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Generating a Deposit Address: Introduction

How to Generate Deposit Addresses in a Virtual Account

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Once an End User Virtual Account is created, it is not yet synchronized with the blockchain. There is no blockchain address connected to it acting as a Deposit Address, but just the XPUB from your Master Exchange Wallet.

Steps

Step_1: Generate a Wallet

Example request:

curl --location --request GET 'https://api.tatum.io/v3/bitcoin/wallet' \
--header 'x-api-key: {YOUR_API_KEY}'
//Response
{
    "mnemonic": "method main swing charge hero theory eyebrow myself movie series silent camp proof tortoise electric rabbit good clip process always expect chase adult fee",
    "xpub": "tpubDFRtR6DexBRjtJAfGYMaLnNWRwz7h5pNXu8rX4wcYuH6xeXncMcTqPnUVqk8d86DmUHJeWJBxhK6vhFHMQr4eZhHkQvKxXYtgYKPPMjKwer"
}

Step_2: Create a Virtual Account (XPUB-based)

Step_3: Generate a deposit address for a Virtual Account (XPUB-based)

Example request:

  • The XPUB will be taken from the Virtual_Account_ID.
  • The Deposit Address will be generated by adding +1 to the "index", as seen in the response as "derivationKey"
//POST: https://api.tatum.io/v3/offchain/account/{id}/address
curl --location --request POST 'https://api.tatum.io/v3/offchain/account/{Virtual_Account_ID}/address' \
--header 'x-api-key: {testnet_API_KEY}'
// Response
{
    "xpub": "tpubDFRtR6DexBRjtJAfGYMaLnNWRwz7h5pNXu8rX4wcYuH6xeXncMcTqPnUVqk8d86DmUHJeWJBxhK6vhFHMQr4eZhHkQvKxXYtgYKPPMjKwer",
    "derivationKey": 1, //By default, it starts with index == 1, Index == 0 is reserved to act as a ChangeAddress when transferring out.
    "address": "tb1q2m35yvwlvrt4glqmlakepdd2jdanpe6nmc7wek", //This is the address your end user can use to deposit assets from outisde your Exchange or Application
    "currency": "BTC"
}

Step_4: The result is a blockchain address that has been connected to the VA

  • Any incoming blockchain transaction to this address, which matches with the "currency" of the VA will be automatically synchronized to the ledger.

Good to Know

  • Be mindful of Tatum Derivation Path.
  • Any on-chain assets already present in the blockchain address to bind to the Virtual Account will be ignored—more information HERE.
  • Deposits are only recognized as long as the "currency" of the VA matches the on-chain asset deposited

❗️

Never share your mnemonic(s) and/or private key(s) with anyone. It is your responsibility to keep this information safe.

Disclaimer

Virtual Accounts are designed to hold a limited number of deposit addresses (1-5), similar to standard practices in Exchanges. While adding many deposit addresses may appear functional, this setup often leads to unrecoverable synchronization issues across users over time.

🚧

To avoid potential disruptions and ensure consistent performance, we recommend adhering to the intended usage of 1-5 deposit addresses per Virtual Account.

Updated 2 months ago