All terms
The Ethereum Virtual Machine, the runtime most chains have standardized on.
The EVM is the environment smart contracts execute in. It defines the instruction set, the gas costs and the state model.
Because so many chains adopted it, one contract can be deployed across dozens of networks and one wallet works everywhere. That network effect is why EVM compatibility is such a common selling point.
Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche and BNB Chain are all EVM compatible, which is why MetaMask works on all of them.
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