Generate wallets, check balances, send transactions, and manage crypto across multiple chains. Honest comparison of 6 wallet APIs with free tiers, code examples, and real trade-offs.
Updated March 2026 · 15 min read
A crypto wallet API eliminates the need to run full blockchain nodes, manage private keys manually, or implement chain-specific transaction logic from scratch.
Query wallet balances, token holdings, and transaction history across chains. Build dashboards showing net worth in real time.
Give autonomous agents the ability to hold, send, and receive crypto. Essential for agentic payments, x402 micropayments, and DeFi automation.
Generate unique deposit addresses per customer, monitor incoming payments, and automate settlement. Replace manual invoicing with API-driven flows.
Create hot wallets, execute swaps, and manage positions programmatically. Backend infrastructure for trading platforms and arbitrage bots.
Aggregate DeFi positions, staking rewards, LP balances, and yield across protocols. Show users their full DeFi portfolio in one view.
Embed wallets into games with social login. Manage NFT inventories, in-game currencies, and marketplace transactions without MetaMask pop-ups.
Most wallet APIs follow a similar pattern regardless of provider.
Sign up and get credentials. Some providers (Frostbyte) work without signup.
Generate an HD wallet or embedded wallet. Receive address and (optionally) private key.
Check native token, ERC-20, and NFT balances across supported chains.
Transfer tokens, execute swaps, or interact with smart contracts via API.
Feature comparison of the top crypto wallet APIs in 2026.
| Provider | Free Tier | Chains | Wallet Gen | Balance | Tx History | Swaps | Signup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alchemy Freemium | 30M CU/mo | 70+ | ✗ (Smart Wallet SDK) | ✓ Token + NFT | ✓ Transfers API | ✗ | Required |
| Moralis Freemium | ~40K CU/mo | 15+ EVM + Solana | ✗ | ✓ Enriched + USD | ✓ Decoded | ✗ | Required |
| QuickNode Freemium | 10M credits/mo | 130+ | ✗ | ✓ Via add-ons | ✓ Via add-ons | ✗ | Required |
| thirdweb $5/mo min | 1K MAUs free | 1000+ EVM | ✓ Embedded + Smart | ✓ Insight API | ✓ Insight API | ✓ Pay | Required + $5/mo |
| Coinbase CDP Freemium | 5K ops/mo | EVM + Solana | ✓ 3 products | ✓ Limited | ✗ | ✓ ETH + Base | Required |
| Frostbyte No Signup | 10 free txns | 9 chains | ✓ HD wallets | ✓ Native + tokens | ✗ | ✓ 0.3% fee | Not required |
The most common chains developers target and which APIs support them.
| Chain | Alchemy | Moralis | QuickNode | thirdweb | Coinbase | Frostbyte |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Base | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Polygon | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Arbitrum | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Optimism | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| BSC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Avalanche | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Solana | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bitcoin | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cosmos / XRP / Aptos | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Detailed look at each wallet API with honest pros and cons.
The dominant Web3 infrastructure provider. Best-in-class for querying wallet data (token balances, NFTs, transaction history) across 70+ chains. Smart Wallet SDK supports account abstraction (ERC-4337) with gas sponsorship. Does not generate raw wallets — focused on data and smart accounts.
Best enriched wallet data in the market. Transaction history comes decoded with human-readable descriptions ("Swapped 1 ETH for 3000 USDC"). Wallet net worth endpoint aggregates value across chains. DeFi position tracking built in. Supports EVM chains + Solana.
The widest chain support of any provider at 130+ networks. The only real option for non-EVM chains like Bitcoin, Cosmos, XRP, Aptos, and Sui. Core product is RPC infrastructure with wallet-specific features available via marketplace add-ons. Streams feature enables real-time push-based data delivery.
Best for consumer apps that need social login wallets (email, Google, Apple — no seed phrases). Supports 1,000+ EVM chains. Account abstraction with built-in Paymaster for gas sponsorship. Engine product handles high-throughput backend transactions. Strong gaming SDK support (Unity, Unreal).
Three wallet products: Embedded (social login), Server (TEE-secured keys in AWS Nitro), and Agentic (purpose-built for AI agents with MCP server). OFAC compliance screening built in. USDC yield (3.35%) on wallet balances. Best choice for AI agent wallets and server-side automation.
Multi-chain HD wallet API built for AI agents and developers who want the simplest possible setup. Generate wallets across 9 chains (including Bitcoin and Solana) with a single POST request. Built-in swap support with 0.3% fee. REST API — no SDKs, no OAuth, no dashboard required.
Wallet APIs fall into two categories. Understanding the difference helps you pick the right one.
| Feature | Query APIs (Alchemy, Moralis, QuickNode) | Generation APIs (Frostbyte, thirdweb, Coinbase) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary function | Read blockchain data for existing wallets | Create new wallets and manage keys |
| Wallet creation | Not supported (bring your own wallet) | Generate addresses + keypairs via API |
| Balance queries | Enriched (tokens, NFTs, USD values, DeFi) | Basic native + token balances |
| Transaction history | Full decoded history with categorization | Limited or not available |
| Best for | Portfolio trackers, analytics, dashboards | Payment processing, agent wallets, exchanges |
| Key management | Not applicable — you manage keys | Keys generated and optionally stored |
Working examples for the most common wallet API operations.
