SDK vs API

Our Wallaby platform consists of two products to build your own embedded wallet:

1. The API was created to maximize flexibility since it can be utilized within any product to create multi-chain, multi-asset, single seed wallets at scale.

2. The SDK was created for teams looking to go to market faster and development teams that are newer to self custody/crypto.

You can read the information below to decide which product(s) are best for your use case or reach out to us for a consultation.

SDK

The Key Architecture Overview covers why client side seed phrase encryption and storage is central to our architecture. Over time, we found that this was the most challenging, time consuming part of the implementation. That's why we created the Wallaby SDK. To get started with the SDK, head over to SDK Quick Start.

Easier to implement

The Wallaby SDK handles client side encryption & key storage. It wraps this process together with required Wallaby APIs for you in user friendly functions. For example, when creating a wallet with APIs, you need to...

1. authenticate with Wallaby

2. create the wallet

3. encrypt the seed

4. store the seed

Our create wallet function wraps all 4 of these processes into a single function.

Only available in React

Currently our SDK is only available in React and the only supported storage location is the browser. (Though storage locations are easily extendable! Reach out to us if you have a unsupported storage location in mind). Tech stack compatibility should be considered.

Opinionated security

Our SDK assumes that you would like to encrypt the seed phrase with a password/pin, our auth key, and your own system's authentication key. This structure provides a medium level of security assuming your system's authentication utilizes MFA.

If you would like a higher level of security (ex. utilizing a key from a hardware device) or are willing to sacrifice some security in exchange for a better UX (skip the user input or store within the cloud), you will need to utilize the APIs.

API

Since the API solution was the flagship Wallaby product, we are an API first solution. We use a standard REST API structure and domain driven design to maximize flexibility and create the space for innovative use of our platform. To get started with the API, head over to API Quick Start.

More robust capabilities

When new capabilities are introduced, they will launch on the API layer first. As a result, you will see that only some parts of each module is available via the SDK.

Module	Capability	SDK	API
Core Wallet	Wallet Creation
Core Wallet	Wallet Recovery
Core Wallet	Wallet Export
Core Wallet	Wallet Import
Wallet Services	Transfers
Wallet Services	Asset Management
Wallet Services	Spending Authorization
Wallet Data	Assets & Balances
Wallet Data	Transaction History & Status
Asset Listings	N/A

Custom security requirements

As mentioned above, the SDK is opinionated about the encryption factors/storage locations for the seed phrase. If you would like to customize your encryption factors or storage locations, you will need to utilize the API. Although this customization is more effort, the benefit of this customization is that you can decide on your own UX versus security tradeoffs.

If your wallet holders are more likely to have a higher amount of total holdings, you may want to source your encryption key from a hardware device integration. If your wallet holders are primarily holding low value or assets recoverable via alternative means, then storing the keys encrypted with just a device specific key may be enough.

Combined Approach

It is possible to use the SDK and API in combination if for example you would like to utilize a capability accessible via API, but want the go to market speed of utilizing the SDK. Both products are included with your Wallaby subscription.

If you would like to take a combined approach, you can use the authentication from the SDK with the APIs from Wallaby to make implementation faster. For more information, check out