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Wallet Creation Issues: Common Causes and Resolutions

Wallet Creation Issues: Common Causes and Resolutions

Problem

Customers report being unable to create new wallets on the BitGo platform. This affects multiple coin types (ETH, ERC-20 tokens, Cosmos, Canton, BTC, and others) and manifests as UI errors, missing wallet creation options, permission denials, or confusion about how token wallets relate to native-coin wallets. Root causes range from account/enterprise tier restrictions and permission issues to pending KYC verification, SDK version bugs, and misunderstanding of the ERC-20 token wallet model.

Diagnostics

  • Identify the account tier: Spoof the customer's account and check the enterprise type and pricing plan (e.g., starter, individual, paygo, enterprise). Starter/individual plans have significant restrictions on which coins and wallet types can be created.
  • Check enterprise role: Confirm whether the user is the enterprise owner or merely an enterprise member. Only enterprise owners can create wallets.
  • Verify KYC/enterprise verification status: In the admin tool, check KYC State for the enterprise. If unverified, wallet creation or certain features may be blocked.
  • Check coin enablement and feature flags: Some coins (e.g., Cosmos, Canton) require specific feature flags to be enabled (e.g., ecdsawallet, tenderminthotwallet). Verify whether these flags are active for the enterprise. Also check if the coin is supported on the customer's plan.
  • Determine wallet type (multisig vs. TSS): TSS ETH wallets were not available on starter enterprises historically. Multisig wallets are only available on enterprise accounts. Confirm which wallet signature type the customer is trying to create.
  • Check BitGo Express / SDK version: If the customer uses the API via BitGo Express, ask for the Express version. Certain bugs (e.g., EVM KeyRing wallet creation error 500) are version-specific.
  • Review the error message / screenshot: Always request the exact error message or error code and a full-screen screenshot. Common errors include EVM TSS wallets are only supported for wallet version 3, 5 and 6, HTTP 500/520 errors, or payment-option prompts.
  • Check platform status: Verify no ongoing incidents at https://status.bitgo.com/ that could affect wallet creation or address generation.
  • Confirm the coin vs. token relationship: If the customer is trying to create a wallet for an ERC-20 token (e.g., LINK, USDC), check whether they already have an ETH wallet — token wallets are nested under the native-coin (ETH) wallet.

Resolution

Scenario: create-creating-wallet-creation#starter-plan-coin-not-supported

Trigger: Customer is on a starter or individual plan and the requested coin/wallet type is not available on that plan.

Signals: starter enterprise, individual plan, canton, coin not supported, payment option, prepayment, can't create wallet

Steps:

  1. Spoof the customer's account and confirm the enterprise pricing plan (e.g., individual (starter), paygo).
  2. Check whether the requested coin is supported on that plan. Coins such as canton are not supported on starter plans.
  3. Inform the customer that their current plan does not support the requested coin type.
  4. Direct the customer to contact the sales team for plan upgrades: fill out the form at https://www.bitgo.com/connect-with-us or email sales@bitgo.com.

Notes: Do NOT instruct the customer to go to "Settings → Billing / Payment Options" — this option does not exist in the UI for starter accounts. An internal note on Ticket #318888 explicitly flagged these steps as incorrect: "These steps are incorrect. There is no option in account for payment options/ billing. Please spoof the client account and verify the steps before sending to the clients."

"Reviewing we see you are on starter plan and the requested coin type - canton is not supported on this plan. If you would like to find out more about our plan and pricing please fill up this form - https://www.bitgo.com/connect-with-us or email at sales@bitgo.com" (ticket #318888)

Scenario: create-creating-wallet-creation#starter-no-tss-eth

Trigger: Customer on a starter enterprise cannot create an ETH wallet because TSS ETH wallets are not enabled for their plan, and multisig wallets require an enterprise account.

Signals: starter enterprise, TSS eth, ETH wallet, can't create, multisig, enterprise accounts only

Steps:

  1. Confirm the customer's enterprise type is "starter."
  2. Explain that TSS ETH wallets may not yet be enabled for starter enterprises, and multisig wallets are only available for full enterprise accounts.
  3. Advise the customer to contact sales@bitgo.com or fill out https://www.bitgo.com/connect-with-us to discuss upgrading to an enterprise account.

Notes: TSS ETH wallet availability for starter plans has been evolving over time. Check current enablement status before responding, as this may have changed since the ticket was filed.

