vaas is a simplified implementation of the Interchain Security (ICS) protocol, derived from interchain-security. It provides core cross-chain validation functionality while removing complex features not needed for simpler deployments.
VAAS allows Cosmos blockchains to lease their proof-of-stake security to consumer chains. All active validators on the provider chain automatically validate all consumer chains - there is no opt-in/opt-out mechanism.
The VAAS implementation supports IBC v2 only. IBC v2 is easily wireable by adding the IBC router v2 in a ibc-go >= 10.x.y compatible chain.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Consumer Lifecycle | Full lifecycle management (REGISTERED → INITIALIZED → LAUNCHED → STOPPED → DELETED) |
| Key Assignment | Validators can use different consensus keys per consumer chain |
| Per-Consumer Infraction Parameters | Customizable slash/jail parameters per consumer |
| VSC Packets | Validator set updates sent at epoch boundaries |
| Double Voting Evidence | Handle double voting evidence from consumers |
| Light Client Misbehavior | Detection and logging of misbehavior |
| Consumer Metadata | Name, description, metadata for chain discovery |
| Client/Connection Reuse | Reuse existing IBC client when creating consumer |
| Feature | Reason |
|---|---|
| Partial Set Security (PSS) | All validators validate all consumers |
| Top N / Opt-In Chains | No validator selection per consumer |
| Power Shaping | No caps, allowlists, denylists, priority lists |
| Consumer Reward Distribution | No cross-chain rewards |
| Slash Packet Throttling | Simplified slash handling |
| Per-Consumer Commission Rates | Validators use same commission as provider |
| IBC v1 Channel Support | IBC v2 only |
| Standalone-to-Consumer Changeover | Only new chains as consumers |
make build # go build ./...
make test # unit tests (excludes e2e)
make lint # golangci-lint
# E2E (Docker-based, spins up provider + consumer + ts-relayer)
make docker-build-all
make test-e2e