Launched in 2020, Avalanche bills itself as the fastest blockchain for decentralised apps (dApps). The chain’s native cryptocurrency, AVAX, is important for staking and paying fees and is seen by many as a direct rival to Ethereum (ETH).

This guide will take you through where and how to buy Avalanche (AVAX) yourself, as well as everything you need to know about the project.

How to Buy Avalanche

The easiest way to buy Avalanche is to purchase it online from a crypto exchange. Exchanges make it easy to buy and sell Avalanche and other cryptocurrencies directly from your smartphone, tablet or computer. Check out our recommended platforms below and follow the steps to safely buy Avalanche.

1. Choose a platform

Selecting a platform will be the first stage of your journey to buy Avalanche. We’ve compared a few of the best later in this guide, but before making a decision, you will want to consider aspects such as what fees it charges and how easy it is to use. Here are our recommended platforms to get started.

2. Create and fund your account

Next, you will need to create an account. This will mean providing personal information and, for regulated platforms, will likely involve verifying your identity with a photo ID and proof of address. Once that is done, you can fund your account with any accepted payment method.

3. Buy Avalanche

You are now ready to make your Avalanche purchase. Look for AVAX on your platform and select an AVAX trading pair that contains the currency already in your account. You can buy AVAX instantly by creating a market order, or purchase it when it reaches a certain price with a limit order.

Table of Contents

Where to Buy Avalanche?

If you would like to buy AVAX, it will be through a centralised exchange (CEX). Consider selecting from our partners in the table below to get started with your first buy.

What Is Avalanche?

Avalanche is a smart contract platform designed for the creation of decentralised applications (dApps). The project aims to solve a problem known as the blockchain trilemma—namely that a blockchain can’t be decentralised, scalable, and secure at the same time. Avalanche claims to have achieved all three, with a secure network of thousands of nodes that can process more than 4,500 transactions per second.

This is possible thanks to a unique blockchain architecture and a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism that makes Avalanche highly efficient and eco-friendly. At the heart of the PoS system is the native AVAX token, which is also used as a means of value exchange and for paying network fees.

The ecosystem of dApps on Avalanche is constantly evolving and growing. It already includes decentralised finance (DeFi) applications such as decentralised exchanges (DEXs) and lending protocols, assets and applications launched by governments and institutions, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the form of art and digital collectibles.

Ways to Invest in Avalanche

People often purchase AVAX with different intentions. Some may want to sell it for a small profit as quickly as possible, while others might want to hold onto it for the long term. Both of these are valid options and it is simply a matter of preference which you choose.

Buy and hold Avalanche

Avalanche is fast becoming a popular asset for long-term investors. Retail and institutional investors alike often buy and hold the native tokens of programmable blockchains and Avalanche has proved itself a worthy contender in this field. A long-term investment is an easy strategy to follow and, with the right asset, can lead to significant returns over time.

It’s also possible to generate even more returns while holding AVAX. Holders can stake their tokens to help secure the network and be rewarded with interest in the form of more AVAX.

Best Avalanche wallets

Those who buy and hold AVAX may prefer to transfer their tokens to a private wallet. This ensures that the holder is the only person capable of accessing the wallet, and security is especially important when a significant amount of AVAX is being stored for the long term. The proprietary Avalanche Wallet is a popular choice.

Private wallets may be software or hardware. Software wallets are free, easier to use, and often preferred by those who want to move or check on their funds regularly. Meanwhile, hardware wallets provide the strongest security available, though they are more complicated and often expensive. Popular hardware wallets include Trezor, KeepKey, and Ledger.

Trade Avalanche

As with most cryptocurrencies, AVAX is a volatile asset, which means it is also possible to take advantage of short-term price fluctuations to generate more frequent returns. Traders are able to speculate on AVAX price without even owning the asset through derivative products such as futures, options, and contracts for difference (CFDs).

People who do so don’t require a wallet as they don’t actually hold any AVAX tokens. Short-term investors who do hold AVAX may also not want to set up a private wallet as the web wallet provided by their exchange or broker is often more convenient than regularly transferring tokens between a private wallet and their platform.

Payment methods you can use to buy Avalanche

The methods you can use to buy Avalanche will depend on the payments accepted by the Exchange you will be using. The options which you can use are listed below & apply to major exchanges like Binance & Coinbase.

● Credit card: Credit cards are an option that can be used, which are typically quite fast. But be aware that some major banks prevent buying cryptocurrency with a credit card and might block its use.

