# Smart Contract

*Crypto & Digital Assets — Finicade finance glossary*

A smart contract is code deployed to a blockchain that executes automatically when its conditions are met, with no one able to stop or amend it. That immutability is the feature and the flaw: a bug cannot be patched in place, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been drained through contract flaws. 'Code is law' is a design philosophy, not a legal fact, as courts have repeatedly reminded participants.

**Also known as:** smart contracts, on-chain code

**Related terms:** [Ethereum](https://finicade.com/glossary/ethereum), [DeFi](https://finicade.com/glossary/defi), [DAO](https://finicade.com/glossary/dao), [Oracle](https://finicade.com/glossary/oracle), [Gas Fee](https://finicade.com/glossary/gas-fee)

Source: https://finicade.com/glossary/smart-contract