> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://city-protocol.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://city-protocol.gitbook.io/docs/vault-as-a-service/what-is-vaas.md).

# What is VaaS

Vault as a Service, or VaaS, is City Protocol's infrastructure layer for launching, operating, monitoring, and redeeming onchain yield vaults.

It gives City Protocol and its partners a standardized way to bring verified yield vaults to market. Instead of each issuer building its own deposit contracts, accounting system, risk controls, redemption queue, dashboard, and monitoring stack, VaaS provides a reusable vault framework with configurable parameters.

VaaS is the operating layer for tokenized yield. It defines how capital enters a vault, how permissions are checked, how capital is allocated to strategies, how NAV is updated, how risk limits are enforced, and how users redeem.

***

### Why VaaS

Vaults are the primary interface between user capital and yield strategies.

For simple DeFi strategies, a vault may only need deposits, shares, and withdrawals. For institutional-grade yield products, that is not enough. A production vault must also support access control, strategy whitelisting, allocation limits, NAV accounting, proof of reserves, settlement records, redemption windows, governance controls, emergency pauses, and live monitoring.

VaaS packages these requirements into a modular system for asset managers, curators, neofinance platforms, and City Protocol's own Earn Module.

The goal is to make vault participation feel simple for users while keeping the operating system underneath secure, transparent, and auditable.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://city-protocol.gitbook.io/docs/vault-as-a-service/what-is-vaas.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.