The team behind Layer 1 blockchain network Avalanche launched its major upgrade on the testnet on Monday. This upgrade is called "Avalanche9000" and contains several technical improvements designed to reduce the cost of blockchain deployment by 99.9%. These improvements include community proposals ACP-77 (to make Avalanche's Layer 1 validator more flexible) and ACP-125 (to reduce the base fee of Avalanche by 96%). Also launching alongside the upgrade is Retro9000, a $40 million grant program to reward builders who develop layer 1 blockchains and other tools on the Avalanche9000 testnet, according to the press release.