How To Buy Avalanche (AVAX)

Current Avalanche Prices at Top Crypto Exchanges as of October 16, 2024
Published: June 9, 2023   |   Last Updated: September 5, 2024
Written By:
George Hristov
George Hristov
Contributor
Edited By:
Shannon Ullman
Shannon Ullman
Managing Editor

How To Buy Avalanche (AVAX)

AVAX is the official token of the Avalanche blockchain.

Step 1: Choose An Exchange Or Wallet

AVAX can be purchased through an Avalanche-supported crypto wallet, or through a centralized or DeFi (decentralized) exchange that offers AVAX.

Step 2: Decide On The Amount You Want To Purchase

Once you’ve signed up to your exchange of choice, decide how much AVAX you would like to purchase. Fund your account using a credit card, bank account, or other wallet, and complete your purchase.

Step 3: Store, Transfer, Or Use Your AVAX

Your newly purchased AVAX can be used anywhere in the Avalanche ecosystem. Make some trades on one of their decentralized exchanges, buy an NFT through a marketplace, or dive into Avalanche governance by using your AVAX to vote on proposals.

You can also earn more AVAX through staking or liquidity mining.

Where To Buy AVAX

You can buy AVAX through a number of crypto exchanges:

AVAX Crypto Overview

TokenNetworkFoundersKey IndividualsYear FoundedInvestors
AVAXAvalancheEmin Gün Sirer
Maofan “Ted” Yin
Kevin Sekniqi
Emin Gün Sirer
Kevin Sekniqi
John Wu
2020Andreessen Horowitz, Initialized Capital, Polychain Capital + more

Why Does Anyone Buy AVAX?

AVAX is the token behind the Avalanche blockchain — one of the most popular low-fee, high-speed blockchains. Avalanche uses an innovative model that splits their protocol into three separate blockchains: the Exchange Chain, the Contract Chain, and the Platform Chain in order to achieve scalability.

  • AVAX is one of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
  • Avalanche is one of the fastest blockchains, processing 6,500 transactions per second.
  • Avalanche has a $200 million grant program to incentivize apps to build on their chain.
  • Subnets, a core part of the Avalanche blockchain, allow projects to customize their own independent networks within the larger protocol for their custom use-cases.

Is AVAX Being Used?

Daily trading volume for AVAX: $482 million (as of 01/2023)

The Avalanche blockchain is home to a host of projects in the DeFi and NFT space including BenQi, Kalao.io, TraderJoe, YieldYak, and others. All users of these projects use the AVAX token to settle transactions and pay gas fees.

  • AVAX is used for paying transaction fees on the Avalanche blockchain.
  • You can stake AVAX for an average 8.58% yearly staking reward.
  • Lend AVAX for up to 10% annual percentage yield.
  • In 2021, the Avalanche Rush program gave $180 million to incentivize DeFi protocols like Aave and Curve to launch on Avalanche.

Key Events For AVAX

Discover Similar Tokens

  • Polkadot (DOT): The Polkadot blockchain has a similar vision as Avalanche: create a highly scalable blockchain. Instead of subnets, Polkadot uses a series of parallel chains called “parachains” to achieve scalability.
  • Cosmos (ATOM): Cosmos is also focused on scalability. They’re building “the internet of blockchains” in a bid to make discrete blockchains interoperable, fast, and secure.
  • Polygon (MATIC): The Polygon blockchain provides scaling solutions for Ethereum-based apps. Avalanche also supports Ethereum applications and often competes with blockchains like Polygon to win over application developers.

Frequently Asked Questions

AVAX hit an all-time high price of $147.50 per coin on November 20th, 2021.

The all-time high was propped up in large part by the broader bull market of 2021, but the coin surged on news of a partnership with accounting firm Deloitte.

AVAX is one of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

The project is backed by veteran investors and has one of the most active developer communities of any blockchain. This indicates a bright future for the Avalanche blockchain and its shareholders. However, there is no way to tell if AVAX will be a good investment longterm.

Yes, most exchanges that support AVAX will support funding your account with a credit card, bank account, or another crypto wallet.

Avalanche does not have special restrictions in the USA.

Exchanges that support AVAX, such eToro, Coinbase, and others, allow US residents to freely purchase the token.

No, AVAX is not supported by PayPal.

At this time, PayPal only supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

Avalanche is a scaling solution that supports Ehtereum-based applications. This means that some apps that would traditionally run on Ethereum may consider the Avalanche blockchain as a faster and cheaper alternative.

That being said, Avalanche is still much smaller compared to Ethereum and the two chains have different visions for the future.

According to the Avalanche website, Avalanche is the fastest smart contracts platform when measured by time-to-finality (the time it takes for a block to be finalized after a transaction is included).

George Hristov
George Hristov
Contributor
George is a tech writer interested in web3 startups and communities. In the dynamic world of crypto, he stays plugged into the day-to-day headlines, deep dives, and industry commentary.
Shannon Ullman
Shannon Ullman
Managing Editor
Managing editor working to make crypto easier to understand. Pairing editorial integrity with crypto curiosity for content that makes readers feel like they finally “get it.”

Skip Ahead

    UniswapX

    UniswapX: Get the Best Deal When you Swap Crypto

    What is UniswapX? We’ve already covered Uniswap Lab’s user-friendliness and front-end innovation. But how about the decentralized exchange’s underlying tech, does it keep up? UniswapX is Uniswap Lab’s latest protocol development that users don’t see, but makes their crypto-swapping experience significantly better. By sourcing liquidity from the wider DeFi ecosystem, users are getting better crypto…

    SEE MORE