Account
A unique software-defined object containing an address, balance, nonce, and optional storage and code.
In distributed ledgers that use an “account-based model”, accounts serve as the atomic unit of identity for signing and sending transactions on the ledger. Ethereum is one example of a blockchain that uses an account-based model.
An account can be owned by a smart contract or by a user/device. Users typically access their account through a wallet application via its user interface. Accounts can be assigned ownership of digital assets like fungible tokens, NFTs, data tokens, and more.
Typically each account address maps to a public key to ensure all events associated with that account can be traced back to it. Some distributed ledgers, like those using a UTXO-based model, don’t have accounts and instead rely entirely on public keys. Oftentimes the terms “account” and “address” will be conflated when speaking at a high level about these technologies.
Source Account
The account from which a transaction originates. It is also known as the “Sender” account.
Destination Account
The account at which a transaction concludes. It is also known as the “Receiver” account.