What is Ethereum’s Accounts-Based Model And How Does it Work?

Digital currencies rely on the ability to transfer funds easily between parties. On blockchain networks, transactions are initiated by the owner of the currency, specifying the amount to send and the recipient. Blockchains use record-keeping models like the Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model or the accounts-based model to enable these transfers. In this article, we will focus on the basics of the accounts-based model - how it functions and differs from UTXO. Grasping Blockchain Basics To fully understand the accounts-based model, we must first cover some blockchain fundamentals. A blockchain is essentially a state machine – a system that transitions between defined states. It records prior transactions and events to represent the current state at any given time. Adding new transactions or blocks triggers state transitions according to preset protocol rules. All blockchains follow the same basic scheme, whether UTXO-based or accounts-based: Transactions are broadcast to the network...