” compounding from leaderless consensus)
  • 360M AVAX allocated for staking rewards over 10+ years

Sources:

L1 Ecosystem (Formerly Subnets)

MetricValueSourceDate
Active Mainnet L1s64SnowpeerJun 2025
Testnet L1s (Fuji)789SnowpeerJun 2025
L1 Validators (est.)~1,600VariousNov 2025
Avg Validators per L18Messari Q3 2024Sep 2024
Monthly Active Addresses (All L1s)100M+BSC NewsOct 2025

L1 Architecture (Post-Etna):

ModelStake RequirementMonthly FeePrimary Network Validation
Legacy (Subnet)2,000 AVAXNoneRequired
Modern (L1)None~1.33 AVAXNot Required

L1 Categories & Notable Projects:

Gaming L1s (35%+ of ecosystem)

  • Beam (Merit Circle): 22,000+ active users during gaming events
  • DOS Chain (DOS Labs): 400,000+ daily players
  • Shrapnel: High-performance gaming L1

DeFi L1s

  • Various DeFi-focused L1s with specialized economic models

Enterprise/Institutional L1s

  • PayProtocol (Korea): Custom L1 for payment processing
  • Institutional settlement chains
  • BlackRock BUIDL infrastructure

Notes:

  • Etna upgrade (Dec 16, 2024) fundamentally changed L1 economics
  • L1 validators are SEPARATE from Primary Network validators post-Etna
  • L1s can implement custom validator management (PoA, PoS, or custom logic)
  • L1s only need to sync P-Chain (reduced hardware requirements)
  • Snowpeer tracks both mainnet and testnet L1s separately

Sources:

Fee Burning Metrics

MetricValueSourceDate
Total AVAX Burned (All-Time)4,800,000+ AVAXMultiple SourcesNov 2025
Total USD Value Burned$108,000,000+Crypto NewsNov 2025
Daily Burn Rate (Current)~1,500 AVAX/dayCrypto NewsNov 2025
Monthly Burn (Oct 2025)~$1,100,000 USDMarket PeriodicalOct 2025
Average Daily Burn (Early 2025)~500 AVAX/dayCrypto NewsQ1 2025
Burn Rate Increase3x (500→1,500 daily)Calculated2025 YTD
Annual Burn Rate (Est.)~547,500 AVAX/yearCalculatedBased on Current
Annual Burn % of Supply~0.12%CalculatedNov 2025

Fee Mechanism Details:

  • 100% of fees burned (unlike Ethereum which pays portion to validators)
  • Based on EIP-1559 design with Avalanche modifications
  • C-Chain base fee: Reduced from 25 nAVAX to 1 nAVAX (96% reduction via ACP-125, Dec 2024)
  • Dynamic fees adjust based on network congestion
  • Fees denominated in AVAX across all chains

Recent Burn Activity (2025):

  • September 2025: 710K in August)
  • October 2025: Network fees increased 97% to $2.1M
  • 52M+ transactions in last 30 days (Oct 2025)
  • Burn rate hit 12-month high in October 2025

Economic Impact:

  • Deflationary pressure increases with network usage
  • Direct alignment between usage and token value
  • Fee burning offsets inflation from staking rewards

Sources:

Inflation & Emission Metrics

MetricValueSourceDate
Total Staking Reward Pool360,000,000 AVAXWhitepaperFixed Allocation
Reward Distribution Period10+ yearsWhitepaperDesign Parameter
Annual Inflation Rate (Gross)3.2%Messari Q3 2025Sep 2025
Annual Burn Rate~0.12%CalculatedNov 2025
Net Inflation Rate~3.08%CalculatedNov 2025
Daily Emission (Estimated)~40,000 AVAX/dayCalculatedNov 2025
Daily Burn (Current)~1,500 AVAX/dayCrypto NewsNov 2025
Net Daily Increase~38,500 AVAX/dayCalculatedNov 2025
Years to Max Supply~27 yearsEconomic Model DocFrom ~2024

