blockchain
Smart Contract
A program on the blockchain that runs automatically when defined conditions are met. On Solana these are called 'programs'.
Smart Contract
A smart contract is code that runs on the blockchain and executes automatically once certain conditions are met. No intermediary is needed — the rules are written into the code and visible to everyone.
Smart contracts on Solana
On Solana, smart contracts are called programs. A key trait: program logic and stored data are separated. Programs are stateless, and the data lives in separate accounts. This is one reason for Solana’s high parallelism — more on this in the fundamentals guide What is Solana?.
What they are used for
- DeFi: swapping, lending, liquidity pools — see DeFi on Solana for an overview
- NFTs: creating and trading digital objects
- Automation: programs can call other programs (Cross-Program Invocation)