{"id":719,"slug":"what-is-a-smart-contract-on-a-blockchain","question":"What is a smart contract on a blockchain?","intent":"informational","language":"en","url":"https://worldwiki.io/q/what-is-a-smart-contract-on-a-blockchain","entity":{"slug":"blockchain","name":"Blockchain","url":"https://worldwiki.io/entity/blockchain"},"answer":{"short_answer":"A smart contract is a program stored on a blockchain. NIST defines it as a collection of code and data, deployed with cryptographically signed transactions, that the network's nodes run. Every node must get the same result, and the result is recorded on the chain. Smart contracts can automate things like token issuance or escrow. The OECD notes that making sure the code is correct and resolving disputes remain open challenges.","detailed_answer":"<p>Definition from the NIST glossary <span class=\"ref\">[4]</span>. Policy context from the OECD .</p>","format":"paragraph","confidence":75,"verified_at":"2026-09-18 07:10:23","updated_at":"2026-09-18 16:10:23"},"sources":[{"id":153,"title":"IR 8202, Blockchain Technology Overview","url":"https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/ir/8202/final","publisher":"National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)","type":"government","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:11"},{"id":154,"title":"Glossary: permissioned","url":"https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/permissioned","publisher":"NIST Computer Security Resource Center","type":"government","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:11"},{"id":155,"title":"Glossary: permissionless","url":"https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/permissionless","publisher":"NIST Computer Security Resource Center","type":"government","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:12"},{"id":156,"title":"Glossary: smart contract","url":"https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/smart_contract","publisher":"NIST Computer Security Resource Center","type":"government","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:13"},{"id":157,"title":"Block Chain — Bitcoin Developer Guide","url":"https://developer.bitcoin.org/devguide/block_chain.html","publisher":"Bitcoin Project (developer.bitcoin.org)","type":"official","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:13"},{"id":158,"title":"The story of Satoshi Nakamoto and the 1 million bitcoins","url":"https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/cef/items/663083/de-","publisher":"European Commission, CEF Newsroom","type":"government","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:17"},{"id":159,"title":"Stuart Haber","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Haber","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"other","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:17"},{"id":160,"title":"The Merge","url":"https://ethereum.org/roadmap/merge/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:18"},{"id":161,"title":"Proof-of-stake (PoS)","url":"https://ethereum.org/developers/docs/consensus-mechanisms/pos/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:20"},{"id":162,"title":"Blocks","url":"https://ethereum.org/developers/docs/blocks/","publisher":"ethereum.org","type":"official","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:21"},{"id":163,"title":"Introduction — What is Hyperledger Fabric?","url":"https://hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/en/latest/whatis.html","publisher":"Hyperledger Foundation (Linux Foundation)","type":"official","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:21"},{"id":164,"title":"Bitcoin electricity consumption: an improved assessment","url":"https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/2023/bitcoin-electricity-consumption/","publisher":"Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge","type":"academic","accessed_at":"2026-09-18 18:01:23"}],"published_at":"2026-09-18 07:10:23"}