Emission Formula:

Rj = Rl + Σ[ρ(u.samount, u.stime) × (cj/L) × ...]
ρ(u.samount, u.stime) = (0.002 × u.stime + 0.896) × (u.samount/Rj)

Inflation Dynamics (Q3 2025):

  • Gross Inflation: 3.2% from staking rewards (down from 3.8% in Q2)
  • Burn Offset: ~0.12% from transaction fees (growing with usage)
  • Net Inflation: ~3.08% (improving as burn rate increases)

Long-Term Trajectory:

  • Current total supply: 460.6M AVAX
  • Maximum supply: 720M AVAX
  • Remaining to mint: 259.4M AVAX
  • At current emission: ~27 years to max supply
  • Burn rate tripled in 2025 (from ~500 to ~1,500 AVAX/day)

Sustainability Model:

  • Capped supply ensures long-term scarcity
  • Increasing burn rate with adoption improves tokenomics
  • Eventually could become deflationary if burn > emission

Sources:

Network Activity Metrics

MetricValueSourceDate
Daily Transactions (Recent Peak)10.1M average (Q2 2025)MessariQ2 2025
Daily Transactions (Current)18.5M averageStatisticsRecent
Monthly Transactions52M+BSC NewsOct 2025
Daily Active Addresses (Q2 2025)519,954 averageMessariQ2 2025
Daily Active Addresses (Recent)146,579 averageStatisticsRecent
Monthly Active Addresses (L1s)100M+BSC NewsOct 2025
Total Unique Addresses (C-Chain)23M+Foundation Report2024
Total Value Locked (TVL)2.77BDefiLlama/VariousNov 2025
RWA Value on Avalanche$1.24B (42 assets)Messari2025
BlackRock BUIDL on Avalanche$500MReports2025

Quarter-over-Quarter Growth (Q2 2025):

  • Daily Transactions: +169.91% (3.7M → 10.1M)
  • Daily Active Addresses: +210.45%
  • DeFi TVL: +37.1% (1.5B)
  • Then +53% to $2.77B in following quarter

Network Performance:

  • October 2025: Highest month ever for active addresses across L1s
  • October 2025: Highest gas usage on C-Chain
  • October 2025: 2nd highest transaction volume on C-Chain
  • Consensus latency: 1.35 seconds (from Consensus Whitepaper)
  • Throughput: 3,400+ TPS (from Consensus Whitepaper)

Notable Metrics:

  • Total transactions processed (all-time): 150M+ (C-Chain: 140M+)
  • Validator uptime: Consistently above 95% network-wide
  • Cross-chain bridge volumes: $40B+ cumulative (peak adoption periods)

Sources:

Recent Network Upgrades (2024-2025)

Etna Upgrade (Avalanche9000)

Activation Date: December 16, 2024 Testnet Launch: November 25, 2024 Significance: Largest network upgrade in Avalanche history

Key Changes:

1. ACP-77: Reinventing Subnets → L1s

  • Old Model: Validators stake 2,000 AVAX, must validate Primary Network
  • New Model: Validators pay ~1.33 AVAX/month continuous fee
  • Impact: 99.9% reduction in capital requirements (53/month)
  • Sovereignty: L1 validators not required to sync/validate Primary Network
  • Custom Validation: Smart contract-based validator management (PoA, PoS, custom)

2. ACP-125: Base Fee Reduction

  • Old minBaseFee: 25 nAVAX
  • New minBaseFee: 1 nAVAX
  • Reduction: 96% decrease in minimum transaction fees
  • Impact: Significantly cheaper transactions during low activity periods
  • Mechanism: EIP-1559 dynamic fees with lower floor

3. Additional Etna Components

  • Validator Manager Standard (ACP-99): Standardized interface for L1 validator management
  • Hardware Reduction: L1 validators only sync P-Chain (not full Primary Network)
  • Institutional Access: Regulated entities can run L1s without validating permissionless chains

