The phenomenon known as the smart contract is regarded as one of the technological innovations that has attracted considerable attention in academic and media circles in recent years. This study, conducted using a descriptive-analytical methodology and a comparative approach, drawing upon both library-based and online resources, focuses on examining the transformative effects of self-executing contracts on the contractual regime. The principal question that this study seeks to answer is the extent to which this innovation is capable of transforming the formal and substantive structure of contracts. The findings indicate that the lack of precision in the use of technical terms and specialized concepts, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and even the contract, constitutes one of the principal obstacles to a proper understanding of this phenomenon. Transformations in the linguistic and syntactic structures of contracts, the adoption of conditional logic, the reduction of the adverse effects of human judgment and emotions, and the diminished reliance on public authority in the performance of contracts are among the principal formal and substantive changes brought about by the smart contract paradigm. Nevertheless, despite its aforementioned capacities and advantages, this paradigm has not gained widespread acceptance owing to its excessive complexity.