The Avalanche Foundation has launched the 'Avalanche9,000' testnet, an upgrade designed to facilitate cheaper and easier Layer 1 (L1) development. This upgrade is accompanied by a significant announcement of $40 million in retroactive grants aimed at supporting builders within the Avalanche ecosystem, including $2 million earmarked for referrals to promote network growth. The upgrades are slated to go live on Avalanche's C-Chain mainnet in 2025. Notable enhancements include a new validator management framework and a reduction of minimum base fees from 25 nAVAX to just 1 nAVAX, representing a notable cost decrease for developers. The Avalanche Foundation emphasizes that these changes should enable the launch of new L1s and simplify maintenance activities, furthering the ecosystem's expansion. To foster community engagement, grant submissions will be ranked on a public leaderboard with community voting influencing the distribution of funds. The Avalanche platform currently has over 500 L1s in development across testnet and mainnet, promising a range of innovative cross-L1 decentralized applications.

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