Smart contract - arealive/Viper GitHub Wiki

A smart contract is a state machine, intended to facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract. In Ethereum it is known as a decentralized application, or dapp.¹

“Smart Contracts are computer protocols that facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract, or that obviate the need for a contractual clause. Smart contracts aim to provide security superior to traditional contract law and to reduce other transaction costs associated with contracting.”²

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_contract

[2] https://holytransaction.com/blog/2015/10/smart-contracts-as-new-laws-better-handle-with-care.html