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I'm wondering why the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is used?
What if they didn't use it?
Why don't we have them in Bitcoin?
Why are Virtual Machines used in Ethereum?
Answers
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note: I might be wrong
- The EVM is actually the core of Ethereum. All contracts are written in EVM bytecode. This doesn't mean that Ethereum includes an actual virtual machine in the sense of Hyper-V, Vmware or Xen. It contains something[*] that can execute EVM bytecode (that something can either be interpreter, jit or aot). So, VM in this case is just a name for emulating the bytecode.
- Without the EVM, all transaction types would have to be hardcoded (this would limit capabilities, but would also be much safer).
- Why do you think that Bitcoin does not have a VM? It actually has. Script is Bitcoin's bytecode, you can read more about technical details here: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Script
2Welcome to Bitcoin.Stackexchange, GiM. Nice debut. ;) I've taken the liberty to switch around a few words in your answer, please take a look if you're happy with my edit and feel free to further amend it to your liking. – Murch – 2017-07-27T14:44:57.663