● Debit card: Debit cards are by far one of the fastest methods of deposits and can be one of the cheapest depending on which exchange you decide to select.

● PayPal: PayPal is also a viable option if you would like to use this method, it can be fast, but PayPal might charge you or the exchange a fee, which the exchange might pass on to you.

● Bank transfer (SEPA) & (WIRE): Bank Transfers SEPA in the EU and wire transfers in the US. It will often take a few more days and incur a higher cost than other payments mentioned.

What to consider before buying Avalanche

Understanding what you are investing or trading in can provide an edge to an investor, which is no different when applying it to Avalanche. It’s important to consider the unique characteristics of Avalanche.

The key to consider for Avalanche is its competition — how does it compare relative to other Layer 1’s? For instance, after going live in 2020, Avalanche went on to become one of the main competing Layer 1 blockchains.

What sets Avalanche apart from its competition is that its consensus combines “Nakamoto consensus” (robustness, scale, and decentralisation) and “classical consensus” (speed, quick finality, and energy efficiency).

What Features Does Avalanche Have?

Smart-Contracts: Avalanche can execute programmable smart contracts that enable the development of Decentralised Apps (DApps) & NFTs.

Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM): Smart contracts can be coded and used using the Ethereum Virtual Machine, this is important as it can incentivise Ethereum developers who code in solidity to use their coding skills on Avalanche. Important to consider as Ethereum developers are the largest pool of developers in the crypto space.

Infinite Customisable Subnets: Subnets on AVAX enable a developer to build their unique virtual machine and dictate exactly how the blockchain should operate. Each subnet has its own set of validators that validate a set of blockchains. This fosters development to create completely customisable applications that developers have the freedom themselves to decide on.

Minting ERC-20 Tokens: By using the c-chain on Avalanche, you can mint ERC-20 tokens to the network. Creating new types of tokens.
Cheap transactions: Roughly the cost of sending a transaction is 0.30c – O.60c.

Network speed: Avalanche is one of the fastest networks in transaction speed when measured in Time-to-Finality (TtF). TtF measures the time one has to wait to guarantee that a crypto transaction has been executed on the blockchain and that it will not be reversed or changed.

Proof of Stake (Pos): Unlike Proof-of-Work cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin & Ethereum, Avalanche thrives on being one of the most eco-friendly blockchains. Bitcoin & Ethereum, for example, are cryptocurrencies that use proof-of-work, whereas AVAX uses proof-of-stake (PoS). The critical aspect of this PoS is that it doesn’t need miners that operate using excessive amounts of energy usage, this can deem it more friendly to the environment.

Will Buying Avalanche Make Me Money?

The first step to answering if Avalanche will make you money will be to consider the long-term. What are some of the factors that will impact a long term outlook?

Well, as a project which is relatively new, it has grown considerably with many projects looking to build on it now and into the future. Strong financial incentives by the Avalanche foundation have propelled these incentives; the foundation in 2021 announced a $180 million fund to encourage more development on the blockchain, especially within DeFi. These all help to create an optimistic outlook for the project in terms of buying for the long term.

However, it is difficult to predict whether buying Avalanche will make you money in the short term because price action in the short term is extremely volatile.

Pros For Buying AVAX

Fastest Layer 1 blockchain if we account for time-of-finality
Strong multi-million dollar DeFi incentive programs
EVM compatibility means developers who are solidity proficient can build or fork projects onto AVAX
Subnets enable the project building on it to be its own Layer 1. A huge benefit of subnets is benefiting from the AVAX network’s interoperability. Meaning you can benefit from the AVAX ecosystem’s communication, swap, or pool functions within its DeFi ecosystem
Fast transactions
Relatively cheap to use

Cons For Buying AVAX

Exponential price growth in a short space of time could mean upside in the short term could be limited
Competition from competing Layer 1
Threat from Ethereum 2.0

What mistake should users avoid when attempting to buy cryptocurrency?

"One of the biggest mistakes that investors make is frequently changing their investment strategy. Investors often come into the market with a thesis about a coin's value or the market itself. That is the bedrock of the investment. However, too often, a new piece of regulation or tweet can set off emotional reactions and cause them to change their investment strategy."

Dmitry Gooshchin
COO & Co-Founder of EndoTech

Should I Buy Avalanche Now?

