What exactly is a smart contract?

Let's start with an analogy. Imagine a trusted robot butler. You give it specific instructions: "When I hand you a book, you place it on the shelf." You don't need to oversee the robot every time; once you hand over a book, it automatically does its job, placing the book on the shelf.

A smart contract operates similarly in the digital realm. It's a set of coded instructions that automatically carries out actions when certain conditions are met. For instance, when someone buys an NFT, the smart contract might automatically transfer ownership to the buyer once payment is confirmed.

Now, while the term includes the word "contract," it's not a traditional contract you or your lawyer would read. It's written in a programming language, and unless you're a coder familiar with blockchain programming, it would look like gibberish. On platforms like IOGINALITY, the actual terms of a deal or agreement are presented in plain English, clear for everyone to understand. The smart contract just ensures those terms are executed as described, working diligently in the background like our robot butler.