API Errors
The CDP Payments API uses conventional HTTP response codes to indicate the success or failure of an API request. In general:-
Codes in the
2xxrange indicate success -
Codes in the
4xxrange indicate an error that failed given the information provided (e.g., a required parameter was omitted) -
Codes in the
5xxrange indicate an error on CDP’s backend servers.5xxerrors are not a guarantee of failure; there’s always the chance that the operation may have succeeded in our back-end. Therefore, your application should treat the operation’s status as unknown.
errorType: A machine-readable error codeerrorMessage: A human-readable message providing more detailcorrelationId: A unique identifier for the request that can help with debuggingerrorLink: A link to detailed documentation about the specific error type
HTTP 400
Invalid request
This error occurs when the request is malformed or contains invalid data, including issues with the request body, query parameters, path parameters, or headers. Steps to resolve:- Check all required fields and parameters are present
- Ensure request body (if applicable) follows the correct schema
- Verify all parameter formats match the API specification:
- Query parameters
- Path parameters
- Request headers
- Validate any addresses, IDs, or other formatted strings meet requirements
- Missing required parameters
- Invalid parameter types or formats
- Malformed JSON in request body
- Invalid enum values
Transfer-specific validation errors
The following transfer validation scenarios returnerrorType: "invalid_request". Use the errorMessage field to identify the specific case.
| Scenario | Example errorMessage |
|---|---|
| Source account ID is malformed | "source is invalid." |
| Target account ID is malformed | "target is invalid." |
| Source account does not exist | "source not found." |
| Target account does not exist | "target not found." |
| Asset not supported at source | "source is not supported." |
| Asset not supported at target | "target is not supported." |
| Target email address is malformed | "target has an invalid email format." |
| Target onchain address is invalid for network | "The recipient address is invalid for the selected network." |
| Asset not supported for this transfer route | "Transfer asset pair is not supported." |
| Insufficient balance | "Insufficient funds to complete this transfer." |
| Asset mismatch between request fields | "Currency mismatch in request." |
| Metadata has too many keys | "Metadata has too many keys. Up to 50 key/value pairs are permitted." |
| Metadata key exceeds length limit | "Metadata key is too long. Each key must be less than or equal to 40 characters." |
| Metadata value exceeds length limit | "Metadata value is too long. Each value must be less than or equal to 500 characters." |
| Travel rule fields missing | "Travel rule information is incomplete. Missing fields: ..." |
| Recipient address not in account allowlist | "Your coinbase account allowlist does not include this address. Please update your allowlist at https://www.coinbase.com/settings/allowlist" |
Timed out
This error occurs when a request exceeds the maximum allowed processing time. Steps to resolve:- Break down large requests into smaller chunks (if applicable)
- Implement retry logic with exponential backoff
- Use streaming endpoints for large data sets
Recipient allowlist violation
This error occurs when the user is not allowed to receive funds at this address, according to their coinbase account allowlist. Steps to resolve:- Either disable the allowlist or add the wallet address at https://www.coinbase.com/settings/allowlist
- Wait approximately 2 days for updates to take effect.
Source account invalid
This error occurs when the source account specified in the transfer request is invalid or malformed. Steps to resolve:- Verify the account ID format is correct (e.g.,
account_xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx) - Ensure the account ID belongs to your CDP entity
- Verify the account ID exists by calling
GET /v2/accounts/{accountId}orGET /v2/accounts
- Malformed account ID
- Typo in the account ID
Target account invalid
This error occurs when the target account specified in the transfer request is invalid or malformed. Steps to resolve:- Verify the account ID format is correct (e.g.,
account_xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx) - Ensure the account exists and can receive funds
- Verify the account ID exists by calling
GET /v2/accounts/{accountId}orGET /v2/accounts
- Malformed account ID
- Typo in the account ID
Source account not found
This error occurs when the source account specified in the transfer does not exist. Steps to resolve:- Verify the account ID exists by calling
GET /v2/accounts/{accountId}orGET /v2/accounts
Target account not found
This error occurs when the target account specified in the transfer does not exist. Steps to resolve:- Verify the account ID exists by calling
GET /v2/accounts/{accountId}orGET /v2/accounts
Source asset not supported
This error occurs when the asset specified in the transfer source is not supported for this transfer type. Steps to resolve:- Check the list of supported assets for the source account type
- Verify the asset symbol is correctly specified (e.g.,
usdc,usdt)
- Unsupported asset for the transfer route
- Incorrect asset symbol
Target asset not supported
This error occurs when the asset specified in the transfer target is not supported for this transfer type. Steps to resolve:- Check the list of supported assets for the target
- Verify the asset symbol is correctly specified (e.g.,
usdc,usdt) - Ensure the target can receive this asset type
- Asset not supported by the target
- Unsupported conversion between source and target assets
