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Limitless supports three wallet types: Externally Owned Accounts (EOA), Embedded Wallets, and Smart Wallets. Each type has different characteristics and tradeoffs for users.

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Externally owned account (EOA)

An Externally Owned Account (EOA) is a blockchain account controlled by a user via a private key. The private key is a secret value used to sign transactions. Keep it secure and never share it. Common EOA wallet interfaces: MetaMask, Rainbow, Coinbase Wallet, Rabby, and similar browser extensions or mobile apps. On Limitless: You connect an EOA from the main login menu. For every on-chain transaction, you must approve it in your wallet interface (e.g., MetaMask).
Login screen showing MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Base, and other wallet optionsLogin screen showing MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Base, and other wallet options

EOA wallet connection options on Limitless

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Embedded wallet

An Embedded Wallet is a non-custodial wallet created and operated within an application by a third-party provider, without a separate wallet app. On Limitless: When you sign in via social login (e.g., Google, Twitter), an embedded wallet is created automatically after authentication. You can execute transactions directly from the app without an extra approval step in an external wallet.
Login screen showing email, Google, Twitter, and other social sign-in optionsLogin screen showing email, Google, Twitter, and other social sign-in options

Social login options for creating an embedded wallet

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Smart wallet

A Smart Wallet is an account implemented as a smart contract on-chain. It supports features such as:
  • Account recovery
  • Programmable logic for custom behavior
  • Gas fee abstraction and batched transactions
On Limitless: Smart wallets are used primarily to remove the need to hold native tokens (e.g., ETH) to pay transaction fees. You sign in via social login, and a smart wallet instance is created based on your embedded wallet. Limitless sponsors transaction fees, so you only need to hold USDC for trading activity.

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Trading wallet mode

Accounts connected with an external wallet may see a one-time “choose your trading wallet” prompt offering 1-click (smart wallet) trading. Accepting it sets your profile’s trading mode to smart wallet: app trades then run gas-free through a smart wallet instead of requiring a confirmation in your external wallet for every action. The prompt does not reappear after you choose. This choice matters if you later trade through the API: in smart-wallet mode, the API rejects orders signed with your external wallet’s own key. Developers can switch the profile back to EOA trading mode with a single authenticated call. See Trading wallet mode in the developer docs.

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Summary

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Exporting private keys

How (and whether) you can export a private key depends on the wallet type:
  • EOA wallet: your wallet interface (MetaMask, Rabby, Coinbase Wallet, etc.) manages the private key. Follow that wallet’s export instructions. Limitless never has access to it.
  • Embedded wallet: the wallet is created and secured by the embedded-wallet provider (Privy). By design, the raw private key is not exposed to the app or to the user. This is a provider-level security guarantee, not a Limitless restriction, so the key cannot be exported for external signing.
  • Smart wallet: a smart wallet is a contract account and does not have a single private key. It is controlled by its owner key (the embedded wallet), which is also non-exportable.
For programmatic trading from a social-login account, you cannot lift the embedded wallet’s key into an external script. Instead, either:
  • Trade from a separate EOA whose private key you control (sign orders yourself), or
  • Use delegated signing via the Programmatic API, where the server signs on your behalf using the managed embedded wallet — no private key handling required.
See Authentication and EIP-712 Order Signing for the full flows.
A Limitless API token secret is not a wallet private key. It is shown once at creation and cannot be retrieved afterward — if you lose it, derive a new token from the Limitless UI.

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Depositing and withdrawing funds

Limitless does not hold a platform balance. Your USDC always lives in your wallet on Base. Depositing and withdrawing therefore look different depending on your wallet type.

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Depositing

  • EOA wallet: bridge or send USDC on Base to your EOA address. Once the balance is on Base, it is immediately usable for trading.
  • Embedded or smart wallet (social login): the Limitless UI shows your embedded and smart wallet addresses. Send USDC on Base to that address to fund the account. You do not need to hold ETH for gas when trading from a smart wallet.

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Withdrawing

  • EOA wallet: your USDC already sits in your own wallet. To move it elsewhere, send it from your wallet interface (MetaMask, Rabby, etc.) like any other ERC-20 transfer on Base. Limitless does not need to be involved.
  • Embedded or smart wallet (social login): use the Withdraw action inside the Limitless UI to transfer USDC from your smart wallet to another address on Base. The platform sponsors gas.
  • Programmatic partners: server-managed wallets withdraw via the POST /portfolio/withdraw endpoint. The destination address must either be the authenticated account, its smart wallet, or an allowlisted withdrawal address on the profile.
All deposits and withdrawals settle on Base. Sending USDC from another chain (Ethereum mainnet, Arbitrum, etc.) without bridging first will not be credited. Bridge to Base before sending.