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Ethereum: A Secure Decentralised Generalised Transaction Ledger (Yellow Paper)

The Ethereum Yellow Paper, authored by Gavin Wood, serves as the formal technical specification for the Ethereum protocol. Unlike the original whitepaper, which

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Abstract

The Ethereum Yellow Paper, authored by Gavin Wood, serves as the formal technical specification for the Ethereum protocol. Unlike the original whitepaper, which focused on conceptual design, the Yellow Paper provides a rigorous mathematical definition of the state transition function, the account model, and the transaction processing rules. It details the precise implementation of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), including opcodes, stack operations, and storage layouts. This document is essential for developers building Ethereum-compatible clients and provides the canonical reference for the protocol’s mechanics, ensuring consistency across the decentralized network. It remains the gold standard for understanding how Ethereum maintains its global state. Authors: Gavin Wood Publication: Technical Report Publication date: 2014-01-01

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Key findings

  • Provided the formal mathematical model for the Ethereum state transition function.
  • Defined the technical specifications for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
  • Established the account-based ledger model vs. the UTXO model.
  • Specified the serialization and consensus rules for the network.

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Citation

Gavin Wood (2014). Ethereum: A Secure Decentralised Generalised Transaction Ledger (Yellow Paper). Technical Report. https://ethereum.github.io/yellowpaper/paper.pdf
Canonical knowledge ID: research:ethereum-a-secure-decentralised-generalised-transaction-ledger-yellow-paper