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# Verification

**What is Smart Contract verification?**

Smart contract verification is the process of ensuring that the source code of a smart contract matches the bytecode that is deployed on the blockchain. This is done by recompiling the source code and comparing it to the bytecode. If the two match, then the contract has been verified successfully.

**How does Smart Contract verification work?**

When a smart contract is compiled, the compiler generates executable bytecode and an Application Binary Interface (ABI). The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) executes the assembly instructions contained in the bytecode.

The process of compiling decouples the source code from the bytecode that is deployed on the blockchain. This means that the source code and the bytecode are no longer linked together. As a result, it is possible to have a difference between the source code and the bytecode.

**Do you need to verify Smart Contracts?**

There are several important reasons to verify your smart contracts:

* **Transparency:** Smart contract verification provides additional transparency to the information flow and shares the intentions of your smart contract. This allows users to be confident that the contract is working as intended.
* **Trustlessness:** Smart contract verification contributes to the trustlessness of the entire ecosystem. This is because it allows users to verify that the contract is working as intended, without having to trust the developer.
* **Tooling:** Smart contract verification enables numerous features of third party platforms, including transaction decoding, analytics, alerting, simulations, and other web3 Actions. These features can be used to improve the security and functionality of your smart contracts.


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