How to create an Avalanche L1 (formerly subnet)

That last step is the one that surprises people. Here is how it works.

Avalanche used to call these chains subnets. A subnet validator also had to validate the main network, which meant staking 2,000 AVAX. A proposal called ACP-77 changed that. Its text says that "L1 validators are not required to validate the Primary Network".

This matters if you are comparing chains. A Cosmos or Ethereum-style chain has no outside fee. An L1 trades that for a smaller starting cost and a ready link to the validator system of Avalanche.

The idea is simple: instead of locking a large stake, each validator pays a small ongoing fee. That lowers the cost of starting, and adds a monthly cost that never ends while the validator runs.

An L1 usually runs the EVM, so wallets such as MetaMask can add it as a custom network. The Avalanche docs list these genesis settings:

The coin symbol is not a genesis setting either. It appears in wallets and explorer settings. Tokens on your L1 follow the usual EVM standards, such as ERC-20.

The Avalanche docs say: "Every validator of an Avalanche L1 must sync the P-Chain of the Primary Network." The list of your validators lives on that P-Chain. So an L1 is secured by its own validators, but it is not separate from Avalanche the way a forked Bitcoin is separate from Bitcoin.

The docs name no minimum number of validators. We start every L1 at 3, so one validator can restart without stopping the chain. That is our own advice. Hardware is modest: the docs list 2 cores, 4 GB of RAM and 100 GB of storage for a low-traffic L1 (under 10 transactions per second), and 4 cores, 8 GB and 500 GB for a medium one. Syncing only the P-Chain needs a setting, otherwise Primary Network requirements are added on top.

ACP-77 says that active L1 validators pay "a continuous fee denominated in AVAX". The minimum rate is 512 nAVAX per second, which the proposal says equals about 1.33 AVAX a month. That holds while the number of fee-paying L1 validators stays at or below the target, and the rate rises when more validators are active.

Plan this like a bill, not a one-off cost. Decide who tops up the balance, how often someone checks it, and how much AVAX you keep in reserve for a price swing. The more validators you add for safety, the larger the monthly fee, so the number of validators is a cost choice as well as a safety choice.

Many tutorials still use older tools. Three changes matter:

For services, the Avalanche docs describe add-ons that deploy a Blockscout explorer and a faucet. Blockscout uses its own software licence, so read its terms before hosting it commercially. A step-by-step tutorial that tells you to install the old CLI is probably out of date.

An L1 suits teams that want the EVM ecosystem but also want to control their own rules. Typical examples:

It is a poor fit if you need a fully independent network, or if a monthly fee paid in AVAX would be a problem. In that case a chain from another family, such as an Ethereum or BNB Chain style network, has no outside fee. The guide to creating a cryptocurrency compares the options.

Our builder prices an Avalanche L1 in the Standard tier: $149 one-time for the core build. It starts at 3 validators, and you see the full price in the builder before you pay. Explorer, faucet and wallets are optional add-ons, with prices shown before you pay.

On top of that, there is Avalanche's validator fee in AVAX. For 3 validators that is about 3.99 AVAX a month at the minimum rate. During setup we tell you how much AVAX to send, we register your L1 on Avalanche and fund the validators with it, and you top the balance up. We cannot fix its dollar value, because AVAX moves in price. The builder tells you about this fee before you pay.