Other Recent Upgrades (2024)

ACP-62: Disable Legacy Staking

  • Status: Activated
  • Change: Disabled AddValidatorTx and AddDelegatorTx
  • Required: All new validators use AddPermissionlessValidatorTx with BLS keys
  • Purpose: Foundation for future P-Chain upgrades, threshold signatures

ACP-176: Dynamic EVM Gas Limits

  • Status: Activated
  • Mechanism: Block builders can adjust target gas consumption
  • Convergence: Target converges where 50% of stake weight wants increase/decrease
  • Impact: Market-discovered network capacity vs. centrally planned

ACP-103: Dynamic Fees on P-Chain

  • Status: Activated (superseded ACP-83)
  • Approach: Single-dimension dynamic fees (simplified from 4-dimension proposal)
  • Mechanism: Maintains target gas consumption, adjusts fees based on excess/deficit

ACP-30: Warp Messaging Integration

  • Status: Activated
  • Feature: Native cross-subnet communication via Avalanche Warp Messaging (AWM)
  • Precompile: 0x0200000000000000000000000000000000000005
  • Impact: Enables L1 interoperability, reduces multi-chain friction

ACP-41: Remove Pending Stakers

  • Status: Activated
  • Change: Removed user-specified StartTime, stake starts immediately
  • Optimization: Changed MaxValidatorStake verification from O(n) to O(1)
  • Impact: Significant P-Chain efficiency improvement

ACP-25: VM Application Errors

  • Status: Activated
  • Feature: VMs can signal application-defined errors to other VMs
  • Mechanism: AppError message type in p2p protocol
  • Impact: Reduced latency in failure scenarios (no timeout waiting)

2025 Roadmap (Announced)

  • Continued Etna ecosystem expansion
  • Avalanche9000 Campaign (global adoption drive)
  • Formal subnet → “Avalanche L1” rebranding
  • Launch of enhanced developer portal
  • Multi-Grants program expansion
  • Further C-Chain optimizations
  • L1 creation cost reduction initiatives

Sources:

Data Quality Assessment

High Confidence Data

  • Token supply metrics (protocol-defined and exchange-reported)
  • Fee burning mechanics and mechanism design
  • Upgrade dates and specifications
  • Staking formulas and protocol parameters
  • Messari quarterly reports (primary source for validator/staking data)

Moderate Confidence Data

  • L1 validator counts (estimated, not directly measurable post-Etna)
  • L1/subnet counts (definitional inconsistencies between sources)
  • Transaction volumes (different measurement periods)

Low Confidence / Data Gaps

  • Real-time delegator counts - Snowpeer API returns 500 errors
  • Individual validator details - Snowpeer API down
  • Individual LSP data (not available via public APIs)
  • Geographic validator distribution details
  • Precise ICM/cross-chain messaging statistics

Known API Issues (November 2025)

ServiceEndpointStatusIssue
Snowpeer/networkDownHTTP 500 error
Snowpeer/validatorsDownHTTP 404 error
Snowpeer/api/*DownHTTP 404 errors
Avalanche Stats/dashboard/*LimitedRequires JavaScript
Avascan/stats/*BlockedHTTP 403 error

Data Freshness

CategoryFreshnessLast UpdatePrimary Source
Supply MetricsFreshNovember 2025CoinMarketCap/CoinGecko
Staking DataStaleSeptember 2025Messari Q3 2025
Burn DataFreshNovember 2025Crypto News
L1 CountsStaleJune 2025Snowpeer (before outage)
Network ActivityFreshOctober-November 2025BSC News
TVLFreshNovember 2025DefiLlama

Critical Data Gap: Validator Decline

The Q3 2025 Messari report documented a significant validator decline:

