The Future of AVS Infra: Inside the WAVS Architecture

Building an AVS should be simple. But, now, it’s more like launching a whole L1. That’s the problem we set out to solve with WAVS.

WAVS is a decentralized compute runtime designed to make AVS deployment effortless. We’ve written before about what WAVS is, how it works.

But why did we build WAVS the way that we did? The right design choices create massive efficiency gains, while the wrong ones introduce bloat, trust assumptions, and performance bottlenecks. This blog post explains why we built WAVS the way we did and why it’s the right approach for scalable AVSs with truly decentralized compute.

Let’s dive in.

Why WASM for Off-Chain Execution: Speed, Security, and Scalability

When designing a platform for off-chain compute, one tempting approach would have been to use Linux virtual machines. VMs are familiar, flexible, and provide full operating system capabilities. 

Why didn’t we go this route?

• Performance overhead. Linux VMs need to emulate an entire operating system, resulting in as much as 10-30% performance degradation compared to bare-metal execution—a cost that becomes prohibitive when running computations across multiple validators in a decentralized system.
• Large attack surface requiring extensive auditing. Traditional Linux VMs expose thousands of system calls, countless libraries, and complex privilege models that create an enormous attack surface. Also, services on top of Linux VMs inherit any vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel or standard Linux infrastructure. 
• Slow startup times (seconds vs. milliseconds). Linux VMs typically take several seconds to boot and initialize their operating system environment, creating unacceptable latency for on-demand services compared to WASM modules which can be instantiated and ready for execution in under a millisecond.
• Size measured in GBs rather than MBs. The footprint of a Linux VM, even when minimally configured, often reaches several gigabytes because it includes a complete operating system with all its dependencies, dramatically increasing storage requirements, network transfer costs, and memory usage compared to WASM modules that typicaly measure less than one megabyte.

WASM isn't just faster, it makes decentralized compute viable by reducing startup times, minimizing attack surfaces, and optimizing economic incentives for operators.

For AVS builders looking for the best off-chain execution environment, WASM offers clear advantages over traditional Linux VMs:

• Size: WASM modules range around 500kb  for Rust, compared to Linux containers at 100s or 1000s of MBs
• Performance: WASM executes at near-native speed with minimal overhead
• Security: WASM's sandboxed execution model provides strong security guarantees
• Startup Time: WASM modules initialize in milliseconds rather than seconds
• Cross-Platform: WASM offers superior portability across different architectures

These aren't just marginal improvements—they represent qualitative differences that enable new possibilities.

Really Decentralized Compute: Building a Better EigenLayer AVS

Optimizing for performance is one thing. But what happens when you introduce decentralization? Running code across multiple independent validators multiplies every inefficiency. This is why WAVS isn't just about speed, it's about making true decentralized compute possible.

Some background: Many existing solutions that claim to provide "decentralized compute" are really single nodes with token incentives—what we might call "trust us, bro" oracles. We wanted to create genuinely decentralized compute, which demands a different approach.

True decentralization requires:

1. Running code multiple times across independent operators
2. Cross-checking their answers
3. Enforcing economic penalties for dishonesty

If we're running computations multiple times, any performance overhead gets multiplied. A 2x slowdown in a centralized system becomes a 2nx slowdown in a system with n validators. 

This makes WASM's performance characteristics essential.

While WAVS enables this efficiency, WAVS provides more than just a compute layer. Decentralized compute requires coordination between operators running the code. That means:

• Aggregating signatures from validators
• Submitting validated results on-chain
• Managing the economic security model end-to-end (including slashing)

This holistic approach ensures that the entire system—not just the compute layer—is designed for decentralized operation.

Composability: The Key to Practical Decentralization

In an ideal world, developers should be able to compose decentralized services as easily as they integrate APIs in Web2. But traditional AVS models force rigid, monolithic deployments. WAVS flips this by enabling modular, on-demand compute without the burden of persistent idle costs.

In this vision:

• Some services need to run continuously
• Others might execute once a month or even once a year
• Many have unpredictable, bursty demand

This diversity creates a fundamental tension. If every service runs continuously (like traditional VMs), operators bear costs for idle resources. But if services spin up only when needed, users face unacceptable latency while waiting for Linux VMs to initialize.

The best AVS runtime must balance performance with economic sustainability. WASM achieves this balance: modules load from memory and initialize in milliseconds, enabling true on-demand execution without sacrificing user experience.

These considerations matter because real decentralization requires operator buy-in. If running AVSs isn't economically viable for operators, the system won't achieve meaningful decentralization regardless of its technical design.

Economic alignment extends beyond token incentives and slashing mechanisms—the fundamental economics must work. Operators need to profit from participation, which means minimizing costs for idle capacity.

WASM's lightweight, fast-startup nature means operators can efficiently serve many different AVSs with the same infrastructure, creating economies of scale that benefit the entire ecosystem. 

Multi-chain by Design

Today, AVS builders are forced to pick a chain and stick with it. WAVS changes that. Whether you're securing an AVS across Ethereum L2s, EigenLayer, or a future cross-chain app, WAVS ensures consistent execution, validator incentives, and verifiable security.

WASM's portability and language-agnostic nature enables consistent execution across different blockchain environments. This allows AVSs to:

• Interoperate across Ethereum L2s and other compatible chains
• Maintain provable security guarantees regardless of the underlying chain
• Provide consistent validator economics across ecosystems

As the blockchain landscape continues to evolve toward a multi-chain future, WAVS provides a unified framework for secure, verifiable off-chain compute that works consistently across diverse environments. Whether you're building an EigenLayer AVS or a solution for another chain, WAVS provides consistent execution guarantees.

The Long View: Really Really Decentralized Apps

Our architectural choices weren't just about solving today's problems—they're designed to enable a truly decentralized future.

One of WASM's most powerful features is its ability to run not just on servers but in web browsers. This opens the door to radically different compositions of compute resources, potentially including end-user devices.

In the long term, we envision a world where decentralized applications leverage compute from diverse sources:

• Traditional validator nodes
• Enterprise infrastructure
• And eventually, the edges of the network, including web browsers

WASM/WASI gives us the flexibility to evolve in this direction in ways that whole-OS virtual machines cannot. By starting with this architecture now, we're building a foundation that can grow into increasingly decentralized forms as the ecosystem matures.

The future of decentralized compute extends beyond traditional server models, and AVS builders who choose WASM position themselves to evolve with the ecosystem.

Conclusion: Making the Right Tradeoffs

Every architectural decision involves tradeoffs, but our choice of WASM for WAVS represents the optimal balance for truly decentralized off-chain compute. While others in the space compromise on either decentralization or performance, our approach delivers both without sacrifice.

The advantages of WASM—superior performance, robust security, seamless composability, and future-readiness—aren't merely incremental improvements over existing solutions. They establish an entirely new paradigm that finally fulfills blockchain's promise of decentralization without compromising practicality or user experience.

As the blockchain ecosystem evolves, WAVS stands alone as the only platform architected from first principles to meet the demands of genuinely decentralized applications both today and tomorrow. We didn't just build a better solution—we built the definitive foundation for the next generation of blockchain infrastructure.

For AVS builders seeking the best foundation for their projects, we’re confident that WAVS represents the best off-chain execution environment, surpassing Linux VMs in every metric that matters for true decentralized compute.

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