diff --git a/core/config.go b/core/config.go
index 79fc0f61..0e2825c8 100644
--- a/core/config.go
+++ b/core/config.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package core
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	"github.com/cosmos/gogoproto/proto"
@@ -60,10 +61,14 @@ func (cc *ChainProverConfig) Init(m codec.Codec) error {
 	var chain ChainConfig
 	if err := utils.UnmarshalJSONAny(m, &chain, cc.Chain); err != nil {
 		return err
+	} else if err := chain.Validate(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid chain config: %v", err)
 	}
 	var prover ProverConfig
 	if err := utils.UnmarshalJSONAny(m, &prover, cc.Prover); err != nil {
 		return err
+	} else if err := prover.Validate(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid prover config: %v", err)
 	}
 	cc.chain = chain
 	cc.prover = prover