4.12[Blockchain Technology](https://wealtii.com/learn) # What Is the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)? By [Zayd Ahmed](https://wealtii.com/editorial-policy#zayd-ahmed), Founder & CEO, Wealtii · Published 11 August 2026 · Last reviewed 21 October 2026 The **Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)** is the software environment every Ethereum node runs to execute smart contracts. It takes the network's current state and a transaction, runs the contract's bytecode step by step, charges gas for each operation, and produces a new state that every node can reproduce and agree on. ## What does the EVM actually do? Bitcoin's [blockchain ledger](https://wealtii.com/learn/what-is-blockchain) mainly tracks who owns which coins. Ethereum tracks a much richer state: every account's balance plus the code and storage of every smart contract. Ethereum.org describes Ethereum as "a distributed state machine" rather than just a distributed ledger, and the EVM defines the rules for moving from one state to the next. Given the same starting state and the same transactions, every node must reach exactly the same result. That determinism is why contracts cannot fetch web pages or generate truly random numbers on their own; outside data has to be supplied by oracles. If you are new to the idea, start with [how smart contracts work](https://wealtii.com/learn/smart-contracts-explained). ## How does the EVM execute smart contract code? 1. **Write:** developers write contracts in a high-level language, most often Solidity or Vyper. 2. **Compile and deploy:** a compiler turns the code into bytecode, a sequence of low-level instructions called opcodes, and a transaction deploys it to its own address. 3. **Execute:** when someone calls the contract, every node's EVM runs the bytecode. The EVM is a stack machine with a depth of 1,024 items, and each item is a 256-bit word, a size chosen to suit 256-bit cryptography. 4. **Read and write data:** contracts use the stack and memory, which are wiped after each call; permanent storage, which stays on-chain; and transient storage (TSTORE and TLOAD), which lasts for one transaction and arrived with the Dencun upgrade in March 2024. 5. **Record:** the resulting state change is recorded in the next block. Every implementation must follow the specification in the Ethereum Yellow Paper, and several independent ones exist, including evmone (C++), revm (Rust) and Py-EVM (Python). ## What is gas and why does the EVM need it? Every opcode has a gas cost that reflects its computational effort; writing to permanent storage costs far more than adding two numbers. Gas exists because the EVM is a shared computer. Without a price per step, anyone could submit an endless loop and stall every node. If a transaction runs out of gas, the EVM reverts its changes, but the gas is still consumed for the work performed. Since the London upgrade of 5 August 2021 (EIP-1559), each block has a base fee that is burned, plus an optional priority fee, or tip, for the validator. Blocks target half of the current gas limit and can stretch to twice the target when demand is high, with the base fee rising or falling to steer usage back towards the target. ## What does EVM-compatible mean? An EVM-compatible chain runs the same bytecode as Ethereum, so contracts, developer tools and wallets work with little or no change. BNB Smart Chain, Avalanche's C-Chain and Polygon PoS are EVM-compatible networks, and Layer 2 rollups such as Arbitrum, Optimism and Base also run the EVM; see [Layer 1 vs Layer 2 blockchains](https://wealtii.com/learn/layer-1-vs-layer-2) for how these differ. Compatibility brings benefits and one common trap: - **One codebase, many chains:** developers can deploy the same contract on several networks. - **One wallet, one address format:** the same [crypto wallet](https://wealtii.com/learn/crypto-wallets-explained) and the same 0x address work across EVM chains. - **The trap:** the same address on different chains holds different assets. Tokens sent on the wrong network can be hard or impossible to recover, so always match the network the recipient expects. - **Not always identical:** gas costs, supported opcodes and built-in functions can differ between chains. ## What are the limitations of the EVM? - **Sequential execution:** transactions in a block are processed one after another, which limits throughput on a single chain. - **Expensive storage:** writing permanent data costs a lot of gas, which shapes how contracts are designed. - **Permanent bugs:** deployed code usually cannot be edited. In 2016 a flaw in The DAO contract let an attacker drain more than 3.6 million ETH. - **Closed world:** contracts see only on-chain data unless an oracle supplies more, which adds a trusted party. **The EVM and Wealtii:** Wealtii's fund vault is a Gnosis Safe multi-signature smart contract on BNB Smart Chain, an EVM-compatible network, so it uses the same 0x address format as Ethereum. Deposits must be USDT sent on BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20) to your personal deposit address; the vault's own address is listed on [Wealtii's transparency page](https://wealtii.com/transparency). Our guide to [BNB Smart Chain](https://wealtii.com/learn/what-is-bnb-chain) explains the network. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the EVM in simple terms? The EVM is the shared computer that runs Ethereum smart contracts. Every node runs the same code on the same inputs and gets the same result, which is how thousands of computers agree on the state of every account and contract. ### What does EVM-compatible mean? An EVM-compatible blockchain runs the same bytecode as Ethereum, so contracts, tools and wallets work with little change. Examples include BNB Smart Chain, Avalanche's C-Chain and Layer 2 rollups such as Arbitrum and Base. ### What programming languages run on the EVM? Most EVM contracts are written in Solidity, with Vyper as the main alternative. Both compile to EVM bytecode, which is what nodes actually execute. ### Why do EVM transactions need gas? Gas prices each computational step so that nobody can overload the shared computer with endless work. If a transaction runs out of gas, its changes are reverted, but the fee for the work already done is still paid. ## Sources & References 1. [ethereum.org — Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)](https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/evm/) (accessed 21 Oct 2026) 2. [ethereum.org — Gas and fees](https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/gas/) (accessed 21 Oct 2026) 3. [EIP-1559 — Fee market change for ETH 1.0 chain](https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-1559) (accessed 21 Oct 2026) 4. [Solidity documentation](https://docs.soliditylang.org/) (accessed 21 Oct 2026) 5. [BNB Chain Docs — BNB Smart Chain introduction (EVM compatibility)](https://docs.bnbchain.org/bnb-smart-chain/introduction/) (accessed 21 Oct 2026) Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Digital assets are volatile and carry risk of loss. Wealtii is early-stage and is not regulated by any financial authority. ## Further reading from official sources - [NIST: Blockchain Technology Overview](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/ir/8202/final) - [Bitcoin white paper](https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf) [Zayd Ahmed](https://wealtii.com/editorial-policy#zayd-ahmed) Founder & CEO, Wealtii Computer Science Engineer | 5+ Years in DeFi & Digital Assets