Smart Contract Basics
Understand smart contracts, their purpose, and how they enable programmable money and decentralized applications. This is a foundational concept in decentralized application development that professional developers rely on daily. The explanations below are written to be beginner-friendly while covering the depth and nuance that comes from real-world Blockchain/Web3 experience. Take your time with each section and practice the examples
60 min•By Priygop Team•Last updated: Feb 2026
What are Smart Contracts?
Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code. They automatically execute when predefined conditions are met, eliminating the need for intermediaries.
Smart Contract Characteristics
- Autonomous: Execute automatically without human intervention
- Trustless: No need to trust third parties
- Transparent: Code is visible and verifiable
- Immutable: Cannot be changed once deployed
- Deterministic: Same input always produces same output