AVAX, the native token on the Avalanche blockchain has been on a winning streak this week but yesterday’s announcement about a liquidity mining incentive program is fueling more gains.

AVAX is currently trading at $31.13 after a 41.06% gain in the last 24 hours, making it the top gainer in the top 50 cryptocurrency list. Its strong rally in the last 24 hours has also extended its weekly gains and it has so far pumped by 90% in the last 7 days. Its performance is nothing short of impressive when you consider that it traded as low as $9.30 on July 20 when the bulls regained their control over the market.

Source: Binance

AVAX’s strong performance especially in the last three days reflects a notable increase in buying volume and some pullbacks are expected now that the price is in the oversold zone. Despite its recent rally, AVAX still has some ground to cover before reaching its previous all-time high.

Why is causing AVAX’s strong rally?

AVAX had already delivered some gains in the last two or three weeks, but it kicked off this week with a massive uptick. One of the likely reasons behind the wave of buying pressure this week is the recent announcement by Avalanche engineers about the latest network upgrade.  They announced the launch of the Apricot Phase 3 which is scheduled to take place on the Avalanche mainnet on August 24.

The uptick reflects positive expectations regarding the upgrade and its impact on the Avalanche blockchain. A lot of buying usually occurs just before scheduled network upgrades in the crypto and blockchain industry, thus explaining the strong price pump. Meanwhile, the upgrade will introduce dynamic fees to the Avalanche ecosystem through the new Moderato algorithm.

Every transaction will feature a minimum gas fee price that is determined by the gas amount consumed within the last 10 seconds. The minimum gas fee will be reduced if the amount of gas consumed is lower than the target usage.

The $180 million incentive program

AVAX has further extended its rally today after another catalyst event which was the announcement of a new liquidity mining incentive program called Avalanche Rush. The program paves the way for the launch of major DeFi platforms on Avalanche, starting with Curve and Aave. $20 million worth of AVAX has been allocated to Aave users and $7 million worth of AVAX was set aside for Curve users.

The Avalanche Rush program highlights the Avalanche Foundation’s determination towards making its network more cost-effective, decentralized, and accessible. It is also part of the team’s focus on wider participation in DeFi. Avalanche previously teamed up with Stake DAO to create innovative strategies for yield farming as part of a plan to fully take advantage of Curve and Aave’s launch on the Avalanche blockchain.

These developments highlight potential major changes to the Avalanche blockchain especially with regards to utility. The developments will create more utility and value for the AVAX token, which means there is a lot of organic value to look forward to. It also explains why there has been an uptick in AVAX buying volume which suggests that many of t