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Quickstart

Take your first crypto deposit and payout in an afternoon. This walks the whole loop: create an account → get an API key → issue a deposit address → get paid → pay out.

All calls use your tenant API key in the x-api-key header. Amounts are always strings in base units (wei, satoshis, token minor units) so nothing ever touches a float.

1. Create your account​

Sign up in the console — it provisions your tenant and a segregated hot wallet per chain automatically:

👉 Create an account  ·  already have one? Sign in

2. Get an API key​

In the console, open API keys and create one. Copy it now — the secret is shown only once.

👉 Create an API key

export CHAINRAIL_KEY="crq_..."
export CHAINRAIL_API="https://tenant-api.chainrail.io"

3. See which chains are enabled​

The chains endpoint is public and returns everything configured on the deployment:

curl "$CHAINRAIL_API/v1/chains"

4. Issue a deposit address​

One call per customer and chain. Pass remoteCustomerId to make it idempotent — the same customer and chain always returns the same address.

curl "$CHAINRAIL_API/v1/deposit-addresses" \
  -H "x-api-key: $CHAINRAIL_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "chainId": "ethereum", "remoteCustomerId": "cus_123" }'
{ "address": "0x8f3a…b21c", "chainId": "ethereum", "remoteCustomerId": "cus_123" }

Show that address at checkout. When the customer pays, Chainrail detects the deposit, waits for confirmations, credits your ledger balance, and sweeps the funds into your hot wallet — no action needed from you.

5. Check your balance​

curl "$CHAINRAIL_API/v1/balances" -H "x-api-key: $CHAINRAIL_KEY"

6. Pay out​

Request a withdrawal against your available balance. Always send an Idempotency-Key so a retry can never double-spend.

curl "$CHAINRAIL_API/v1/withdrawals" \
  -H "x-api-key: $CHAINRAIL_KEY" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: payout-2024-0001" \
  -d '{
    "chainId": "ethereum",
    "symbol": "USDC",
    "amount": "2500000",
    "destinationAddress": "0xRecipient…",
    "idempotencyKey": "payout-2024-0001"
  }'

Chainrail reserves the funds atomically, broadcasts the transaction, and tracks it to confirmation.

Next steps​

Ready? Create your account and make your first call.