The Ethereum Virtual Machine, EVM, is the shared computer that runs Ethereum smart contracts. Bitcoin scripting is built for payments. The EVM is Turing-complete. It can run arbitrary programs given enough gas and memory. Contracts live there, execute there, and store state there. Solidity compiles to EVM bytecode. Thousands of nodes execute that bytecode in lockstep.
The EVM is also the default target for other chains. Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain, and Arbitrum stay EVM-compatible so developers deploy the same app across chains without a new language. The EVM sets what contract developers can actually ship today. The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is the core computation engine of the Ethereum network, acting as a global, decentralized computer.
Unlike Bitcoin, which primarily runs a simple scripting language designed only to process value transfers, the EVM is Turing-complete, meaning it can execute any arbitrary mathematical computation if given enough time and memory. It is the environment where all Ethereum 'smart contracts' live, run, and maintain their state.
When a developer writes code in a language like Solidity, that code is compiled down into low-level EVM bytecode, which the thousands of nodes globally then execute in perfectly deterministic consensus. The EVM has become far more than just Ethereum's engine; it has evolved into the de facto standard operating system of Web3. The EVM is the shared computer. Solidity compiles to EVM bytecode.
Every full node runs the same opcodes.
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)
Interactive demonstration of how smart contracts execute on the EVM