VM - Cosmos Docs

The x/vm module from cosmos/evm provides a fully compatible Ethereum Virtual Machine execution environment as a Cosmos SDK module.

For conceptual understanding of EVM architecture and design, see EVM Architecture.

Parameters

The module parameters control EVM behavior and access policies (source):

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`evm_denom`	string	`"atest"`	Token denomination for EVM transactions (18 decimals)
`extra_eips`	[]int64	`[]`	Additional EIPs to activate beyond hard fork defaults
`allow_unprotected_txs`	bool	`false`	Allow non-EIP155 replay-protected transactions
`active_static_precompiles`	[]string	`[]`	Activated static precompile addresses
`evm_channels`	[]string	`[]`	IBC channel IDs for EVM-compatible chains
`access_control`	AccessControl	Permissionless	Permission policy for EVM operations

Parameter Details

Show evm_denom

Defines the token used for gas and value transfers in EVM:

Must be registered in bank module
Should have 18 decimal precision
Used for all EVM operations (gas, transfers, contracts)
Example: "atest", "aevmos", "wei"

Show extra_eips

Activates additional EIPs beyond fork defaults:

EIP	Description	Gas Impact
1344	ChainID opcode	Minimal
1884	Repricing for trie-size-dependent opcodes	Increases SLOAD
2200	Structured definitions for net gas metering	Variable
2929	Gas cost for state access opcodes	Increases cold access
3198	BASEFEE opcode	Minimal
3529	Reduction in refunds	Reduces max refund
3855	PUSH0 instruction	New opcode

Show access_control

Granular control over contract operations:

type AccessControl struct {
    Create AccessControlType  // Contract deployment
    Call   AccessControlType  // Contract execution
}

Access Types:

PERMISSIONLESS: Open access, list = blacklist
RESTRICTED: No access, list ignored
PERMISSIONED: Limited access, list = whitelist

Configuration Profiles

Ethereum Compatible
Permissioned
High Security

{
  "evm_denom": "atest",
  "extra_eips": [3855],
  "allow_unprotected_txs": false,
  "active_static_precompiles": [
    "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000100",
    "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000400"
  ],
  "access_control": {
    "create": {"access_type": "PERMISSIONLESS", "list": []},
    "call": {"access_type": "PERMISSIONLESS", "list": []}
  }
}

{
  "evm_denom": "atoken",
  "extra_eips": [],
  "allow_unprotected_txs": false,
  "active_static_precompiles": [
    "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000804"
  ],
  "access_control": {
    "create": {
      "access_type": "PERMISSIONED",
      "list": ["0x1234...", "0xABCD..."]
    },
    "call": {"access_type": "PERMISSIONLESS", "list": []}
  }
}

{
  "evm_denom": "asecure",
  "extra_eips": [],
  "allow_unprotected_txs": false,
  "active_static_precompiles": [],
  "access_control": {
    "create": {"access_type": "RESTRICTED", "list": []},
    "call": {
      "access_type": "PERMISSIONED",
      "list": ["0xTrustedContract"]
    }
  }
}

Chain Configuration

Hard fork activation schedule (source):

Fork	Default	Type	Opcodes/Features Added
`homestead_block`	0	Block	DELEGATECALL
`byzantium_block`	0	Block	REVERT, RETURNDATASIZE, STATICCALL
`constantinople_block`	0	Block	CREATE2, EXTCODEHASH, SHL/SHR/SAR
`istanbul_block`	0	Block	CHAINID, SELFBALANCE
`berlin_block`	0	Block	Access lists (EIP-2929, 2930)
`london_block`	0	Block	BASEFEE, EIP-1559
`shanghai_time`	0	Timestamp	PUSH0
`cancun_time`	0	Timestamp	Transient storage, blob transactions
`prague_time`	nil	Timestamp	TBD
`verkle_time`	nil	Timestamp	Verkle trees

Static Precompiles

Precompiled contracts at fixed addresses (source):

Address	Contract	Gas Cost	Description
`0x0000...0100`	P256	3000	P256 curve verification
`0x0000...0400`	Bech32	5000	Bech32 address encoding
`0x0000...0800`	Staking	Variable	Delegation operations
`0x0000...0801`	Distribution	Variable	Reward claims
`0x0000...0802`	ICS20	Variable	IBC transfers
`0x0000...0803`	Vesting	Variable	Vesting account ops
`0x0000...0804`	Bank	Variable	Token transfers
`0x0000...0805`	Gov	Variable	Governance voting
`0x0000...0806`	Slashing	Variable	Validator slashing info

Activation

# Via genesis
{
  "active_static_precompiles": [
    "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000804",
    "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000800"
  ]
}

