What Is An Ethereum Virtual Machine?
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is the runtime environment for smart contracts in Ethereum.
It is a virtual machine that can execute code in a decentralized manner, meaning that it runs on the computers of all participants in the Ethereum network.
The EVM is really good at doing simple tasks, like making sure people have enough “money” to pay for the smart contract to run. It also makes sure that the smart contract doesn’t do anything bad, like making an endless loop. It’s also responsible for keeping track of all the information that the smart contract needs, like how much “money” people have.
Think of it like a playground monitor that makes sure everyone plays fairly and no one gets hurt. It makes sure that the smart contract game is played correctly, and everyone follows the rules.
The EVM is a stack-based virtual machine, which means that it uses a pushdown stack to execute its instructions. Each instruction in the EVM is executed in a single step, and the instruction set is designed to be simple and minimalistic. This simplicity allows for easy verification of smart contract code and ensures that the EVM can be implemented in various programming languages.
The EVM is also designed to be Turing-complete, which means that it can perform any computation that a standard computer can. This allows for the creation of complex smart contracts that can perform a wide variety of tasks, such as financial transactions, voting systems, and decentralized applications.
THE ETHEREUM VIRTUAL MACHINE GAS SYSTEM.
The EVM is also responsible for enforcing the rules of the Ethereum protocol, such as the gas system and the block size limit. The gas system is a mechanism that is used to prevent infinite loops and other forms of abuse in smart contracts. It works by requiring that each instruction in a smart contract costs a certain amount of gas, and the contract is only executed if the sender has enough gas to pay for the execution. The block size limit is a restriction on the amount of data that can be included in a block, which is used to prevent the blockchain from growing too large.
The EVM is also responsible for handling the storage of data on the Ethereum blockchain. Each smart contract has its own storage, which is a key-value store that can be accessed and modified by the contract’s code. The storage is stored on the blockchain and is replicated across all nodes in the network, making it a decentralized and tamper-proof storage solution.
In summary, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is a runtime environment for smart contracts in Ethereum. It is a virtual machine that can execute code in a decentralized manner, and it is designed to be simple and minimalistic, yet Turing-complete, allowing for the creation of complex smart contracts. It also enforces the rules of the Ethereum protocol, such as the gas system and the block size limit and handles the storage of data on the blockchain.
EVM’s ON OTHER CHAINS.
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is used by other blockchain platforms in addition to Ethereum. These blockchain platforms, known as Ethereum forks, have created their own version of the Ethereum protocol, but they continue to use the EVM to execute smart contracts.
One example of a blockchain that uses the EVM is Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Binance Smart Chain is a blockchain that was created by the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, and it is designed to be compatible with Ethereum. It uses the EVM to execute smart contracts and is fully compatible with the existing Ethereum ecosystem.
Another example is Polygon (formerly Matic Network), it’s a layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum. It uses the EVM to execute smart contracts and allows for faster and cheaper transactions on the Ethereum network.
There are also other projects like xDai, Avalanche, and more that also uses the EVM to run the smart contract and dApps.
These platforms use the EVM because it is a proven and widely adopted technology for executing smart contracts, and it allows for easy integration with the existing Ethereum ecosystem. Developers can use their existing knowledge of Ethereum to build and deploy smart contracts on these platforms.
EVM INNOVATION.
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is considered an innovation because it enables a new type of decentralized computing and allows for the creation of decentralized applications (dApps) on the Ethereum blockchain.
Before the EVM, blockchains were primarily used for financial transactions and the storage of data. The EVM introduced the ability for blockchains to execute arbitrary code, which opened the door for a wide variety of new use cases.
One of the main innovations of EVM is the ability to create smart contracts. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement written directly into code. This allows for the automation of processes, such as financial transactions, without the need for intermediaries, like banks. Smart contracts are stored on the Ethereum blockchain, which makes them tamper-proof, transparent, and accessible to anyone.
Another innovation is the ability to create decentralized applications (dApps) on the Ethereum blockchain. DApps are applications that run on a decentralized network, rather than a single server or centralized network. This means that they are not controlled by any single entity, making them more resilient to censorship and failures. DApps can be used for a wide variety of purposes, such as social media, gaming, and prediction markets.
In Summary….
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is considered an innovation because it enables decentralized computing and the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) on the Ethereum blockchain, it also introduced the concept of “gas” which helps to prevent abuse of the network, making the network more efficient and secure.