Introducing CDP Flexible Custody

TL;DR: CDP Flexible Custody brings user self-custody, developer custody, and Coinbase custodial wallets together in one SDK and one API key. The custodial layer is powered by Coinbase Prime, the same infrastructure behind Coinbase's institutional business and trusted by the largest asset managers in the world. Pick the custody model that fits each wallet, or use all three in the same app.

The right custody model depends on your app

Different apps call for different custody models:

• A stablecoin payments app wants users to hold their own balances and earn yield through DeFi protocols. ser self-custody can shorten the path to a global launch.

• A fintech orchestrating payments or managing its own treasury needs developer-controlled wallets its backend can act on programmatically. 

• An enterprise serving institutional clients needs compliant custody with qualified custodian status and licensed legal entities.

CDP Flexible Custody handles all three from a single integration. And importantly, the custodial layer isn't built on a partnership. Custodial wallets are powered by the same Coinbase infrastructure that stores billions of dollars in assets for our largest institutional clients. Non-custodial wallets are secured through Coinbase's TEE stack, which protects billions in assets for our retail customers.

One integration, three custody models

The CDP SDK now supports all three custody models on a single CdpClient, the same client that already powers wallets, payments, and onchain actions.

import { CdpClient } from "@coinbase/cdp-sdk";

const cdp = new CdpClient();

// User-custodied: user controls their keys, signs in with email or passkey

const userWallet = await cdp.endUsers.createEndUser();

// Developer-custodied: your backend controls the keys, fully programmatic

const devWallet = await cdp.evm.createAccount();

// Coinbase-custodied: Prime-grade institutional custody, via API

const account = await cdp.accounts.createAccount();

User-custodied wallets put end users in control of their own wallets without the overhead of private key management, seed phrases, or passkeys. Users sign in with web2-friendly auth methods such as email, mobile SMS, social login, or custom JWT. These wallets are well-suited for global deployments, and give users native access to onchain capabilities like DEX trading, DeFi yield, and borrowing against their crypto assets.

Developer-custodied wallets give your backend full programmatic control to power autonomous flows. Use them for automated payments, agent operations, server-side treasury management, any logic that needs to act without waiting for a user.

Coinbase-custodied accounts are powered by Coinbase Prime. With hot/cold orchestration, qualified custodian options, and licensed legal entities – all managed by Coinbase, accessed through a clean API. Coinbase-custodied accounts are the right choice when you need Coinbase to bear the custodial relationship with your users: for regulated use cases, enterprise clients who require a named qualified custodian, or products where you want Coinbase's compliance infrastructure standing behind every account.

All three live on one CdpClient. One API key unlocks all of them.

First-class support for AI Agents

CDP Flexible Custody was designed for AI-native applications from the start. The CDP CLI and MCP server expose every custody model to AI agents: creating accounts, initiating transfers, checking balances, interacting with DeFi, all through a consistent interface that works natively with any AI system. Whether you are building a user-facing product or an autonomous agent stack, you are writing against the same SDK.

This matters because AI agents do more than read balances. They move funds, execute trades, and interact with protocols autonomously. An agent managing a treasury or routing payments needs developer-custodied access at runtime. An agent acting on behalf of a user needs to respect that user's configured guardrails. CDP Flexible Custody handles both, in the same session, with the same client.

One platform for everything

CDP Flexible Custody is part of a broader unified platform. The same API key that creates custodial accounts also powers non-custodial wallets, payments, trading, stablecoins, and a rich suite of onchain developer tools.

No more vendor sprawl. No more reconciling separate account models. Coinbase is the only infrastructure partner you need.

What ships today

Available now in TypeScript:

• cdp.accounts.createAccount(): Coinbase-custodied accounts

• cdp.endUsers.createEndUser(): user-custodied wallets (unchanged)

• cdp.evm.createAccount(): developer-custodied wallets (unchanged)

• One CdpClient, one API key, all custody models

• CDP Portal: discover and configure all custody types from one dashboard

Python, Go, and additional language SDKs coming soon.

Get started

• Custodial Wallets

• Non-custodial Wallets

• Quickstart