Avalanche's Helicon Upgrade Goes Live, Brings Changes to Staking and C-Chain

Avalanche's network upgrade 'Helicon' has gone live on its mainnet. The upgrade, which was first tested on Fuji in July, introduces several new features and changes to the network.

One of the key changes is a reduction in the minimum staking period for validators from two weeks to 48 hours. This change aims to make it easier for companies to stake assets according to their liquidity needs. Additionally, automatic updates will now be possible for validators who meet certain conditions, eliminating the need for manual updates.

However, there is a catch: the new minimum staking period and automatic updates do not apply to delegators. Delegators are still required to manually update their stakes and operate on a 2-week cycle.

The upgrade also introduces changes to the C-Chain, which is an EVM-compatible blockchain that supports smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). The new feature, called 'Continuous Execution,' separates the consensus process from transaction processing, allowing for faster execution times. Although this does not necessarily shorten transaction times, it aims to improve network efficiency by enabling concurrent execution of transactions and consensus.

Furthermore, the minimum gas price on C-Chain will be dynamically adjusted based on the staking power of validators. This change is intended to combat low-cost spam transactions that can clog up the network.