# Via governance proposal
evmd tx gov submit-proposal update-params-proposal.json

Messages

MsgEthereumTx

Primary message for EVM transactions (source):

message MsgEthereumTx {
  google.protobuf.Any data = 1;  // Transaction data (Legacy/AccessList/DynamicFee)
  string hash = 3;                // Transaction hash
  string from = 4;                // Sender address (derived from signature)
}

Validation Requirements:

Valid signature matching from address
Sufficient balance for gas + value
Correct nonce (account sequence)
Gas limit ≥ intrinsic gas

MsgUpdateParams

Governance message for parameter updates:

message MsgUpdateParams {
  string authority = 1;  // Must be governance module
  Params params = 2;     // New parameters
}

State

Persistent State

Key Prefix	Description	Value Type
`0x01`	Parameters	`Params`
`0x02`	Contract code	`[]byte`
`0x03`	Contract storage	`[32]byte`

Transient State

Key Prefix	Description	Value Type	Lifetime
`0x01`	Transaction logs	`[]Log`	Per block
`0x02`	Block bloom	`[256]byte`	Per block
`0x03`	Tx index	`uint64`	Per block
`0x04`	Log size	`uint64`	Per block
`0x05`	Gas used	`uint64`	Per tx

Events

Transaction Events

Event	Attributes	When Emitted
`ethereum_tx`	`amount`, `recipient`, `contract`, `txHash`, `txIndex`, `txGasUsed`	Every EVM transaction
`tx_log`	`txLog` (JSON)	When contracts emit events
`message`	`sender`, `action="ethereum"`, `module="evm"`	Every message

Block Events

Event	Attributes	When Emitted
`block_bloom`	`bloom` (hex)	End of each block with EVM txs

Queries

gRPC

service Query {
  // Account queries
  rpc Account(QueryAccountRequest) returns (QueryAccountResponse);
  rpc CosmosAccount(QueryCosmosAccountRequest) returns (QueryCosmosAccountResponse);
  rpc ValidatorAccount(QueryValidatorAccountRequest) returns (QueryValidatorAccountResponse);
  
  // State queries
  rpc Balance(QueryBalanceRequest) returns (QueryBalanceResponse);
  rpc Storage(QueryStorageRequest) returns (QueryStorageResponse);
  rpc Code(QueryCodeRequest) returns (QueryCodeResponse);
  
  // Module queries
  rpc Params(QueryParamsRequest) returns (QueryParamsResponse);
  rpc Config(QueryConfigRequest) returns (QueryConfigResponse);
  
  // EVM operations
  rpc EthCall(EthCallRequest) returns (MsgEthereumTxResponse);
  rpc EstimateGas(EthCallRequest) returns (EstimateGasResponse);
  
  // Debugging
  rpc TraceTx(QueryTraceTxRequest) returns (QueryTraceTxResponse);
  rpc TraceBlock(QueryTraceBlockRequest) returns (QueryTraceBlockResponse);
  
  // Fee queries
  rpc BaseFee(QueryBaseFeeRequest) returns (QueryBaseFeeResponse);
  rpc GlobalMinGasPrice(QueryGlobalMinGasPriceRequest) returns (QueryGlobalMinGasPriceResponse);
}

CLI

# Query EVM account
evmd query vm account 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEb0

# Query Cosmos address
evmd query vm cosmos-account 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEb0

# Query balance
evmd query vm balance 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEb0

# Query storage slot
evmd query vm storage 0xContractAddress 0xStorageKey

# Query contract code
evmd query vm code 0xContractAddress

# Query module parameters
evmd query vm params

# Query EVM config
evmd query vm config

# Trace transaction
evmd query vm trace-tx 0xTxHash

# Trace block
evmd query vm trace-block 12345

JSON-RPC

Supported Methods

eth namespace
web3 namespace
net namespace
debug namespace

Method	Description
`eth_accounts`	List accounts
`eth_blockNumber`	Current block number
`eth_call`	Execute call without tx
`eth_chainId`	Get chain ID
`eth_estimateGas`	Estimate gas usage
`eth_gasPrice`	Current gas price
`eth_getBalance`	Get account balance
`eth_getBlockByHash`	Get block by hash
`eth_getBlockByNumber`	Get block by number
`eth_getCode`	Get contract code
`eth_getLogs`	Get filtered logs
`eth_getStorageAt`	Get storage value
`eth_getTransactionByHash`	Get tx by hash
`eth_getTransactionCount`	Get account nonce
`eth_getTransactionReceipt`	Get tx receipt
`eth_sendRawTransaction`	Submit signed tx
`eth_syncing`	Sync status

