Vaults are a way to improve the security of Bitcoin self-custody by adding additional spending restrictions. Today, vaults can be possible with the addition of new covenant opcodes.

A vault usually has several key features, including a proactive delayed withdrawal. This feature requires a predetermined waiting period before funds can be spent after a withdrawal request. It gives the vault owner time to respond in case of unauthorized attempts. The owner can then use a recovery mechanism to cancel or redirect the withdrawal if suspicious activity is detected, such as transferring the funds to a different address for an extra layer of protection.