Dive into the Future of Blockchain-Enabled Experiences Today!
Are you ready to revolutionize the way users interact with crypto? Look no further than the Developer Services Console, your gateway to unlocking the full potential of blockchain technology. Get started now and discover the incredible possibilities of User Controlled Wallets!
Before you get started, ensure that you have:
Have a Developer Services account
Created your API key
(Optional) Install our SDKs
// Developer Controlled Wallets
npm install @circle-fin/developer-controlled-wallets --save
// User Controlled Wallets
npm install @circle-fin/user-controlled-wallets --save
// Contracts
npm install @circle-fin/smart-contract-platform --save
In this section, we create and initalize a new user and then act as that user to initiate a transaction. For both steps we need specific parameters. These parameters are required to initialize a user session and later confirm the transaction. They also serve determine how your app functions.
Here is a quick overview:
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| App ID | The App ID is your application's unique identifier. It serves as a distinct label that sets your application apart from others. |
| Encryption Key and User Token | They are created when you initiate a user session. The user token is the session identifier, and the encryption key is an encryption and decryption key that is randomly generated to ensure the security of the session. |
| Challenge ID | The Challenge ID acts as an identifier that corresponds to a specific challenge. A challenge prompts your users to take specific actions, such as confirming transactions or executing smart contracts. |
In the next few steps, we explain what these parameters are and how to acquire them!
First up is the App ID. Your App ID serves as a key component that allows you to configure and tailor your User-Controlled Wallet integration.
You can make a request to the
GET /config/entity
API endpoint to obtain your App ID.
🎉 Great job, we have now acquired the first parameter we need.
Behind the scenes, you (as a developer) have to go through a few essential steps to set up and initialize a user. In a theoretical sense, we will explore these steps next: creating your first user and initializing their wallets. These steps include creating a user, creating a session token, and initializing the user account, where you will also create a wallet for the user via Circle's APIs. At the end of these steps, you can then prompt your end-user to complete the account setup in your sample app.
Once you've absorbed the theory behind these steps, you'll find a Try It Out component at the end. This tool handles all of these steps for you, making your experience with the QuickStart guide smoother and more user-friendly.
Let's delve into the process!
To begin the end-to-end process, you must create and initialize the users who will ultimately be using your application. A user, representing the end-user of your app, is identified through a userID. This userID serves as the account identifier encompassing all associated wallets, assets, and transactions for that specific user.
Once you have successfully created a user, you will acquire a session token which authenticates the user's session within your app and has a validity period of 60 minutes.
Typically, in your app's flow, you would create a session token when the user logs in. Once you have created a session, we will return an encryptionKey and a userToken. The userToken is the session identifier, and the encryptionKey is an encryption and decryption key that is randomly generated to ensure the security of the session.
User initialization is a critical step where you create the user account and create a wallet for a specified blockchain at the time of account creation.
Two fundamental concepts to understand in this step are:
When making an initialization request, it is required that you use an idempotency key, a unique identifier for the request, to ensure that subsequent requests with the same key do not create duplicate entities. You can learn more about it in our documentation.
A challenge is initiated when your end-users are prompted to take a specific action, such as initiating a transaction or executing a smart contract. They serve as checkpoints in the user journey, ensuring that sensitive operations can only be carried out with the user's explicit authorization.
The first challenge that users encounter involves setting their PIN code and creating a recovery method as part of this initial sign up. The PIN is encrypted during input on the user's personal device, ensuring developers or merchants never have access to user PINs. The recovery method allows users to regain access to their assets in case they forget their PIN code. They have the option to choose security questions, a familiar backup mechanism that enhances the user experience while ensuring that users have full control over their assets.
User Sovereignty and Asset Security
By setting up a PIN code, users have complete sovereignty over their wallets. Only operations that are authorized by entering the PIN code can be initiated, providing users with peace of mind and control over their assets.