Method	Description
`web3_clientVersion`	Client version
`web3_sha3`	Keccak-256 hash

Method	Description
`net_version`	Network ID
`net_listening`	Node accepting connections
`net_peerCount`	Number of peers

Method	Description
`debug_traceTransaction`	Detailed tx trace
`debug_traceBlockByNumber`	Trace all txs in block
`debug_traceBlockByHash`	Trace all txs by hash
`debug_getBadBlocks`	Get invalid blocks
`debug_storageRangeAt`	Get storage range
`debug_intermediateRoots`	Get intermediate state roots

Hooks

Post-transaction processing interface (source):

type EvmHooks interface {
    PostTxProcessing(
        ctx sdk.Context,
        msg core.Message,
        receipt *ethtypes.Receipt,
    ) error
}

Registration

// In app.go
app.EvmKeeper = app.EvmKeeper.SetHooks(
    vmkeeper.NewMultiEvmHooks(
        app.Erc20Keeper.Hooks(),
        app.CustomKeeper.Hooks(),
    ),
)

Use Cases

Process EVM events in Cosmos modules
Bridge EVM logs to Cosmos events
Trigger native module actions from contracts
Custom indexing and monitoring

Gas Configuration

Gas Consumption Mapping

Operation	EVM Gas	Cosmos Gas	Notes
Basic ops	3-5	3-5	1:1 mapping
SLOAD	2100	2100	Cold access
SSTORE	20000	20000	New value
CREATE	32000	32000	Contract deploy
Precompile	Variable	Variable	Set per precompile

Gas Refunds

Maximum refund: 50% of gas used (after London)

refund = min(gasUsed/2, gasRefund)
finalGasUsed = gasUsed - refund

Best Practices

Chain Integration

Precompile Selection
- Only enable necessary precompiles
- Test gas costs in development
- Monitor usage patterns
Access Control
- Start restrictive, open gradually
- Use governance for changes
- Monitor blacklist/whitelist events

Fork Planning

{
  "shanghai_time": "1681338455",  // Test first
  "cancun_time": "1710338455"     // Delay for safety
}

Contract Development

Gas Optimization

// Cache storage reads
uint256 cached = storageVar;
// Use cached instead of storageVar

// Pack structs
struct Packed {
    uint128 a;
    uint128 b;  // Single slot
}

Precompile Usage

IBank bank = IBank(0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000804);
uint256 balance = bank.balances(msg.sender, "atest");

dApp Integration

Provider Setup

const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider(
    "http://localhost:8545",
    { chainId: 9000, name: "evmos" }
);

Error Handling

try {
    await contract.method();
} catch (error) {
    if (error.code === 'CALL_EXCEPTION') {
        // Handle revert
    }
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue	Cause	Solution
”out of gas”	Insufficient gas limit	Increase gas limit or optimize contract
”nonce too low”	Stale nonce	Query current nonce, retry
”insufficient funds”	Low balance	Ensure balance > value + (gasLimit × gasPrice)
“contract creation failed”	CREATE disabled or restricted	Check access_control settings
”precompile not active”	Precompile not in active list	Enable via governance

Debug Commands

# Check EVM parameters
evmd query vm params

# Trace failed transaction
evmd query vm trace-tx 0xFailedTxHash

# Check account state
evmd query vm account 0xAddress

References

Source Code

EVM Architecture - Conceptual overview
Fee Market Module - EIP-1559 implementation
ERC20 Module - Token conversions

​Parameters

​Parameter Details

​Configuration Profiles

​Chain Configuration

​Static Precompiles

​Activation

​Messages

​MsgEthereumTx

​MsgUpdateParams

​State

​Persistent State

​Transient State

​Events

​Transaction Events

​Block Events

​Queries

​gRPC

​CLI

​JSON-RPC

​Supported Methods

​Hooks

​Registration

​Use Cases

​Gas Configuration

​Gas Consumption Mapping

​Gas Refunds

​Best Practices

​Chain Integration

​Contract Development

​dApp Integration

​Troubleshooting

​Common Issues

​Debug Commands

​References

​Source Code

​Related Documentation

Parameters

Parameter Details

Configuration Profiles

Chain Configuration

Static Precompiles

Activation

Messages

MsgEthereumTx

MsgUpdateParams

State

Persistent State

Transient State

Events

Transaction Events

Block Events

Queries

gRPC

CLI

JSON-RPC

Supported Methods

Hooks

Registration

Use Cases

Gas Configuration

Gas Consumption Mapping

Gas Refunds

Best Practices

Chain Integration

Contract Development

dApp Integration

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Debug Commands

References

Source Code

Related Documentation