Smart Contract
Last updated 17 October 2026Last verified 17 October 2026
What is a smart contract?
Self-executing code deployed on a blockchain. Once deployed, runs deterministically on every node. Unless designed with upgrade or pause controls, deployed smart contracts run automatically and cannot be altered unilaterally. Bugs cannot be patched without migrating to a new contract and persuading users to migrate their funds. Every DeFi protocol is a stack of smart contracts, which means protocol risk is fundamentally code risk. See: Cross-Chain Bridges: The CDOs of DeFi.
TradFi equivalentAn escrow agent that performs automatically and cannot exercise judgment. It removes settlement risk and discretion together, so an error executes as faithfully as an instruction.