Enhanced User Experience without Seed Phrase
By utilizing a unique PIN code and Recovery Method, users can conveniently and securely access their wallets without being burdened by complex seed phrases.
Now that we understand these two important concepts, we are ready to initialise the user account and create a wallet.
This Try It Out component will aggregate the explained steps above and return a challengeId, the userToken and the encryptionKey. We will use in the next few steps within the sample app to set up the user.
By following these steps, you have now created a user, establishing their unique
identifiers. We have also initiated our first challenge by initializing their
accounts and wallets, acquiring a session token and creating a challenge.
You can now enter these values into your sample app simulator and you will have
completed the configuration.
In the next step, we will play the role of
your end-user, and complete the account setup by defining a pin and recovery
methods.
After we gathered all necessary parameters, we are now able to use our WebSDK to enter this information and start the set up process that the end user would go through.
🎉 Great job on setting up the WebSDK!
After the sucessful confirmation a wallet was created, you may now proceed with the next step and learn how to check the wallet status!
Now that the end-user has successfully set up their PIN and defined their recovery method, we can proceed to check whether the wallet was successfully created. The check returns the following details about the wallet:
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Address | The end-users wallet address is a unique identifier generated during wallet creation. It is used for sending, receiving, and storing digital assets on a blockchain network. It serves as the destination for cryptocurrency transactions, verifying ownership of the specific digital wallet. |
| Blockchain | Specifies the testnet blockchain (network) you created the wallet for. |
| Create Date | A timestamp that indicates the time at which the wallet was created. |
| CustodyType | CustodyType refers to whether the end user or the developer controls the private key invocation. In the case of user-controlled wallets, the custody type is user-controlled, granting the end-user full control over their private keys. |
| ID | The unique ID assigned to the wallet. |
| State | The State reflects the current status of the wallet and can be either "live" or "frozen". |
| WalletSetId | The WalletSetId indicates the ID of the wallet set. A wallet set represents a collection of wallets managed by a single cryptographic private key. It offers a unified management experience, particularly in the context of supported blockchains. Wallets from different chains can share the same address within a wallet set, especially on EVM chains. |
Understanding these returned values will enable you to verify the successful creation of the end-user's wallet and act accordingly within your application.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| UserId | User token of the user that owns the wallet to check the status of. |
🎉 Congratulations on successfully crafting your wallet! This marks a significant milestone in your web3 journey. Now, let's explore the next step: populating your wallets with tokens. Since we're currently operating on Testnet, we'll be using Testnet tokens. To help you with this, we have the Try It Out Box below - a convenient solution to fund your freshly created wallets.
If you have successfully set up your wallets you can now proceed to initiate your first transaction!
Now that you've set up your wallet and obtained some Testnet tokens, let's dive into initiating your first transaction. It's simpler than you might think, especially with our streamlined approach.
From a user experience standpoint, blockchain transactions have a unique challenge - gas fees. Gas fees are charges in blockchain networks that ensure transactions are processed efficiently and have to be paid with native assets, like Ether (ETH) on Ethereum. This requires your end-users to hold these native assets in their wallets to be able to transact. When using User-Controlled Wallets that are configured as smart contract wallets, you no longer require your end-users to hold native assets and pay gas fees, you can sponsor them, empowering you to provide your end-users with an improved transaction experience. This is made possible through the Gas Station, which acts as a middleman, allowing you to pay for your end-users gas fees.
During the testnet phase, the Gas Station is already set up to facilitate seamless testing and development. When transitioning to the Production phase through the Circle Developer console, you will gain even more control. You will be able to set spending limits and configure other aspects according to their specific needs. To learn more, see the Gas Station topic in Circle Developer Documentation.
Before we can proceed, we need to determine the tokenId. It is the unique
identifier for the specific token type you're transferring. You can do this by
retrieving the token balances for your wallet. This step also allows you to
check whether you received your Testnet tokens.
