Unit 1 · Level 2 · Ethereum & the EVM world
The EVM standard
The EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) is the engine that executes smart contracts, and dozens of other chains have copied it wholesale. Polygon, BNB Chain, Avalanche's C-Chain, Arbitrum and Base all speak EVM. Why reinvent the engine when you can reuse the one with the most developers, tools and battle scars?
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What you get asked
What is the EVM?
Every Ethereum node runs the EVM to execute contracts identically. It's the standardised engine of the world computer.
Why do so many new chains copy the EVM instead of building their own engine?
Compatibility buys you an instant ecosystem: developers redeploy in days, and users connect with the wallets they already have.
A chain that runs the same engine as Ethereum is called EVM-___, so apps can redeploy there with few changes.
EVM-compatible means same bytecode, same tooling, same wallet connections. The app barely notices it moved.
Put the life of an EVM app in order
Because the target is the EVM, steps three and four work on dozens of chains. That portability is the whole point of the standard.
What does EVM compatibility buy, and what does it not?
Compatibility is about developer and user experience. Each chain still has its own security and its own fees, and moving assets between them needs a bridge. Hold that thought. 🐜
The rest of this unit
A gas-powered world computer, and the standard half of crypto copied.