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Coinbase SDK + PolicyLayer: The Ultimate Stack for Safe AI Agents

· 2 min read
PolicyLayer Team
PolicyLayer Team
PolicyLayer

The Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP) SDK is revolutionizing how developers create wallets for AI agents. Their MPC (Multi-Party Computation) solution removes the headache of seed phrase management.

But MPC manages custody, not policy. You still need a way to control how much the agent spends.

Here is how to combine Coinbase SDK with PolicyLayer for the ultimate secure agent stack.

Coinbase's MPC wallets are incredibly secure against key theft. However, if your AI agent (which controls the MPC wallet) decides to "empty wallet to address X" due to a prompt injection, the MPC system will faithfully execute that valid signature request.

MPC secures the key. PolicyLayer secures the intent.

Integration Guide​

PolicyLayer wraps any wallet SDK, including Coinbase's CDP.

1. Setup​

import { Coinbase } from "@coinbase/coinbase-sdk";
import { PolicyWallet } from "@policylayer/sdk";

// Initialize Coinbase SDK
const coinbase = new Coinbase({
  apiKeyName: process.env.CDP_KEY_NAME,
  privateKey: process.env.CDP_PRIVATE_KEY,
});

// Create the Agent's Wallet
const cdpWallet = await coinbase.wallet.create();

2. Create Policy-Wrapped Wallet​

// Create a custom adapter for Coinbase SDK
const coinbaseAdapter = {
  getAddress: async () => cdpWallet.getDefaultAddress(),
  signAndSendTransaction: async (tx) => {
    const transfer = await cdpWallet.createTransfer({
      amount: tx.amount,
      assetId: tx.asset,
      destination: tx.to
    });
    return { hash: transfer.getTransactionHash() };
  }
};

// Wrap with PolicyLayer controls
const secureWallet = new PolicyWallet(coinbaseAdapter, {
  apiUrl: 'https://api.policylayer.com',
  apiKey: process.env.POLICYLAYER_API_KEY
});

3. Usage​

Now transactions are validated against your spending policies.

// If this exceeds daily limit, it fails before signing.
// No gas fees wasted. No funds lost.
const result = await secureWallet.send({
  chain: 'base',
  asset: 'usdc',
  to: '0x...',
  amount: '500000000' // 500 USDC
});

Why This Stack Wins​

  • Coinbase SDK: Handles the key management, on-ramps, and MPC security.
  • PolicyLayer: Handles the spending limits, whitelists, and "Kill Switch" functionality.

This is the standard reference architecture for enterprise-grade Agentic Finance applications.