In the next step, we initiate a Testnet transaction, but keep in mind that as a developer, you cannot directly execute the transaction. Instead, we create a transaction that the end user can approve by entering their PIN. This process, known as a challenge, prompts the user to validate and authorize the transaction by entering their PIN within the mobile app.
To initiate this process, you need to obtain a session token. Using the session token, you can then proceed to initiate a transfer and receive a ChallengeID in return. The ChallengeID allows you to prompt the user to enter their PIN within the app, confirming their approval and ensuring secure transaction execution.
Additionally, blockchain transactions typically require a gas fees to complete. Gas fees are similar to bank fees, and help cover the cost of executing transactions on the blockchain network. These fees vary based on factors such as network congestion and transaction complexity. Circle provides an endpoint where you can estimate gas fees, and it returns three fee options: low, medium, and high. This way you can balance cost and transaction speed. You can find more details in the Estimate fee for a transfer transaction topic. For this example, we automatically set it to high.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| idempotencyKey | A unique string that ensures your transaction isn 't processed more than once even if sent multiple times. A critical measure to prevent duplicates. |
| amounts | Specify the amount of tokens you're transferring. |
| destinationAddress | The wallet address where you're sending the tokens. |
| tokenId | This is the id we just extract from your wallet balance. It is the unique identifier for the specific token type you're moving. This id is unique. |
| walletId | Indicates the source of the transaction, i.e., from which wallet you're sending the tokens. |
The preceding parameters are just the essentials for initiating a transaction. The endpoint offers a richer, more detailed configuration to cater to a variety of transaction types and needs. For a comprehensive understanding and to leverage advanced features, we recommend referring to the official documentation.
After we gathered all necessary parameters, we are now able to use our WebSDK to enter this information and start the set up process that the end user would go through.
🎉 Awesome, we now have successfully confirmed a transaction. Let's learn on the next page how to check if the transaction was successful!
After initiating a transaction through our API, you'll be able to look up the transaction hash in our Developer Services Console. It's a unique identifier for your transaction. View transactions.
You can validate transaction in multiple ways:
Make sure you're logged in to the Developer Services Console.
Open the User Controlled Wallets Transactions page.
You can see the state of your transaction directly in the table.
For additional details about your transaction, click on the transaction in the table.
Depending on the blockchain your token resides on, select a suitable explorer.
On the explorer's main page, there's a search bar. Paste your transaction hash or wallet ID there and search. You can find the transactionHash or the wallet ID in your list of transactions.
Whether you provide a wallet ID or transaction hash, the console displays details about your wallet and any associated transactions. This includes details about each transaction, such as the number of confirmations and the gas used, so you can verify that the transaction occurred as expected.
Throughout this process, you've successfully:
You successfully created a user and set up smart contract wallets for them.
You experienced the end-users’ flow for setting up their wallet in the WebSDK, guiding them through defining their pin and recovery method.
You have automatically received funds from our faucet into your end-users’ wallet and gained understanding on how to check their wallet balance.
You initiated a gasless transaction using a Gas Station and went through the flow of how the end-user can confirm the transaction with their pin using the WebSDK.
To continue your development journey, you can explore our Server-side SDKs, the Test Server or utilize the Postman collection along with the WebSDK sample app, unlocking even more possibilities for seamless integration and further customization. Keep up the great work!
Your journey with us doesn't stop here. There's so much more to discover und dive into:
Engage, Build, Share! Dive into our forums, share your feedback, and keep an eye out for exciting challenges and hackathons. Your unique perspective and skills are valuable, and we're eager to see the innovations you'll introduce to our growing ecosystem.
As you continue further on your journey, we'd love to hear from you. Your feedback shapes the future of our platform and helps us provide a better experience for all developers.
What did you love about the process? Was there something you wished was different? Every insight, no matter how small, matters to us.
Thank you for your trust, dedication, and enthusiasm. Here's to the next chapter in your web3 adventure and the marvelous innovations that come of it.
Happy Building! 🚀
Next: Explore more Quickstarts
