Avalanche is a high throughput smart contract blockchain platform. Validators secure the network through a proof-of-stake consensus protocol. It is said to be fast, low cost, and environmental friendly.Mainnet was launched in September 21, 2020. Since then, the platform has grown to secure over 100+ individual projects, $1.4M+ of AVAX burned (reducing supply), 950+ individual block-producing validators, and over 500k+ community members around the globe. Decentralized finance (DeFi) applications can be found on Avalanche such as Pangolin, TraderJoe, and more.