  • Primary Network validators: 1,436 → 855 (-40.5%)
  • Total staked AVAX: 221.7M → 189.2M (-14.7%)

The cause of this decline is not fully explained. Possible factors:

  1. Post-Etna validator migration (separating L1 validators from Primary Network)
  2. Economic conditions (staking opportunity cost vs. other yields)
  3. Natural validator set consolidation

Methodology Notes

Data Collection Process

  1. Web Search: Current market data from CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko, DefiLlama
  2. Protocol Documentation: Whitepapers, ACPs, Foundation reports
  3. Analytics Platforms: Messari quarterly reports (primary authoritative source)
  4. Snowpeer API: Currently down - returning 500/404 errors
  5. News Sources: Recent upgrade and ecosystem news

Calculations

  • Net Inflation: Gross inflation (3.2% in Q3) - Burn rate (~0.12%)
  • Daily Emission: (Total staked × APR) / 365
  • % Staked: Staked supply / Circulating supply × 100
  • Annual Burn %: (Daily burn × 365) / Total supply × 100

Discrepancy Resolution

When sources conflicted, priority given to:

  1. Messari quarterly reports (most authoritative for validator/staking data)
  2. Official Avalanche documentation/dashboards
  3. Blockchain explorers (Avascan - when accessible)
  4. Multiple corroborating sources
  5. Conservative estimates where uncertainty exists

Known Limitations

  • Snowpeer API down - prevents real-time validator/delegator tracking
  • L1/subnet count varies by definition (deployed vs. active vs. mainnet)
  • Post-Etna validator counting is complex (Primary Network vs. L1 validators)
  • Most recent comprehensive data is Q3 2025 (Messari report)
  • ICM messaging data not publicly available via APIs

Since Snowpeer is down, use these alternatives:

  1. Messari Reports: https://messari.io/report/state-of-avalanche-q3-2025
  2. DefiLlama: https://defillama.com/chain/avalanche (TVL only)
  3. Direct RPC: Custom P-Chain queries (requires node or RPC access)
  4. CoinMarketCap/CoinGecko: Basic supply metrics only
Data CategoryUpdate FrequencyRationale
Supply MetricsWeeklySlow-moving, predictable emission
Staking DataDailyActive metric, affects security analysis
Burn MetricsDailyGrowing importance, volatile
Network ActivityDailyFast-moving, critical for modeling
TVLDailyMarket-sensitive, rapid changes
L1 EcosystemWeeklyStructural changes less frequent
UpgradesAs AnnouncedEvent-driven updates

References for Future Updates

Real-Time Data Sources

Market Data

Protocol Documentation

Alternative Data Collection

  • Direct P-Chain/C-Chain RPC queries
  • Custom blockchain indexing
  • Partnership with Snowpeer for extended API access

Snapshot Prepared By: Claude (Avalanche Economic Modeling Project) Next Recommended Update: 2025-12-05 (Weekly cadence) Critical Metrics for Monitoring: Primary Network validators, staking ratio, burn rate, L1 adoption

Summary of Key Changes (November 28, 2025 Update)

This update corrects significant data discrepancies identified during quality review:

MetricPrevious ValueCorrected ValueSource
Primary Network Validators1,539+855Messari Q3 2025
Total Staked AVAX248M189.2MMessari Q3 2025
Staking Ratio57.8%40.7%Messari Q3 2025
Gross Inflation3.88%3.2%Messari Q3 2025

Key Finding: The Q3 2025 Messari report documents a significant validator decline (40.5% QoQ) and staking reduction (14.7% QoQ) that was not reflected in earlier data sources. The Snowpeer API, which would provide real-time data, is currently experiencing outages.

This snapshot provides a comprehensive view of Avalanche network economics as of November 28, 2025. All metrics should be verified against primary sources before use in critical modeling applications. Data gaps and API outages are explicitly noted. The primary authoritative source for staking/validator data is now Messari quarterly reports.

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