Module 4 of 6 · Mechanics
Bitcoin and smart-contract platforms
Two families of design: Bitcoin, built to do one thing in a deliberately limited way, and smart-contract platforms, built to run general programs. This module looks at both as engineering, not as assets.
Lessons in this module
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4.1 Bitcoin as a system
11 min · Beginner+
Lesson 4.1: how Bitcoin is designed — the UTXO model, the scripting language, the fixed issuance schedule and how its rules change.
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4.2 Smart contracts explained
11 min · Beginner+
Lesson 4.2: what a smart contract is, how it runs on a blockchain, why gas exists, and the limits of code that cannot be changed.
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4.3 Tokens and token standards
9 min · Beginner+
Lesson 4.3: what a token is, how fungible and non-fungible tokens differ, and why shared standards such as ERC-20 and ERC-721 exist.