Upgradeability / Proxy Contract
What is upgradeability in smart contracts?
A design pattern where a smart contract's logic can be modified after deployment via a proxy contract that delegates calls to an implementation contract that can be swapped. Enables bug fixes and new features, but reintroduces the centralization risk that self-executing contracts are meant to eliminate: whoever controls the upgrade key can change how the contract handles user funds, with or without governance approval. Audit reports should specify whether a contract is upgradeable and who holds the upgrade authority.