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Everything you need to go from signing up to going live.

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Create your account

  1. Sign up at portal.cdp.coinbase.com.
  2. Generate a Secret API key from API Keys.
See Authentication for key handling and best practices.

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Custodial and non-custodial APIs

CDP offers custodial and non-custodial product APIs. Business verification is required to access the custodial APIs.

Non-custodial

Your users hold their own funds. Build and go live immediately, no business verification.

Custodial

Coinbase holds or moves funds for you. Test now in the Sandbox, then verify your business to use real funds.

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Make your first call

How you make your first call depends on which set you’re building with.

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Non-custodial APIs

Build and go live immediately, with no business verification. The CDP CLI covers the full CDP API (wallets, data, policies, onramp, x402) and doubles as an MCP server, so AI agents get typed tool access to every endpoint.

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From your terminal

1

Install (Node.js 22+)

Terminal
npm install -g @coinbase/cdp-cli
2

Configure credentials

Download an API key and a wallet secret from the CDP Portal, then load each into the CLI:
Terminal
cdp env live --key-file ./cdp_api_key.json
cdp env live --wallet-secret-file ./cdp_wallet_secret.txt
3

Create and fund a testnet account

Terminal
cdp evm accounts create name=my-wallet
address=$(cdp evm accounts by-name my-wallet --jq '.address')
cdp evm faucet address=$address network=base-sepolia token=eth
You’ve created and funded your first account from the CLI. The full encode-sign-send pipeline (and Solana, smart accounts, swaps, x402, and more) is covered in the CDP CLI overview.

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From an agent session

Point the agent at the CDP CLI onboarding skill. It installs, configures, and verifies the CLI:
Prompt
docs.cdp.coinbase.com/cdp-cli/skill.md
To register the CLI’s MCP server (Claude Code example):
Terminal
claude mcp add --scope user --transport stdio cdp -- cdp mcp
For other agents and bundled-skill installation, see CDP for agents.

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Custodial APIs

Build and test immediately in the Sandbox with simulated funds. It uses the same endpoints, authentication, and response formats as production, so there’s nothing new to learn when you go live. When you’re ready for real funds, verify your business and go live.

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Verify your business and go live

Complete these steps to go live with custodial APIs:
1

Verify your business

Verify through Coinbase Prime or Coinbase Business:

Coinbase Prime

For large organizations and institutions. Apply at prime.coinbase.com.

Coinbase Business

For small to mid-sized businesses. Sign up at coinbase.com/business.
Both require business documentation such as incorporation certificates, beneficial owner information, and proof of address. For the list of endpoints unlocked after verification, see Business onboarding.
2

Link your account

Linking accounts requires the CDP Admin role. Whoever completes business verification is granted it automatically once the account is approved. To link your account:
  1. From any Coinbase product, open the product menu in the top right and select CDP to open the CDP Portal.
  2. Once in the Portal, go to the Accounts page and click Link account.
  3. Choose the Prime or Business accounts you want to make available in CDP.
Linking makes your verified account usable from CDP: it inherits the account’s verified status (shown as type business or prime) and unlocks the custodial APIs.
3

Switch to Live

Switch the Portal from Sandbox to Live and create Live API keys. Sandbox and Live keys are not interchangeable, so use Live keys only against the Live environment.

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Manage your team

Team management is handled in Coinbase Workspace. Roles are scoped to each surface, and a teammate can hold more than one:
SurfaceRolesWhat they control
CDPCDP Admin, CDP ViewerAccess to CDP resources. Admins can link accounts
WorkspaceWorkspace Admin, Workspace ViewerAccess to the team. Admins manage members and roles

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How your account and funds are organized

Once you’re set up, the Portal organizes your work into a few layers. Your entity is your company. It maps to one legal business and carries your verified status. Manage keys, billing, and configuration in Settings. As you build, you’ll mainly work with two resources under your entity:
  • Projects hold your API keys and resources. CDP creates your first project automatically, and you can add more to keep separate work apart.
  • Accounts hold funds. There are two kinds: accounts linked from Coinbase Prime or Coinbase Business, and wallets you create with the CDP APIs (custodial and non-custodial). Each account can have deposit addresses, reporting, and bank settlement.

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Where to go next

API reference

Explore all endpoints.

Explore use cases

See common use cases and the products behind them.

Sandbox

Build and test with simulated funds, no verification.

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Support