Clear DefinitionsExternally Owned Account
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Pronunciation
[eks-tur-nuh-lee ohnd uh-kownt]
Analogy
An EOA is like a person’s bank account controlled by a PIN—only the holder of the PIN can authorize transfers.
Definition
An Ethereum account controlled by a private key, capable of sending transactions but without associated contract code.
Key Points Intro
EOAs function as basic actors in Ethereum via:
Key Points
Private key control: Transactions signed by key.
No code: Balance and nonce only, cannot contain logic.
Gas payer: EOAs fund gas for contract interactions.
Nonce ordering: Prevents replay and ensures sequentiality.
Example
A user’s MetaMask account (EOA) signs and sends a transaction to call a DeFi contract.
Technical Deep Dive
EOA address = last 20 bytes of Keccak‑256(public key). Transactions include `nonce`, `to`, `value`, `data`, `v,r,s`. Nodes verify signature against sender’s public key, decrement balance by value+gas, increment nonce.
Security Warning
Loss of private key means loss of control; no recovery path exists for EOAs.
Caveat
EOAs cannot hold logic—advanced features require contract accounts.
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