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Coinbase Wallet and Smart Wallet

Coinbase Wallet and Coinbase Smart Wallet are self-custody wallets. Smart Wallet uses passkeys and ERC-4337 account abstraction for gasless, recoverable accounts. 1claw does not replace either. Instead, it handles the operations that happen outside the user's wallet: agent-driven transactions, server-side signing, treasury management, and secret storage.

How they complement each other​

ConcernCoinbase Wallet / Smart Wallet1claw
User custody and signingUser holds keys (EOA or smart account)Not applicable: 1claw does not hold user keys
Passkey-based authenticationSmart Wallet uses passkeys for signing1claw uses passkeys for dashboard login and tx authorization
Agent/backend operationsNot designed for headless agentsAgent API keys, signing keys, Intents API
Transaction guardrailsWallet-level UX confirmationsServer-side policy engine (allowlists, spend caps, chain restrictions)
Secret managementNot applicableHSM-encrypted vault with policies
Multisig treasuryNot built inSafe-based proposals with agent delegation
LLM proxyNot applicableShroud TEE proxy

In short: Coinbase Smart Wallet is a user's wallet. 1claw is the infrastructure behind your backend and your agents. Use both.

Architecture​

User with Smart Wallet              Your backend + agents           Blockchain
        |                                   |                           |
        |  Coinbase Smart Wallet            |                           |
        |  (passkey, ERC-4337)              |                           |
        |  User-initiated txs ------------>  |  ----------------------> |
        |                                   |                           |
        |                               1claw vault                     |
        |                               - Backend secrets              |
        |                               - Agent signing keys           |
        |                                   |                           |
        |                               Agent calls Intents API ------> |
        |                               (automated ops, no user click) |
        |                                   |                           |
        |  <-- approval request --      Approval queue                 |
        |  (dashboard / mobile)         (human-in-the-loop)            |

Use case 1: Agent operations alongside Smart Wallet​

Your users sign transactions with Coinbase Smart Wallet in the browser. Your agents handle background operations (rebalancing, liquidation protection, yield harvesting) through 1claw.

import { createClient } from "@1claw/sdk";

// Agent client, configured with the agent's own API key
const agent = createClient({
  baseUrl: "https://api.1claw.xyz",
  apiKey: process.env.ONECLAW_AGENT_KEY!,
});

// Agent submits a background transaction
// The signing key is HSM-backed, never extracted
const tx = await agent.agents.submitTransaction(agentId, {
  chain: "base",
  to: "0xYieldVault...",
  value: "0",
  data: harvestCalldata,
  simulate_first: true,
});

The user's Smart Wallet and the agent's signing key are completely separate. The user controls their funds through their passkey. The agent controls its own signing key through policies set by a human admin.

Use case 2: Store Coinbase API keys in the vault​

If you integrate with Coinbase's APIs (Commerce, Exchange, Onramp), store those credentials in a 1claw vault instead of environment variables.

curl -X PUT "https://api.1claw.xyz/v1/vaults/$VAULT_ID/secrets/coinbase/commerce-api-key" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "value": "'"$COINBASE_COMMERCE_KEY"'",
    "type": "api_key",
    "description": "Coinbase Commerce API key"
  }'

Your agent fetches the key at runtime:

const secret = await agent.secrets.get(vaultId, "coinbase/commerce-api-key");
const commerceKey = secret.data.value;

Benefits over environment variables:

  • HSM encryption at rest
  • Access policies with expiry, IP conditions, and time windows
  • Audit log of every read
  • Secret rotation without redeploying

Use case 3: Human approvals for agent transactions​

Smart Wallet uses passkeys for user-level transaction confirmation. For agent-level governance, 1claw provides an approval system where agents propose actions and humans approve them.

// Agent requests approval for a high-value operation
const approval = await agent.approvals.request({
  action: "policy_change",
  target_type: "agent",
  target_id: agentId,
  summary: "Request to increase daily spend limit to 10 ETH",
  reason: "Portfolio rebalancing requires larger position sizes",
  risk_tier: 2, // requires biometric approval on mobile
});

The human approves or denies in the dashboard, mobile app, or via API. This is separate from the user's Smart Wallet flow. It governs what the agent can do, not what the user can do.

Use case 4: Smart account as a Safe signer​

If you deploy a Safe multisig and want both a Smart Wallet user and a 1claw agent as signers:

  1. Deploy a Safe with the Smart Wallet address and the agent's EOA as signers
  2. Set threshold to 2 (both must approve)
  3. The agent proposes transactions through 1claw's treasury API
  4. The human signs with their Smart Wallet
// Agent proposes a treasury transaction
const proposal = await agent.treasury.propose(treasuryId, {
  chain: "base",
  to_address: "0xRecipient...",
  value_wei: "1000000000000000000", // 1 ETH
});

// Human signs with Smart Wallet (EIP-712 signature)
// When threshold is met, 1claw auto-executes

See the Safe integration guide for the full setup.

Use case 5: ERC-4337 smart accounts with 1claw​

Smart Wallet uses ERC-4337. 1claw also supports ERC-4337 for agent-owned smart accounts. The agent's signing key becomes the owner of a Safe deployed via 1claw:

// Gasless transaction via ERC-4337 paymaster
const tx = await agent.agents.submitTransaction(agentId, {
  chain: "base",
  to: "0xContract...",
  value: "0",
  data: calldata,
  gasless: true, // sponsors gas via Pimlico paymaster
});

This is useful when you want agents to operate smart accounts without holding native tokens for gas.

Concept map​

Coinbase Smart Wallet concept1claw equivalentRelationship
Passkey signerDashboard passkey loginDifferent contexts: user vs. admin
ERC-4337 UserOperationgasless: true on Intents APISame protocol, different actors
Self-custodyHSM custody (agent keys)Users self-custody; agents get HSM-backed keys
Transaction confirmation (UI)Policy engine + approval queueUI prompts vs. server-side policy
Onchain session keysAgent JWT (scoped, short-lived)Scoped access, automatic expiry

Further reading​