Prime

Get Started with the Coinbase Prime Onchain Wallet

To get started with the Prime Onchain Wallet on your Full Access Prime account, please complete the following prerequisite steps:

User Roles

The following roles are required to enable the Onchain Wallet:

  • Administrator: A user with the Administrator role will be responsible for the initial Onchain set up including signing terms of service and designating the first Onchain Signer. They can designate themselves as the Onchain Signer but they will not have this permission by default.  

  • Onchain Signer: The Onchain Signer will be responsible for generating the portfolio keys, storing the recovery passphrase and signing transactions across all Onchain wallets. An iOS mobile device and mobile compatible security key are required.

Obtaining YubiKey

  • Coinbase will provide all the mobile YubiKeys required for Onchain Signers and those who plan to approve consensus requests via mobile. If you need mobile compatible YubiKeys and Coinbase has not already coordinated this with you, reach out to primeops@coinbase.com or your account manager to request them. 

  • YubiKeys with mobile compatibility include: 

    • YubiKey 5 NFC - USB Type A

    • Yubikey 5C NFC - USB Type C

    • YubiKey 5Ci - USB Type C + Lightning

Prime Approvals App

Onchain Signers will hold the shard of the Onchain wallet key on their mobile device and use the mobile app to sign all Onchain wallet transactions. Users also can access their Coinbase Prime portfolio to view activities, manage consensus activities, and provide video authorization of vault withdrawals. 

How to set up the app: 

  1. On an iOS mobile device, download the Coinbase Prime Approvals from the app store

    • If a Onchain Signer deletes or uninstalls the Prime Mobile App or reset their phone, it will delete the local key shard for that user.

  2. Log in using your existing username and password. 

  3. You can set your device to use passkey to save your credentials (key symbol on your keyboard) if desired

  4. Verify with your YubiKey

    • If using a YubiKey USB 5Ci: plug in the lightning connector side of your key and tap the metal bars on either side with

    • If using a YubiKey USB A or C NFC: hold the YubiKey near the top left back corner of your phone

Learn more about the Coinbase Prime Approvals Mobile App here.

Select the Initial Onchain Signer

Once the above prerequisites have been completed, an Administrator in this portfolio should take the following steps:

  1. Once logged into Prime, click the Onchain icon on the left navigation bar to access the Onchain page. 

  2. Select “Get Started”. 

  3. Sign the Prime Onchain Wallet Terms of Service.

4. Select the initial Onchain Signer from the drop down and approve with your Yubikey

5. Reach consensus to designate the Onchain Signer permission.

Onchain Signers must have:

  • Role: Administrator, Approver, Authorized Signatory, Initiator or Full Trader.

  • Equipment: iPhone and mobile compatible Yubikey.

Generate a Onchain Wallet & Store Recovery Phrase

The Onchain Signer should take the following steps once permission is granted:

  1. Navigate to the Coinbase Prime Approvals mobile app to generate the Onchain wallet and key. A QR code can be scanned on Prime web from your phone to navigate to the Prime mobile app.

2. Sign into the mobile app with your existing Prime username, password, and Yubikey.

  • Start Onchain wallet set up.

  • Enable biometrics.

  • Generate the Onchain key. This will also require a biometrics check.

  • Click Create Recovery Backup, which will generate a passphrase that will be required to unlock it. Biometrics check will again be required. 

  • Save & Confirm the Recovery Passphrase. It is critical that you save & store the passphrase, this passphrase is required if you lose access to your Onchain key shard to regain access to your wallet. Make sure to not lose it or you risk losing access to the wallet and any funds held on it. 

  • Once confirmed, you should see the Onchain Wallet tab on the left hand side within the Prime portfolio.

    • Note: It may take a few minutes for the wallet to display. You can try exiting and re-opening the platform and refreshing the Prime UI page to update the display.

  • Navigate to the Prime Web, under Onchain to view your wallet which comes with another address.

  • You can now fund your wallet & download the Prime Onchain Wallet extension

Fund your Wallet

You can now login to the Prime extension to start using your wallet. Once you have created your Onchain Wallet, you may proceed with depositing funds to that new wallet. Please follow the instructions in this link for more information:

Deposit funds to your Onchain wallet

Download the Prime Onchain Wallet Extension

The extension is not publicly discoverable on the Chrome Store and must be accessed through a permission link via the Coinbase Prime Onchain page or the link below. The extension link is only available after the key is generated and will be located on the right hand side for download.

  1. On your computer, log into Coinbase Prime 

  2. Click the Onchain icon on the left navigation bar to access the Onchain page 

  3. Locate the prompts on the right hand side and click the arrow until you see the “Download Prime Extension'' prompt.

4. Click visit Chrome Store to get to the Prime Onchain Extension page. 

5. On the right hand side, click the button labeled “Add to Chrome”

6. Click the Puzzle icon on your Chrome browser and click the pushpin icon to pin it to your browser window

7. If Prime is open on the same browser, you will be automatically logged in

8. If not, open the Chrome extension and login using your existing Prime username, password and Yubikey

Please Note:

  1. It is recommended to only have a single wallet extension installed on a given browser to avoid conflicts when interacting with Dapps

  2. One simple way to isolate a wallet is to deactivate the corresponding wallet extension in the "Manage Extensions" menu in Chrome. Or use multiple chrome profiles

Add multiple Onchain Signers (Optional)

The Prime Onchain Wallet is a non-custodial wallet. Maintaining access to your wallet key shard is critical. Ensure you have multiple Onchain Signers and have safely stored your recovery passphrase should you need it. If all signers lose access to the shard and you do not have your recovery passphrase, Coinbase cannot assist with recovery.

Create Another Wallet under the Portfolio (Optional)

Once created, the wallet will have a single address. It is however possible to generate more addresses for that same wallet in that portfolio. It is a way to segregate funds on chains to addresses with different purposes.

  1. Log into your Prime account.

  2. Click into the Explore tab on the left hand side of the landing page.

  3. Select “Create New Wallet” and name the wallet

  4. Approve the action with your Yubikey on the platform and once consensus is reached, the new wallet will be created.