VMC Deployment Options
Review where to deploy the Validator Manager (L1 vs C-Chain) and why it matters for PoS
Where can the Validator Manager contract be deployed?
Avalanche’s Validator Manager Contract (VMC) can be deployed in two places:
- On your L1
- On the Avalanche C-Chain
This choice affects how resilient your validator operations are and how easy it will be to transition from permissioned (PoA) to permissionless (PoS).
Quick decision rule
- Deploy on your L1 if you expect to remain PoA / permissioned long-term and want a self-contained setup.
- Deploy on C-Chain if you plan to become PoS / permissionless, or want the option to upgrade to PoS later.
You can upgrade contract logic, but you cannot move the VMC location after deployment without redeploying.
Why PoS makes this more important
In PoS, you typically care more about:
- Operational robustness (validator management even if your L1 is degraded)
- Permissionless onboarding (external validators joining over time)
- Long-term flexibility as economics and validator sets evolve
That’s why “deploy on C‑Chain” is often a better default if you expect a PoS transition.
For the permissionless L1 track demo
In the earlier permissioned L1 walkthroughs, the demo deploys the VMC on the L1 (PoA context) to keep the end-to-end flow fully contained within the L1 you’re building and operating.
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