1. Avalanche’s $40M Grant Program Boosts AVAX
2. Rising Demand and Network Activity Support AVAX's Uptrend
3. Total Value Locked (TVL) and Its Impact on AVAX

AVAX, the native token of the Avalanche ecosystem, has shown resilience, rising 3.45% over the last 24 hours amid increasing excitement about the blockchain’s first major upgrade.

Avalanche’s $40M Grant Program Boosts AVAX

The Avalanche Foundation, the organization that supports initiatives that foster the development and adoption of the Avalanche blockchain network, has announced the launch of a $40 million grant program to support developers building layer-1 blockchains on the Avalanche network. Christened Retro9000, the program is aimed at encouraging developers to build on the Avalanche network ahead of the much-anticipated Avalanche9000 upgrade. On Sept. 3, the Foundation provided details of Avalanche9000 terming it as the 'largest network upgrade' since the blockchain’s mainnet debut in September 2020. This upgrade is set to foster scalability, enhance cost-efficiency and increase developer experience.

Rising Demand and Network Activity Support AVAX's Uptrend

From a technical perspective, AVAX trades above an important demand area stretching from $27 to $28.65. Note that the 200-day exponential moving average (EMA) lies within this zone, suggesting that AVAX price sits on relatively robust support on the downside. Buyer congestion around the said support level is likely to provide the tailwinds required to propel AVAX higher. If this happens, the price of the token may rise toward the May 22 range high of $41.78, representing a 42% uptick from the current levels. The significance of this support zone was reinforced by on-chain data from IntoTheBlock. Its in/out of the money around price (IOMAP) model showed that AVAX sat on relatively robust support compared to the resistance it faced in its recovery path.

Total Value Locked (TVL) and Its Impact on AVAX

Further validating the positive outlook for AVAX was total value locked (TVL) data that reflects growth within the project’s ecosystem. Analyzing TVL data helps in understanding investor and developer interest in a blockchain. TVL is similar to bank deposits for decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and may influence the market’s direction. According to data from DefiLlama, Avalanche’s TVL has been increasing in tandem with the price, rising from $717.4 million on Aug. 5 to the current value of $1 billion, representing a 43.5% increase. The AVAX price has increased by more than 50% over the same period. This increase in TVL is a sign of increasing user interaction with the blockchain, which leads to growing demand for the AVAX token. High demand is usually a precursor for substantial price growth.

AVAX has shown steady growth amid anticipation of the Avalanche9000 upgrade and increasing total value locked in the network. This indicates strong interest from users and developers, which in turn can contribute to further token appreciation.