"I see you have a starter enterprise. TSS eth wallets are not yet enabled on our platform but should be enabled in the next few months. Multi sig wallets are only available for enterprise accounts." (ticket #212870)

Scenario: create-creating-wallet-creation#not-enterprise-owner

Trigger: Customer is an enterprise member (not the owner) and cannot create wallets.

Signals: enterprise member, permission, only enterprise owners, can't create wallet, unable to create

Steps:

  1. Confirm the customer's role in the enterprise. Check if they are listed as the enterprise owner or as a member.
  2. Inform the customer that only enterprise owners can create wallets, not enterprise members.
  3. Identify the enterprise owner's email in the admin tool and advise the customer to have the owner log in and create the wallet.
  4. If the enterprise owner has never logged in or has forgotten their password, direct them to reset their password at: https://app.bitgo.com/web/auth/forgot-password/recover-password

Notes: This is a common issue for newly onboarded enterprises where the designated owner may not have completed account setup.

"Please be informed that only enterprise owners can create wallets and not the enterprise members." (ticket #237977)

"If [the enterprise owner] has not set up his account or do not remember his password, please have him reset his password at https://app.bitgo.com/web/auth/forgot-password/recover-password and then logged in." (ticket #237977)

Scenario: create-creating-wallet-creation#kyc-verification-pending

Trigger: Customer completed a verification call or submitted documents but wallet creation is blocked while KYC/verification status remains pending or unverified.

Signals: verification, documents on review, unverified, can't create wallet, KYC, account verification

Steps:

  1. Check the enterprise KYC status in the admin tool. Look for KYC State: unverified or similar pending status.
  2. If the verification is still in progress, escalate internally (via Slack or the compliance team) to check on the review status.
  3. Once verification is resolved internally, confirm with the customer that the issue should be fixed.
  4. Ask the customer to retry wallet creation and report back if the issue persists.

Notes: In Ticket #246254, the issue was resolved by internal action after the agent escalated — the resolution was "This should be fixed now." The customer did not need to take further action once the backend issue was cleared.

"Thank you for your patience. This should be fixed now." (ticket #246254)

Scenario: create-creating-wallet-creation#erc20-token-wallet-confusion

Trigger: Customer tries to create a wallet for an ERC-20 token (e.g., LINK, USDC) and is confused that it creates an ETH wallet, or they already have an ETH wallet and don't understand how to add the token.

Signals: LINK, USDC, ERC20, ERC-20, token wallet, creating new Ethereum wallet, nested, ETH base coin, already have ETH wallet

Steps:

  1. Explain that on the BitGo platform, ERC-20 tokens (such as LINK, USDC, etc.) use ETH as the base coin.
  2. Clarify that native-coin (ETH) wallets are used to receive their respective tokens. When the customer creates a LINK wallet, it is expected to create an ETH wallet.
  3. If the customer already has an ETH wallet holding other tokens (e.g., USDC), they do NOT need a second ETH wallet. They simply need to send the token (e.g., LINK) to the deposit address of the existing ETH wallet.
  4. Once received, the token balance will appear nested under that ETH wallet alongside any other tokens already held there.
  5. Clarify: "This is not a wallet within a wallet. This data is showing a balance of the coin that exist in the wallet."
  6. Note that this behavior carries over to all native coins with tokens on the platform.

Notes: This is a common misunderstanding. When working with customers, proactively explain how coin tokens are received and treated with respect to native coin wallets.

"LINK on our platform is an ERC20 token with ETH being the base coin for ERC20 tokens. On our platform, base coins(native coin) wallets are used to receive the respective tokens. Therefore, you are performing this correctly. When you looked to create a LINK wallet, it created the expected ETH wallet. You just need to send the LINK to the ETH receive address for the wallet. Once received, the LINK will show its balance nested under the ETH wallet where it was received." (ticket #243449)

"For your two points, this is not a wallet within a wallet. This data is showing a balance of the coin that exist in the wallet." (ticket #243449)

Scenario: create-creating-wallet-creation#feature-flags-not-enabled

Trigger: Customer cannot see the wallet signature type selector or cannot create wallets for certain coins (e.g., Cosmos) because required feature flags are not enabled on the enterprise.

Signals: Cosmos, signature, bug, feature flag, ecdsawallet, tenderminthotwallet, paygo, can't see

Steps:

  1. Check the customer's enterprise feature flags in the admin tool.
  2. Determine which flags are needed for the requested coin/wallet type. For example, Cosmos wallets may require ecdsawallet and tenderminthotwallet.
  3. Confirm whether the customer's plan tier (e.g., paygo) supports enabling these flags.
  4. If supported, escalate internally to have the required feature flags enabled on the enterprise.
  5. Once enabled, ask the customer to retry wallet creation.

