> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tavchain.safeney.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Accounts and self-custody

> Understand Tavchain EVM accounts, wallet custody, chain-specific balances and the distinction between native and EVM address formats.

Tavchain uses Ethereum-style accounts with public `0x` addresses. The browser tutorials use an **externally owned account (EOA)**, controlled by a private signing key that your wallet manages.

A **contract account** is controlled by its deployed code rather than a private key. It executes when called by a transaction or another contract. Both account types can hold TAV; their permissions and behavior differ.

## Keep custody of your keys

Use a dedicated test account. Never paste a seed phrase, private key or wallet password into the faucet, explorer or support messages. Public services need your address or transaction hash, not your signing key.

## Select the correct network

The same address format can appear on several EVM networks. Balances, nonces and deployed contracts are specific to each chain. Select Tavchain Testnet, chain ID **771002**, before reviewing a transaction.

## Native and EVM addresses

Native node tooling can show the corresponding account in `tav1…` form. Use the EVM `0x` address for wallet, faucet and Ethereum JSON-RPC workflows. Do not convert between representations by truncating or editing address text.

[Connect a wallet](https://docs.tavchain.safeney.com/tavchain/connect.md) · [TAV and token balances](https://docs.tavchain.safeney.com/tavchain/learn/tokens.md) · [Transaction lifecycle](https://docs.tavchain.safeney.com/tavchain/learn/transactions.md)


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.