Target email invalid
This error occurs when the email address specified as the transfer target is invalid. Steps to resolve:- Verify the email address format is valid (e.g.,
user@example.com) - Check for typos in the email address
- Ensure the email domain is valid
- Invalid email format
- Missing @ symbol or domain
- Typo in the email address
Target onchain address invalid
This error occurs when the onchain address specified as the transfer target is invalid for the specified network. Steps to resolve:- Ensure the network is supported for the transfer type
- Verify the address format matches the target network
- Ensure you haven’t mixed up addresses from different networks
- Network not supported for the transfer type
- Address format doesn’t match network
- Address from a different blockchain network
Transfer amount invalid
This error occurs when the transfer amount is invalid. Steps to resolve:- Ensure the amount is a positive number and greater than $1 USD equivalent amount
- Verify the amount format is a valid decimal string (e.g.,
"100.50") - Check the number of decimal places for the asset
- Zero or negative amount
- Too many decimal places for the asset
- Amount below minimum threshold ($1 USD equivalent amount)
Transfer asset not supported
This error occurs when the asset specified for the transfer is not supported. Steps to resolve:- Check the list of supported assets for transfers
- Verify the asset symbol is correctly specified
- Ensure the asset is supported for the transfer route (source → target)
- Asset not supported for transfers
- Incorrect asset symbol
Insufficient balance
This error occurs when the source account does not have enough funds to complete the transfer including fees. Steps to resolve:- Check the source account balance
- Ensure the balance covers both the transfer amount and any fees
- Consider using
amountType: "source"to transfer the maximum available amount minus fees - Add funds to the source account if needed
- Transfer amount exceeds available balance
- Not accounting for transfer fees
- Pending transactions reducing available balance
Metadata too many entries
This error occurs when the transfer metadata contains more entries than allowed. Steps to resolve:- Reduce the number of metadata entries (maximum 50 allowed)
- Consolidate related data into fewer keys
- Store additional data externally and reference it with a single metadata entry
- Maximum entries: 50
Metadata key too long
This error occurs when a metadata key exceeds the maximum allowed length. Steps to resolve:- Shorten the metadata key to 40 characters or less
- Use abbreviations or shorter naming conventions
- Consider using a key-value structure where the value contains the longer identifier
- Maximum key length: 40 characters
Metadata value too long
This error occurs when a metadata value exceeds the maximum allowed length. Steps to resolve:- Shorten the metadata value to 500 characters or less
- Store longer data externally and reference it with a shorter identifier
- Consider compressing or encoding the data if appropriate
- Maximum value length: 500 characters
Travel rules field missing
This error occurs when required travel rule fields are missing from the transfer request. Steps to resolve:- Include the
travelRuleobject in your transfer request - Supply the required missing fields prompted by the error message
- Review the travel rule requirements for your jurisdiction
Asset mismatch
This error occurs when the assets specified in the transfer are incompatible or don’t match expected values. Steps to resolve:- Ensure the
assetfield matches either the source or target asset - Verify that the source and target assets are compatible for conversion (if different)
- Check that the asset symbols are correctly specified
- Transfer asset doesn’t match source or target
- Attempting an unsupported asset conversion
- Typo in asset symbols
HTTP 401
Unauthorized
This error occurs when authentication fails. Steps to resolve:- Verify your CDP API credentials:
- Check that your API key is valid
- Check that your Wallet Secret is properly configured
- Validate JWT token:
- Not expired
- Properly signed
- Contains required claims
- Check request headers:
- Authorization header present
- X-Wallet-Auth header included when required
HTTP 403
Forbidden
This error occurs when you don’t have permission to access the resource. Steps to resolve:- Verify your permissions to access the resource
- Ensure that you are the owner of the requested resource
HTTP 404
Not found
This error occurs when the resource specified in your request doesn’t exist or you don’t have access to it. Steps to resolve:- Verify the resource ID/address/account exists
- Check your permissions to access the resource
- Ensure you’re using the correct network/environment
- Confirm the resource hasn’t been deleted
- Mistyped addresses
- Accessing resources from the wrong CDP project
- Resource was deleted or hasn’t been created yet
HTTP 409
Already exists
This error occurs when trying to create a resource that already exists. Steps to resolve:- Check if the resource exists before creation
- Use GET endpoints to verify resource state
- Use unique identifiers/names for resources
HTTP 422
Idempotency error
This error occurs when an idempotency key is reused with different parameters. Steps to resolve:- Generate a new UUID v4 for each unique request
- Only reuse idempotency keys for exact request duplicates
- Track used keys within your application
Travel rules recipient violation
This error occurs when the user is not allowed to receive funds at this address, because it violates travel rules. Steps to resolve:- Ensure your desired transfer is not blocked by local travel regulations.
