Avalanche® is a network composed of multiple blockchains. Each blockchain is an instance of a Virtual Machine (VM), much like an object in an object-oriented language is an instance of a class. That is, the VM defines the behavior of the blockchain.
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You can think of a Virtual Machine (VM) as a blueprint for a blockchain, where the same VM can create multiple blockchains, each adhering to the same rules but remaining logically independent from the others.

Subnet EVM is the Virtual Machine (VM) that defines the L1 Contract Chains. Subnet EVM is a simplified version of Coreth VM (C-Chain).

This chain implements the Ethereum Virtual Machine and supports Solidity smart contracts as well as most other Ethereum client functionality.

The Subnet EVM runs in a separate process from the main AvalancheGo process and communicates with it over a local gRPC connection.

To learn more about L1s please read the following article.

For any additional questions, please view our other knowledge base articles or contact a support team member via the chat button. Examples are for illustrative purposes only.