Smart Contract Basics
Understand smart contracts, their purpose, and how they enable programmable money and decentralized applications.
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