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Finding your Coinbase API Key

In order to connect the Bitcoin Tradr app to Coinbase so that you can see your account and buy / sell / send bitcoin, you must enter your Coinbase API Key and Secret into Bitcoin Tradr. Using Coinbase, you can choose what level of access this API key has to your Coinbase account. For example, you could give Bitcoin Tradr read-only access to your Coinbase account by making sure the API key you give Bitcoin Tradr only has read-only permissions.

Note: Before following the steps below, you must have an account created on Coinbase. If you do not yet have an account on Coinbase, you can create one for free here. If you're looking to trade altcoins like Monero, Cardano, and IOTA as well, also create a free account here.

To find your Coinbase.com API Key:
  1. Go to https://www.coinbase.com and log in with your Coinbase username and password
  2. Click 'Settings'
  3. Click 'API Access' in the menu bar that comes up
  4. Click 'New API Key'
  5. If asked for your password, type your Coinbase.com password. If asked for a two factor token, enter your token. Hit 'Verify'
  6. Under 'Accounts', select the Coinbase account you want Bitcoin Tradr to have access to. Select only one account. Do not select 'All'.
  7. Under the "API v2 permissions" section, click 'Select all'. If you instead want to assign only certain permissions to Bitcoin Tradr, below is what permissions the app needs. If you don't give Bitcoin Tradr all of the permissions it needs, some of its features will not work. For example, without the 'wallet:buys:create' permission, you will not be able to purchase Bitcoin through Bitcoin Tradr. You can view definitions of each permission here.
       - wallet:accounts:read
       - wallet:buys:create
       - wallet:buys:read
       - wallet:contacts:read
       - wallet:sells:create
       - wallet:sells:read
       - wallet:transactions:read
       - wallet:transactions:send
       - wallet:user:read
  8. For allowed IP addresses, leave it blank.
  9. Hit 'Create'
  10. Your API Key and API Secret should now be shown. Each is a long string of random numbers and letters. Note: For some Coinbase accounts, Coinbase will keep new API keys disabled for 48 hours from their creation, for security purposes. If this is the case for your account, you should get an email and/or text message alerting you to this. In that case, you will not be able to use Bitcoin Tradr with the API Key you've just created for 48 hours. Since Coinbase will not show your API Key and API Secret again, copy those temporarily to some file on your computer, wait for 48 hours to pass, and then proceed with steps 11 - 16. Once you have completed steps 11 - 16, do not forget to delete the file where you temporarily copied your API Key and API Secret.
  11. Highlight the API Key and copy it (you can copy using the Control + C keys together on your keyboard, or by right clicking on the highlighted text and clicking 'Copy').
  12. Go back to Bitcoin Tradr (install the app if you don't already have it, then open it), and paste the API Key into the API Key input box. If the login pane in Bitcoin Tradr has closed, you can bring it back up by: Windows 8 and Windows 8.1: swiping from the right of the screen or by pressing Windows Key + C to bring up the Charms bar. Windows 10: On the top left corner of the Bitcoin Tradr app, click the three lines icon. Then click on Settings, then Account.
  13. Go back to Coinbase. Highlight the API Secret and copy it.
  14. Go back to Bitcoin Tradr, and paste the API Secret into the API Secret input box.  If the login pane in Bitcoin Tradr has closed, you can bring it back up by:  Windows 8 and Windows 8.1: swiping from the right of the screen or by pressing Windows Key + C to bring up the Charms bar. Windows 10: On the top left corner of the Bitcoin Tradr app, click the three lines icon. Then click on Settings, then Account.
  15. Click the 'Log In' button in Bitcoin Tradr.
  16. If after you click 'Log In' you receive an error message from Bitcoin Tradr, fix the issue identified in the error message and then try to log in again. Depending on the error, the steps to fix the problem could be different. Common error messages include:
  • "Invalid API key" -- this means the Coinbase API Key you entered is incorrect. Enter the correct API Key to fix this issue.
  • "Invalid signature" -- this means the Coinbase API Secret you entered is incorrect. Enter the correct API Secret to fix this issue.
  • "API Key disabled" -- this means the Coinbase API Key you entered is disabled. Enable the API Key to fix this issue.
  • "Invalid scope" or "API Key does not support <some-permission-here> or all scopes" -- this means the Coinbase API Key you entered does not have the permissions required for the Bitcoin Tradr app to function. Repeat step 7 to fix this issue.

  • "API Key not authorized to access any Bitcoin accounts" -- this means the Coinbase API Key you entered does not have access to any accounts that are meant for holding Bitcoin, specifically. Repeat step 6, making sure to select at least one Bitcoin-based account, to fix this issue.

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