HTTP 429
Rate limit exceeded
This error occurs when you’ve exceeded the API rate limits. Steps to resolve:- Implement exponential backoff
- Cache responses where possible
- Wait for rate limit window to reset
HTTP 500
Internal server error
This indicates an unexpected error that occurred on the CDP servers. Important: If you encounter this error, please note that your operation’s status should be treated as unknown by your application, as it could have been a success within the CDP back-end. Steps to resolve:- Retry your request after a short delay
- If persistent, contact CDP support with:
- Your correlation ID
- Timestamp of the error
- Request details
- Consider implementing retry logic with an exponential backoff
HTTP 502
Bad gateway
This error occurs when the CDP API is unable to connect to the backend service. Steps to resolve:- Retry your request after a short delay
- If persistent, contact CDP support with:
- The timestamp of the error
- Request details
- Consider implementing retry logic with an exponential backoff
HTTP 503
Service unavailable
This error occurs when the CDP API is temporarily unable to handle requests due to maintenance or high load. Steps to resolve:- Retry your request after a short delay
- If persistent, contact CDP support with:
- The timestamp of the error
- Request details
- Consider implementing retry logic with an exponential backoff
Network Errors
Network errors occur when there is a problem establishing or maintaining a connection to the CDP API at the network layer. These errors are distinct from API service errors - they indicate that your request never reached the CDP API or was blocked before it could be processed.Understanding Network Errors
When you encounter a network error via the CDP SDK, you’ll receive aNetworkError object with:
statusCode: Always 0 (indicating no HTTP response was received)errorType: Specific type of network errorerrorMessage: Human-readable descriptionnetworkDetails: Additional information including:code: Technical error codemessage: Original error messageretryable: Whether the operation should be retried
Types of Network Errors
1. IP Blocked (network_ip_blocked)
Your IP address has been blocked at the gateway level.
Common causes:
- Geographic restrictions.
- Rate limiting at infrastructure level.
- Security policies or DDoS protection.
- Corporate firewall/proxy restrictions.
- Verify you’re not accessing from a restricted region.
- Check if you’re behind a VPN or proxy that might be blocked.
- Contact CDP support on Discord if you believe this is in error.
- This error is not retryable.
2. Connection Failed (network_connection_failed)
Unable to establish a connection to the CDP API.
Common causes:
- CDP API is temporarily unavailable. Check the CDP Status Page for any ongoing issues.
- Network connectivity issues.
- Firewall blocking outbound HTTPS connections.
- Incorrect API endpoint configuration.
- Check your internet connection.
- Verify firewall settings allow HTTPS traffic to
api.cdp.coinbase.com. - Ensure you’re using the correct API endpoint.
- This error is retryable. Retry the request with exponential backoff.
3. Timeout (network_timeout)
The request took too long and was terminated.
Common causes:
- Network congestion.
- Slow internet connection.
- Increase timeout settings if consistently timing out.
- This error is retryable. Retry the request with exponential backoff.
4. DNS Failure (network_dns_failure)
Unable to resolve the CDP API domain name.
Common causes:
- DNS configuration issues.
- Network connectivity problems.
- DNS server unavailable.
- Incorrect API endpoint URL.
- Check your DNS settings.
- Verify network connectivity with
nslookup api.cdp.coinbase.com. - Try using a different DNS server (e.g., 8.8.8.8).
- Ensure the API URL is correct.
- This error is not retryable until DNS is fixed.
Handling Network Errors in Code
Best Practices
- Implement Retry Logic: For retryable errors, use exponential backoff:
- Log Network Errors: Always log network errors with full details for debugging.
- Monitor Patterns: Track network errors to identify patterns (time of day, specific operations, etc.).
- Have Fallback Strategies: Consider implementing fallback mechanisms for critical operations.
Troubleshooting Checklist
- Verify internet connectivity.
- Check if you’re behind a proxy or VPN.
- Ensure firewall allows HTTPS traffic to
api.cdp.coinbase.com. - Verify you’re not in a restricted geographic region.
- Check DNS resolution:
nslookup api.cdp.coinbase.com. - Test with
curlor similar:curl -I https://api.cdp.coinbase.com/platform. - Check if the issue is consistent or intermittent.
Getting Help
If you continue to experience network errors after following this guide:-
Collect error details including:
- Full error message and type.
- Network details from the error.
- Time and frequency of occurrence.
- Your network configuration (proxy, VPN, region).
- Contact CDP support on Discord with this information.
- Check the CDP Status Page for any ongoing issues.