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Blockchain Glossary

Glossary

Externally Owned Account (EOA)

An Ethereum account controlled by a single ECDSA private key — the default user account type, distinguished from smart-contract accounts.

Ethereum has two account types. EOAs are controlled by a single secp256k1 private key; the address is derived from the key. Every transaction signed by an EOA pays gas in ETH from that account.

Smart-contract accounts (the other type) have no key — their behavior is defined by code. Account abstraction (ERC-4337 today, native via EIP-7702 next) is the long-running effort to make smart accounts ergonomic and to eventually fold EOAs into them.