What is a Smart Contract?
The short answer
Self-executing code on a blockchain that automatically carries out an agreement without a company in the middle.
Smart contracts power most of what happens on networks like Ethereum — lending, trading, digital collectibles. They run exactly as written, for anyone, with no human able to intervene if the code has a flaw.
Related terms
Full glossaryDCA (Dollar-Cost Averaging)
Buying a fixed amount on a regular schedule, regardless of price, instead of trying to time the market.
FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt)
Negative information — sometimes true, sometimes exaggerated or false — spread to drive a price down.
Max Supply
The absolute maximum number of coins that will ever exist for a given cryptocurrency, if one is set.
Consensus
The process by which a decentralised network agrees on which transactions are valid, without a central authority.
Hot Wallet
A wallet connected to the internet, like a phone app — convenient, but more exposed than a cold…
Token
A cryptocurrency built on top of another blockchain, rather than having its own independent network.
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