Virtual Accounts FAQ

Q. I use several different blockchains (Ethereum, Polygon, and others). Can I have a single wallet for all of those blockchains to make transactions and keep all my assets?
A. No, you cannot. You should have a separate wallet for each blockchain.

Q. If I want to create a virtual account, do I still need to create a blockchain wallet?
A. Yes. Actually, you need to create a blockchain wallet first, and then you create a virtual account connected to this wallet via the wallet’s public key. You can create as many virtual accounts for a blockchain wallet as you need (for example, if you run a custodial wallet application, you can create a virtual account for each of your customers within the same blockchain wallet).

To allow the customers assigned to the virtual accounts to directly deposit assets into their virtual accounts, create a deposit address and attach it to a virtual account. When creating a deposit address, you must use the blockchain wallet’s public key to associate the deposit address with this specific wallet.

Q. What assets do virtual accounts support?
A. Virtual accounts support native currencies and ERC-20 (or equivalent) tokens. NFTs and MultiTokens are not supported.

Q. In a custodial wallet application, where are NFTs stored?
A. NFTs are stored in a blockchain wallet. It can be a native blockchain wallet or a Gas Pump address if you have one.

Q. I created a virtual currency based on a supported cryptocurrency. It is now attached to a new virtual account that was created in my wallet for this new virtual currency. Can I use this virtual currency to pay for NFT minting?
A. No, you cannot use virtual currencies for paying any blockchain fees, including NFT minting.

To pay for NFT minting (as well as any other blockchain fee) from a virtual account, you have to use one of the following options:

• Have a sufficient amount of the cryptocurrency on the deposit address associated with the private key that you used when minting NFTs. This amount will be used to pay for the NFT minting.
• Mint NFTs using NFT Express where you mint NFTs without the need to have any blockchain assets on your virtual account. Tatum covers the minting fee for you and then deducts the number of credits from you that equals the minting fee.

Q. As the owner of a non-custodial wallet application, should I assign each customer their own blockchain wallet, or can I create several virtual accounts under the same wallet, a virtual account per customer?
A. In a non-custodial wallet application, you have to create a blockchain wallet for each customer.

Q. As the owner of an NFT marketplace, should I assign each customer their own blockchain wallet, or can I create several virtual accounts under the same wallet, a virtual account per customer?
Technically, you can do both. However, it is easier to have a wallet per customer to be able to quickly understand what customer a specific wallet belongs to.

Q. As the owner of a crypto exchange, can I assign virtual accounts under the same wallet to different customers?
A. Yes, you can have one wallet that holds several virtual accounts, and you can assign each virtual account to a different customer.