- Compared to 2021, the Avalanche blockchain had more than 1,500% transactional expansion overtaking 27 million transactions with 450 million transactions
- Most of the payments came from NFTs and AVAX tokens
- While it had more transactions, it only earned $900 million compared to 2021 with $15 billion
The Avalanche blockchain was one of the best-performing crypto projects in 2021. Its token, AVAX, became part of the top cryptocurrencies in market capitulation. However, just like any other token in the crypto bear market, its price significantly sloped from its peak of $138 in November 2021 to only $10.94 in December 2022.
Yet, regarding transaction volume, Avalanche was one of the most highly active blockchains during the crypto winter. According to data firm Nansen, it had a 1,500% increase in transactional growth compared to 2021.
On November 21, 2021, Avalanche had 27 million transactions. The following year, it saw 450 million transactions. Based on Nansen’s report, most payments came from the AVAX token and Avalanche-powered non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
In a report with CoinDesk, Nansen stated, “While the network ended November 21, 2021, with nearly 27 million transactions, Avalanche’s cumulative total surpassed 450 million transactions on November 21, 2022, marking an astounding 1,507% increase in a single year.”
It is also speculated that transactions saw more activity after Amazon Web Services partnered with Avalanche for enterprise blockchain adoption.
Yet, while the numbers are impressive, the money made in the transactions tells a different story. While 2021 did not have as much volume as 2022, it made $15 billion compared to the following year, which only made $900 million, according to data from Defi Llama. The numbers are still significant, but there is no denying that 2022 pushed Avalanche hard.
When compared to other cryptocurrencies, AVAX held firm. As soon as the market recovered after the FTX slump in November, AVAX jumped from less than $11 to more than $20.
As of writing, the price of AVAX is around $18.
Ongoing Web3 Rivalry of Avalanche and Solana
Avalanche and Solana (SOL) went on a market cap race in 2021, as both projects saw immense success. Aside from Cosmos (ATOM), Terra Luna (LUNA), and Polygon (MATIC), both AVAX and SOL were among the biggest debates as to which project was better.
After all, they both share strong similarities compared to other Web3 projects.
Avalanche is designed to be highly scalable and capable of processing thousands of transactions per second. It also supports the creation of custom blockchain assets and smart contracts. Additionally, Avalanche allows users to stake their tokens and participate in governance decisions for the network.
Additionally, Avalanche has partnerships with various DeFi protocols and applications, while Solana has partnerships with various gaming and NFT projects. While they share some similarities, these differences can make them better suited for different use cases and applications.
As of January 2023, Solana made one of the biggest comebacks after it slumped from less than $10 to more than $26 the following month. Avalanche may have been slower this year, but its upcoming updates and current fixes show signs of another blast-off from the project.
