Axelar Core is the main blockchain application powering the Axelar Network — a decentralized interoperability protocol that enables secure, permissionless communication between EVM chains, IBC-connected Cosmos chains, and CosmWasm smart-contract environments. Built on the Cosmos SDK with CometBFT consensus,Documentation Index
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axelar-core compiles into the axelard binary that validators run to participate in Axelar’s proof-of-stake network. Unlike bridges that rely on a small group of multi-sig signers, Axelar Core coordinates cross-chain messages through a full validator set, threshold multi-party computation (via the tofnd sidecar), and on-chain governance — giving integrators a trustless, programmable routing layer across dozens of connected ecosystems.
What Is Axelar Core vs. the Axelar Network?
Axelar Network is the broader interoperability ecosystem: the set of connected chains, the token economy (AXL/uaxl), the gateway smart contracts deployed on each EVM chain, and the developer-facing SDKs. Axelar Core (axelar-core) is the Cosmos SDK node software at the heart of that network. It defines the on-chain state machine, the custom modules that handle cross-chain routing and signing, and the CLI tooling (axelard) for interacting with a node. Everything that a validator, integrator, or protocol developer touches at the protocol level flows through this repository.
The current release series is v1.3.x, built on Cosmos SDK v0.50, IBC v8, and CosmWasm v0.54. The
axelard comet command family replaces the legacy axelard tendermint commands as of v1.3.0.Key Use Cases
Cross-Chain Asset Transfers
Move tokens natively between EVM chains, IBC chains, and Cosmos-based networks. The EVM module manages gateway contracts and command batches; the axelarnet module handles IBC transfers; the nexus module coordinates routing between all registered chains.
General Message Passing (GMP)
Call arbitrary smart-contract functions on a destination chain from any source chain. A
ContractCall or ContractCallWithToken event on the source chain’s gateway is confirmed by validators, routed through nexus, and delivered as an ApproveContractCall command on the destination gateway.Validator Participation
Run an
axelard full node and the vald sidecar to become a chain maintainer. Vote on cross-chain events, participate in multisig key generation, and earn rewards proportional to correct participation.Protocol Integration
Register a new EVM or IBC chain with the Axelar Network through governance, deploy a gateway contract, and enable token transfers and GMP for your users without running custom bridge infrastructure.
Custom Modules
Axelar Core extends the standard Cosmos SDK module set with a suite of purpose-built modules. Each module owns a slice of state and exposes its own transactions, queries, and ABCI hooks.nexus — Cross-Chain Router
nexus — Cross-Chain Router
The nexus module is the central routing layer. It maintains the registry of all connected chains and assets, queues
GeneralMessage objects for delivery, tracks chain maintainer vote records, and runs the EndBlocker that routes queued messages to their destination chains each block. All other Axelar modules interact with nexus through its keeper interface.evm — EVM Chain Manager
evm — EVM Chain Manager
The evm module manages the lifecycle of each registered EVM chain: gateway contract bytecode, command batching, token deployment confirmation, and key-transfer confirmation. Its
EndBlocker translates confirmed EVM events into nexus messages and converts inbound nexus messages into signed gateway commands ready for execution on the destination EVM chain.axelarnet — IBC & Native Asset Handler
axelarnet — IBC & Native Asset Handler
The axelarnet module is Axelar’s IBC middleware. It intercepts inbound IBC transfers, wraps them as cross-chain messages for nexus to route, and handles outbound IBC transfers to non-EVM Cosmos chains. It also governs the native
uaxl asset and deposit-address linking.multisig — Threshold Signing
multisig — Threshold Signing
The multisig module coordinates distributed key generation (keygen) and signing sessions across the validator set. When a signing session is triggered (e.g., to sign a batch of EVM gateway commands), validators participate via the
vald sidecar and the tofnd threshold-signing daemon. Completed signatures are collected on-chain and attached to the outbound command batch.snapshot — Validator Snapshots
snapshot — Validator Snapshots
The snapshot module captures a point-in-time view of the active validator set for use in keygen and signing sessions. It applies eligibility filters (bonded status, proxy registration) to determine which validators participate in a given threshold operation.
vote — Cross-Chain Event Voting
vote — Cross-Chain Event Voting
The vote module implements a poll-based voting system. When vald detects an event on an external chain (e.g., a
ContractCall emitted by an EVM gateway), it casts a vote on-chain. Once a poll reaches a quorum threshold, the result is finalized and forwarded to the relevant handler (evm, axelarnet, etc.).permission — Role-Based Access Control
permission — Role-Based Access Control
The permission module defines governance-controlled roles (e.g.,
CHAIN_MANAGEMENT) that restrict which addresses may submit sensitive transactions such as registering chains or updating gateway bytecode outside of full governance proposals.reward — Validator Incentives
reward — Validator Incentives
The reward module tracks per-chain reward pools funded by cross-chain transfer fees. Chain maintainers (validators registered for a specific external chain) accumulate rewards proportional to their correct vote participation. The nexus
EndBlocker calls into reward to clear rewards for underperforming maintainers.Who Should Use This Documentation?
Validators
Operators who want to run a full
axelard node, register as chain maintainers, and run the vald + tofnd stack for external chain confirmation and multisig signing.Protocol Integrators
Teams adding a new EVM or IBC chain to the Axelar Network — deploying a gateway contract, submitting governance proposals, and configuring chain parameters.
dApp Developers
Builders using Axelar’s General Message Passing SDK to send cross-chain calls or transfer assets between chains without running infrastructure.
Core Contributors
Engineers contributing to
axelar-core itself — writing new modules, updating gateway bytecode, or extending the vald event-processing pipeline.Next Steps
Quickstart
Build or download the
axelard binary, satisfy the smart-contract bytecode dependency, and start a node in minutes.Architecture
Explore the component topology — axelard, vald, tofnd — and trace a cross-chain message from source chain to destination contract.