This is something each investor will have to decide for themselves but information about Avalanche’s fundamentals and its future prospects should help inform that decision. There is a scarce supply of AVAX, which is encouraging for investors as it may prove to be a strong store of value, while the ability to earn staking rewards also drives demand for this coin.

While Ethereum is still the most popular smart contract blockchain, many people like to invest in its rivals as well to hedge against any potential issues with Ethereum. The cheap, fast, and high-throughput nature of Avalanche make it a popular diversifier, while its efficiency also makes it attractive to investors with environmental concerns.

In fact, Ethereum dApps can easily be deployed on Avalanche—and many have been already. This, along with the development of bridges to other networks, has created a vibrant and interoperable Avalanche ecosystem.

In some respects, Avalanche is already ahead of the competition, and continued growth and development could see AVAX establish itself as one of the strongest investments in the blockchain space.

Buying AVAX is a decision you need to make for yourself. It would help if you had a solid strategy to implement. Diving into research to understand what functionality AVAX has might help you identify if AVAX looks promising in the long term.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create an Avalanche Wallet?

Go to the Avalanche Wallet website and select Create New Wallet. Click Generate Key Phrase and you will be given a list of 24 words. It is important that you store these words in order in a safe location as anyone with your key phrase can access your wallet and if you forget your password, the key phrase is the only way to restore your wallet. There is no way to recover a lost key phrase, though. Tick the box to confirm that you have written down your key phrase in a secure location and click Access Wallet. You will then be prompted to fill in some words of your key phrase to verify that you have saved it. Click Verify and you can now access your new wallet.

How do I stake my AVAX?

You can stake AVAX as a validator or as a delegator. To stake as a validator, you must hold at least 2000 AVAX and have the equipment required to validate transactions. To stake as a delegator, you must hold at least 25 AVAX and click "Add Delegator" in the Earn section of the Avalanche Wallet. Once you have chosen which validator to delegate your tokens to, they will be staked and you will begin earning staking rewards in the form of AVAX. You may have to transfer your tokens to Avalanche’s P-Chain first, which can be done by clicking Transfer under Cross Chain Transfer on the same page. Many other wallets and exchanges will also let you stake your AVAX—just click Stake next to the asset and follow any on-screen instructions.

What are X-Chain, P-Chain, and C-Chain?

The unique architecture that enables Avalanche to solve the blockchain trilemma consists of three separate blockchains with different purposes. The Exchange Chain (X-Chain) is where assets are created and exchanged—including AVAX. The Platform Chain (P-Chain) enables the creation of custom blockchains and is how staking rewards and cross-chain transfers are received. The Contract Chain (C-Chain) facilitates the creation of smart contracts and interaction with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

What is the Avalanche Bridge?

The AB enables the transfer of ERC-20 tokens created on Ethereum to Avalanche. The bridge currently only supports the transfer of ERC-20 tokens created on Ethereum to and from Avalanche.

What is WAVAX?

Wrapped AVAX, or WAVAX, is a “wrapped” version of AVAX that conforms to the ERC-20 token standard. This means that it can be used on Ethereum in any application that supports ERC-20 tokens. It can currently be converted 1:0.99 to AVAX.

Can I buy Avalanche (AVAX) without Cryptocurrencies?

Buying Avalanche (AVAX) is possible with both fiat currency and cryptocurrencies. What impacts your ability to do this will be the medium you use. This means the type of exchange you are using, Centralised or Decentralised, and will depend on the policy of the exchange.

Is AVAX the same as Bitcoin?

No, Avalanche is not the same as Bitcoin. They each have their own blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Avalanche has a consensus operating using a Proof-Of-Stake consensus, and Bitcoin operates on Proof-Of Work consensus. One cannot be sent to the other. However, it is possible to send wrapped BTC (WBTC) on Avalanche.

Is Avalanche faster than Solana?

There is much debate on how fast Avalanche is due to the measurements used to differentiate between the two blockchains. With Solana using Proof of History and Avalanche using time-to-finality to measure the speed.

Can I use DeFi with Avalanche (AVAX)?

Yes, it is possible to participate in DeFI with Avalanche. It has a blossoming ecosystem with large amounts of incentive to drive the numerous DeFi applications.

Is Avalanche Eco Friendly?

Avalanche uses Proof Of Stake over Proof of Work. PoS uses less energy than PoW because it doesn't rely on miners on the network to maintain its consensus. Miners, which are essentially computers, use lots of energy to validate and discover new blocks. PoS uses a staking mechanism to do this, and this is deemed as more eco friendly.