How to Connect Coinbase with a View-Only CDP API Key (2026 Guide)

Guides · October 27, 2026 · Satoshi Note

If you use Coinbase in the US or Europe and want to see those coins next to Binance, Kraken or a hardware wallet, a one-time API key lets a portfolio tracker read your balances and history. Coinbase does this differently from most exchanges. The key is created in the Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP) portal rather than in the exchange settings, and it is not two short strings but a pair of an API key name and a multi-line private key. This guide walks through creating that key and pasting it into Satoshi Note. It takes about five minutes and costs nothing.

Two things first. One, the key you create here is a read-only key with only the View permission. Trade and Transfer stay off, so the key cannot sell or move your coins. Satoshi Note tests every key before saving it and rejects keys with trade or transfer permission (What is a read-only API key?). Two, Coinbase does not serve residents of Korea or Japan, so this connection is for accounts in supported countries such as the US and Europe.

At a glance

Connecting Coinbase takes three steps: sign in at portal.cdp.coinbase.com with your Coinbase account, go to API Keys › Secret API Keys › "Create API key", tick only "View" and choose "ECDSA"; paste the "API key name" and the "Private key" into Satoshi Note under Settings › Connect exchanges › Global › Coinbase; pass the "verifying account" check before saving.
Common snags: legacy Coinbase Pro / Exchange keys (key + secret + passphrase, HMAC) are not accepted, the key type must be ECDSA rather than Ed25519, the private key is shown once (the privateKey value from the downloaded JSON works as-is), and Korean or Japanese residents cannot use Coinbase at all.
In Satoshi Note (TokenPost's free crypto portfolio tracker with read-only sync for 18 exchanges), Coinbase Advanced Trade fills plus simple buys, sells and crypto transfers from the Coinbase app then sit in one table with your other exchanges.

Three things to know before you start

The key lives in the CDP portal. Not the settings page on coinbase.com, but portal.cdp.coinbase.com. Your normal Coinbase login works there; no separate signup, no fee.
Old-style keys do not work. The API Key + Secret + Passphrase (HMAC) keys from the former Coinbase Pro / Exchange are not accepted by Satoshi Note. Even if you still have one, create a new key in the CDP portal. The key type (signature algorithm) must be ECDSA; Ed25519 keys cannot be used.
The private key is shown only once. It is the multi-line block starting with -----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----. Close the page and it is gone. Coinbase also offers a JSON file to download; keep it, and you can paste its privateKey value later as-is.

Step 1 — Open Secret API Keys in the CDP portal

In a desktop browser, sign in at portal.cdp.coinbase.com with your Coinbase account and go to the left menu "API Keys" → "Secret API Keys" tab → "Create API key". If you pick Coinbase in Satoshi Note's in-app exchange connection guide, the same path and the permission to tick are shown on one screen, so it helps to keep that open beside you.

Step 2 — Permissions: View only; key type: ECDSA

Three choices on the "Create API key" form:

Permissions: tick "View" only. Leave Trade and Transfer off. View is enough to read trades and balances.
Key type (signature algorithm): choose "ECDSA". An Ed25519 key cannot be used with Satoshi Note.
IP allowlist: optional. If you want one, paste the server IP from the "Copy IP" button on the Satoshi Note guide. Syncing works without it too.

Create the key. The page shows the API key name (one line, shaped like organizations/…/apiKeys/…) and the Private key (several lines starting with -----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----).

Step 3 — Copy the API key name and the private key

Copy the two pieces separately. Copy the private key in full, line breaks included, from the first line -----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY----- to the last line -----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----. If you downloaded the JSON file, its privateKey value can be pasted as-is (its line breaks are written as \n, and Satoshi Note reads that correctly).

Step 4 — Paste the keys into Satoshi Note

Sign in to Satoshi Note at satoshinote.io, open Settings → Connect exchanges, stay on the Global tab and pick Coinbase. Paste the API key name and the private key into their fields. Within a few seconds the app verifies the account, pulls recent history, and builds your records. Your Coinbase holdings appear with quantity, average cost and unrealized P&L per asset, side by side with any other exchange you have connected. Keys are stored encrypted on the Satoshi Note server and used only to query the exchange.

Once connected, you can also receive the same numbers as a daily email report.

What gets imported — Advanced Trade fills plus the app's simple trades and transfers

The Coinbase import has a known scope, and it is wider than most exchanges.

Advanced Trade fills (orders on the order book) and simple buys and sells in the Coinbase app are both imported.
Crypto transfers to and from other wallets or exchanges are imported too. Coins received are recorded as a buy at the value Coinbase noted at that moment; coins sent are recorded as a sell. A convert inside the app is recorded as a sell of the outgoing coin and a buy of the incoming one.
Interest, staking rewards and fiat deposits or withdrawals are not recorded.
Amounts are in USD, EUR or GBP and are converted to KRW at the bank rate (European Central Bank reference) on the trade date. USDC and USDT quotes are treated as USD.
Coin-to-coin fills such as ETH/BTC are skipped because their cost basis cannot be determined.

Common snags

The "verifying account" step says the key is wrong.

Check three things. 1) The private key was pasted in full, first line to last. 2) The key was created as ECDSA (an Ed25519 key has to be replaced). 3) It is not a legacy Coinbase Pro / Exchange key. The key list in the CDP portal shows which kind each key is.

It says the key has no View permission.

The key was created with View unticked. Delete it in the CDP portal and create a new one with View only. Keys with Trade or Transfer enabled are rejected by Satoshi Note during the test before saving.

Can I use this from Korea or Japan?

No. Coinbase does not serve residents of those countries, so there is no account to connect. This walkthrough is for Coinbase users in supported countries such as the US and Europe.

FAQ

Why is the key created in the CDP portal and not in Coinbase settings?

Coinbase moved personal API key issuance to the Coinbase Developer Platform. The old Pro / Exchange HMAC keys can no longer be created, and Satoshi Note does not accept them. The CDP portal uses your regular Coinbase login and is free.

How is the cost of coins I received from elsewhere recorded?

At the value Coinbase noted on the incoming transfer at that moment. If you originally bought those coins cheaper on another exchange, that will differ from your true cost, and you can edit the record in the calendar. Trades made inside Coinbase use their actual fill price.

Can anyone withdraw my coins with this key?

No. A key with only View can read balances and history; orders and transfers are blocked on Coinbase's side. Satoshi Note also refuses to store any key that has Trade or Transfer permission.

Using other exchanges too?

If you also trade on Binance, OKX or Bybit, add a key for each the same way and everything lands in one table. We have separate walkthroughs for Binance, OKX and Bybit, and the in-app exchange connection guide covers all 18 supported exchanges.

Satoshi Note is free. Read-only API keys only. The site is satoshinote.io.