Smart Contract - piece of code that governs a contract/transaction between two parties which can execute on a blockchain
dApp - decentralized application that can run on the blockchain
gas - transaction fee for running something on the Ethereum blockchain and is paid in units of gwei (denominations of ETH)
Ether - the underlying token of the Ethereum blockchain AKA $ETH
Ethereum - the actual blockchain
PoW - Proof of Work (see Bitcoin notes for more deets)
ETH-pilled - when ppl see the light with Ethereum
Solidity - programming language of Ethereum
DAO - decentralized autonomous organization (think of it as a programmable LLC)
DeFi - decentralized finance
TradFi - traditional finance
web3 - new phase of the internet that is open on state, identity and payments (powered by crypto)
digital wallet - your bank account that can store digital assets
Ethereum was founded in 2013 by Vitalik Buterin and several other crypto-entreprenuers, many of whom were involved with Bitcoin. The primary rationale behind Ethereum was that Bitcoin was too limited in its functionality: it creates and tracks Bitcoin. Given the power of blockchain tech, he wanted something more comparable to a smart phone that did many things well.
A good analogy is to think about Bitcoin as an iPhone. An iPhone has these transformational features including: 1) camera, 2) GPS, 3) touchscreen, etc. However, without apps, what you can do is isolated + limited.
Enter Ethereum 🚀!
<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/a3216ae9-fddd-4dd7-bb97-82d48b8576ae/Favicon-simplify.png" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/a3216ae9-fddd-4dd7-bb97-82d48b8576ae/Favicon-simplify.png" width="40px" /> Ethereum is the world's decentralized "App Store" + computer, rolled into one.
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Ethereum is a blockchain with a built-in programming language called Solidity. This language can be used to code smart contracts and is deployed as a dApp (decentralized application).
What's a smart contract?
Smart contracts are computer code agreements distributed across the blockchain that are self-executed when the terms of the contract are met. For example, a smart contract could hold the terms to a contract between two parties on who will win the NBA finals. Once the game is settled and the winner is verified across the decentralized system, the winner will receive the payout stored in the contract.
What makes smart contracts powerful?
If you go back to our kick-off session, the power of blockchain is that software can ensure committed behavior. Once this code is deployed, it is immutable and is guaranteed to execute. This makes contracts, whether they are financial, property, or otherwise, much more efficient.
The other power of smart contracts is composability - you can use them as lego blocks to plug and play with each other.
So where do dApps come in?
dApps (or decentralized apps) are applications that use smart contract technology. Examples of dApps are DeFi (more on this below), decentralized exchanges/automated market makers, NFTs, social token powered communities, and more. A key part of a dApp is that there is no central authority (e.g. Apple) that needs to approve or can block your app.