# Get all token balances for a wallet using Alchemy curl -s https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR_API_KEY \ -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "alchemy_getTokenBalances", "params": ["0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045"], "id": 1 }' # Response includes all ERC-20 token balances # For native ETH balance, use eth_getBalance
// Get enriched wallet balance with USD values using Moralis const response = await fetch( `https://deep-index.moralis.io/api/v2.2/` + `0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045/erc20`, { headers: { 'X-API-Key': 'YOUR_MORALIS_KEY', 'accept': 'application/json' } } ); const tokens = await response.json(); // Returns: name, symbol, balance, decimals, usd_value console.log(tokens);
# Check wallet balance with Frostbyte — no API key needed curl -s https://api-catalog-three.vercel.app/v1/agent-wallet/v1/wallet/balance/0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045?chain=ethereum # Response: # { # "address": "0xd8dA...6045", # "chain": "ethereum", # "balance": "1.234567", # "unit": "ETH" # }
# Generate an HD wallet on Ethereum with Frostbyte curl -s https://api-catalog-three.vercel.app/v1/agent-wallet/v1/wallet/create \ -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY" \ -d '{"chain": "ethereum"}' # Also works with: solana, bitcoin, base, arbitrum, # optimism, polygon, bsc, avalanche # Response includes address, public key, and private key # IMPORTANT: Store the private key securely — it's only returned once
# Create a server wallet using Coinbase CDP SDK from cdp import Cdp, Wallet # Initialize with your CDP credentials Cdp.configure(api_key_name="YOUR_KEY_NAME", api_key_private_key="YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY") # Create a wallet (keys stored in AWS Nitro TEE) wallet = Wallet.create(network_id="base-mainnet") address = wallet.default_address print(f"Address: {address.address_id}") # Keys are managed by Coinbase — never exposed
// Create an embedded wallet with thirdweb (React) import { ThirdwebProvider, ConnectWallet } from "@thirdweb-dev/react"; // User logs in with email/Google/Apple // thirdweb creates a wallet behind the scenes function App() { return ( <ThirdwebProvider clientId="YOUR_CLIENT_ID" supportedWallets={[ inAppWallet({ auth: { options: ["email", "google"] }}) ]} > <ConnectWallet /> </ThirdwebProvider> ); } // Wallet is created when user authenticates // No seed phrase, no extension, no MetaMask
// Get all asset transfers for a wallet using Alchemy const response = await fetch( 'https://eth-mainnet.g.alchemy.com/v2/YOUR_KEY', { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, body: JSON.stringify({ jsonrpc: '2.0', method: 'alchemy_getAssetTransfers', params: [{ fromAddress: '0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045', category: ['external', 'erc20', 'erc721'], maxCount: '0x14', order: 'desc' }], id: 1 }) } ); const { result } = await response.json(); // Returns: from, to, value, asset, hash, blockNum
# Get decoded transaction history with Moralis curl -s "https://deep-index.moralis.io/api/v2.2/0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045/verbose" \ -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_MORALIS_KEY" \ -H "accept: application/json" # Returns decoded history with human-readable labels: # "Swapped 1 ETH for 3,000 USDC on Uniswap" # "Sent 0.5 ETH to 0xabc..." # "Received 100 USDC from 0xdef..." # Includes: category, summary, native_transfers, erc20_transfers
# Get wallet transactions with QuickNode add-on curl -s https://YOUR_ENDPOINT.quiknode.pro/YOUR_KEY/ \ -X POST \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "qn_getTransactionsByAddress", "params": [{ "address": "0xd8dA6BF26964aF9D7eEd9e03E53415D37aA96045", "page": 1, "perPage": 10 }], "id": 1 }' # Requires Token and NFT API v2 add-on (free to enable)
Enter an Ethereum address to check its balance using the Frostbyte Wallet API. No API key needed.
What each provider costs when you outgrow the free tier.
Pay-as-you-go after 30M free. Growth plan at $49/mo for priority support.
Pro plan with higher CU limits. Business at $149/mo. Enterprise custom.
Build plan: 80M credits, 50 RPS. Scale at $499/mo. Add-ons extra.
Starter $5/mo. Growth $99/mo. Plus per-MAU fees ($0.015/wallet) and 2.5% gas surcharge.
Per wallet operation after 5K free. Reads always free. Server Wallet usage-based.
10 free transactions. Swap fee is the primary cost. No monthly subscription.
Match your use case to the right provider.
Need enriched balances, NFTs, transaction history, and DeFi positions across chains.
Need simple wallet creation and transaction execution via REST API for autonomous agents.
Need embedded wallets with email/Google/Apple login. No seed phrases for end users.
Need to generate unique addresses per customer and monitor deposits across chains.
Need support for chains beyond Ethereum and EVM-compatible networks.
Need the most API calls for free, primarily for reading wallet data.
Frostbyte Wallet API supports 9 chains, HD wallet generation, balance queries, and built-in swaps. No signup required to start.
Try Frostbyte Free