Externally owned account (EOA)
Definition
An externally owned account is an Ethereum account controlled by a private key, with no code, that a person uses to send transactions.
Ethereum has two account types. An externally owned account (EOA) is controlled by a private key: whoever holds the key can sign and send transactions from it. It has a balance and a nonce but no code of its own. A contract account, by contrast, has code and storage but no private key and can only act when called. The address you control with a wallet is normally an EOA.
Why it matters
The distinction shapes how funds move and who is responsible. Only an EOA can start a transaction; a contract account merely responds when an EOA (or another contract, triggered originally by an EOA) calls it. Because an EOA is protected solely by its private key, securing that key and its seed phrase is the whole of its security. There is no code-based logic sitting in front of it to add extra checks.
Common misunderstanding
A frequent error is assuming any address on a block explorer is a personal wallet. Many addresses are contracts, and sending tokens to a contract that is not designed to receive them can strand the funds. Another confusion is thinking EOAs have built-in spending limits or recovery. They do not by default; the key is the only gatekeeper. Newer standards blur the line by adding smart-contract features to accounts, but the basic EOA remains a plain, key-controlled account. For most users, the takeaway is simple: the private key is the account’s only guardian, so protecting it is everything.
Related terms
Note: CamoCrypt is security & education only — no prices, no predictions, no investment advice. Verify every address and contract yourself; we cannot recover lost funds and neither can anyone who contacts you claiming they can.