Notes: Internal notes from Ticket #259851 indicate: "Need to enabled ecdsawallet and tenderminthotwallet. Client is paygo. Not sure if we do this for paygo." Verify with the product team whether the flags can be enabled for the customer's plan before proceeding.

Scenario: create-creating-wallet-creation#evm-keyring-express-version-bug

Trigger: Customer receives error 500 with message "EVM TSS wallets are only supported for wallet version 3, 5 and 6" when attempting to create EVM KeyRing wallets via the GenerateWallet endpoint.

Signals: EVM KeyRing, error 500, EVM TSS wallets are only supported for wallet version 3 5 and 6, GenerateWallet, evmKeyRingReferenceWalletId, BitGo Express version

Steps:

  1. Confirm the customer is using the GenerateWallet endpoint with an evmKeyRingReferenceWalletId parameter.
  2. Ask the customer for their current BitGo Express version.
  3. This was a known bug fixed in Express Version 15.17.0 (BitGoJS Version 50.16.2).
  4. Instruct the customer to upgrade to Express Version 15.17.0 or later and retry the operation.

Notes: The error occurs at Wallets.generateWallet in the SDK. Versions prior to 15.17.0 are affected.

"This was a bug that was fixed in the New Express Version: 15.17.0. Can you please upgrade and try again, and let us know if you see any further issues." (ticket #269913)

Scenario: create-creating-wallet-creation#address-generation-outage

Trigger: Customer reports that deposit addresses are not being generated across multiple wallets, possibly during a platform issue or intermittent outage.

Signals: addresses not generating, deposit address, multiple wallets, 520 error, urgent, outage

Steps:

  1. Check https://status.bitgo.com/ for any ongoing incidents or degraded services.
  2. Ask the customer for: environment (Prod/Test), Enterprise ID, Wallet ID, error message, and whether they are using UI or API.
  3. If using the API, also request: full API endpoint, full payload (omitting passwords), full response, requestId/reqId, and BitGo Express/SDK version.
  4. If no platform-wide issues are reported and no other clients have reported problems, investigate the specific wallets provided.
  5. If a platform issue is confirmed, communicate the status and provide updates as available.

Notes: In Ticket #260390, no platform-wide issue was observed and the agent noted "no other clients have reported problems." Always gather wallet-specific details before escalating.

Scenario: create-creating-wallet-creation#eth-funded-wrong-address

Trigger: Customer funded an address during wallet creation (e.g., for gas) but does not see the ETH in their account.

Signals: funded address, gas, ETH not showing, USDC wallet, deposit, don't see ETH

Steps:

  1. Ask the customer for the transaction hash of the funding transaction.
  2. Check the address on-chain to confirm the transaction was sent to the correct address and has confirmed.
  3. Look up the address in the admin tool to determine which wallet (if any) it belongs to. If the address is not found in any wallet, inform the customer.
  4. In some cases, the ETH simply needs time to confirm on-chain. Advise the customer to wait and check again.
  5. If the address does belong to a wallet and the balance is not reflecting, escalate to engineering for investigation.

Notes: In Ticket #281125, the issue resolved itself after the on-chain transaction confirmed: "looks like this was resolved, probably just needed a bit of time for the ETH to hit on chain."

Scenario: create-creating-wallet-creation#new-customer-general-guidance

Trigger: Newly onboarded customer asks how to create their first wallet after passing verification.

Signals: how to create wallet, new account, just verified, first wallet, user guide

Steps:

  1. Provide the customer with the BitGo user guide (attach the standard user guide document), which includes wallet creation instructions.
  2. Direct the customer to log in at https://app.bitgo.com/auth/log-in.
  3. Confirm who the enterprise owner is, since only the owner can create wallets.
  4. If the customer needs further assistance, offer to walk them through wallet creation via email.

Notes: BitGo does not offer phone support. All assistance is provided via email.

Related

  • introducing-ethereum-and-erc20-wallets-on-tss — Covers TSS vs. multisig wallet types for ETH and ERC-20 tokens, relevant to starter enterprise restrictions and gas fee considerations.
  • ovc-key-management — Relevant when customers need guidance on key ceremonies and key generation during wallet creation for custody wallets.
  • key-recovery-service — Related to backup key setup during the wallet creation process.