What is EOA (Externally Owned Account)?

An externally owned account, or EOA, is the basic type of account on networks like Ethereum. It is controlled by a private key held by a person, and it can send transactions and hold tokens. This is what most people mean by a wallet address. It contrasts with a contract account, which is governed by smart-contract code rather than a single key.

This matters as you grow beyond the basics. Knowing the difference helps you understand newer options like smart-contract wallets and account abstraction, which add features such as multiple signers or recovery that a plain EOA lacks.

Example: your everyday browser or mobile wallet address is an EOA; when you send funds, your private key signs the transaction that the network then processes.

Safety note: because an EOA is protected by a single private key and seed phrase, that one secret is the whole security model. There is no built-in recovery if it leaks or is lost. Guard the seed carefully, and consider smart-contract wallets or multisig for larger holdings that benefit from extra safeguards. Related terms include private key, smart contract wallet, multisig, and account abstraction.