A programmable application that is executed on the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin scripts are sometimes called smart contracts because they can be programmed to perform such functions as requiring multiple parties to sign off on a transaction or wait a certain amount of time before coins are spendable. However, Bitcoin smart contracts do not have the versatility of Ethereum smart contracts. The Taproot enhancement to Bitcoin in 2021 added code that makes the scripts more capable (see
Taproot). See
Bitcoin transaction,
smart contract,
Bitcoin and
Ethereum.