EOA basic flow rejected: "maker address not allowed, please use the deposit wallet flow"

[luiskaco]

Summary

When placing orders using the basic EOA flow (ClobClient(host, chain_id, key)), the CLOB API rejects the order with:

PolyApiException[status_code=400, error_message={'error': 'maker address not allowed, please use the deposit wallet flow'}]

This happens even with a brand new wallet that has never interacted with Polymarket UI.
The README documents the basic EOA flow as the standard approach, but the CLOB now requires
the Relay/EIP-7702 deposit wallet flow for all order placement.

Reproduction

from py_clob_client_v2 import ClobClient, MarketOrderArgs, OrderType, Side, PartialCreateOrderOptions

client = ClobClient(host="https://clob.polymarket.com", chain_id=137, key=PRIVATE_KEY)
creds = client.create_or_derive_api_key()
client.set_api_creds(creds)

resp = client.create_and_post_market_order(
    order_args=MarketOrderArgs(
        token_id=TOKEN_ID,
        amount=1.0,
        side=Side.BUY,
        order_type=OrderType.FOK,
    ),
    options=PartialCreateOrderOptions(tick_size="0.01"),
    order_type=OrderType.FOK,
)
# → PolyApiException: 'maker address not allowed, please use the deposit wallet flow'

Environment

• py-clob-client-v2 version: 1.0.1rc1
• Python: 3.12
• Network: Polygon Mainnet (Chain ID 137)
• Wallet: fresh EOA, never used on polymarket.com

What I've tried

Attempt 1 — Basic EOA flow (as in README)

client = ClobClient(host=host, chain_id=137, key=PRIVATE_KEY)

Result: "maker address not allowed, please use the deposit wallet flow"

Attempt 2 — POLY_1271 + funder (as in examples/orders/gtc_limit_buy_deposit_wallet.py)

client = ClobClient(
    host=host, chain_id=137, key=PRIVATE_KEY,
    creds=creds,
    signature_type=SignatureTypeV2.POLY_1271,
    funder=WALLET_ADDRESS,
)

Result: "the order signer address has to be the address of the API KEY"

The second error suggests that with POLY_1271, the SDK computes a signer address
that doesn't match the API key's registered address (WALLET_ADDRESS).

Questions

1. Is the Relay/EIP-7702 deposit wallet flow now mandatory for all users on mainnet?
2. How should a developer set up the deposit wallet programmatically (without polymarket.com UI)?
3. When using funder, what private key should go in key=? Is it a separate relay key or the same EOA key?
4. Is there a method in the SDK to initialize and register a new deposit wallet from scratch?

Note: examples/auth/create_api_key_deposit_wallet.py referenced in the example doesn't exist in the repo.

Impact

The basic EOA flow documented in the README is completely non-functional on mainnet,
making it impossible to place orders programmatically without first going through the
Polymarket web UI — which creates an inaccessible relay key.

[tasukun-dayo]

Additional findings from extensive debugging

I've spent 2+ days investigating this issue and want to share detailed findings that may help the team identify the root cause.

Environment

• py-clob-client-v2 version: 1.0.1rc1
• py-clob-client version: 0.34.6 (also tested)
• Python: 3.10
• Account created via MetaMask on polymarket.com

Account details (for backend investigation)

• EOA: 0x158463478E73b13a6AdAb82EAeff1D0a1897d396
• Proxy wallet: 0x693639f74B9b3c3975f783161DCb81Bb86Fa894B
• Deposit wallet: 0x2bFd79D7ae69af39956a09b6628081ed870A5FeC

What we verified

EIP-712 domain separator — verified correct on-chain:

normal exchange:   1a573e3617c78403b5b4b892827992f027b03d4eaf570048b8ee8cdd84d151be ✓
neg_risk exchange: 82cb6aa85babb812f4b521a12b10f0cbc68d2b44be7bc02c047004f544adb49f ✓

API key — derived correctly, matches .env:

client.create_or_derive_api_key()  # returns ca73c108-... ✓

Order payload — maker/signer set correctly for POLY_1271:

{
  "maker": "0x2bFd79D7ae69af39956a09b6628081ed870A5FeC",
  "signer": "0x2bFd79D7ae69af39956a09b6628081ed870A5FeC",
  "signatureType": 3
}

On-chain balances — deposit wallet funded and approved:

pUSD/USDC balance: 21.01 ✓
allowance → neg_risk exchange: ∞ ✓
allowance → normal exchange: ∞ ✓

CLOB balance update — called successfully:

client.update_balance_allowance(BalanceAllowanceParams(
    asset_type=AssetType.COLLATERAL,
    signature_type=SignatureTypeV2.POLY_1271
))
# returns empty response (no error)

Root cause hypothesis

The CLOB validates orders by comparing order.signer against the address associated with the API key. The API key is derived using L1 auth with POLY_ADDRESS = EOA (0x1584...). However, with POLY_1271, order.signer = Deposit Wallet (0x2bFd...).

These will never match because:

1. API keys can only be derived by signing with the EOA private key
2. The deposit wallet is a smart contract — it has no private key to sign with
3. There is no documented way to create an API key associated with the deposit wallet address

The authentication model appears broken for POLY_1271: the deposit wallet cannot own an API key, yet the CLOB requires order.signer == API key owner.

Question for the team

Is the intended flow that:

• POLY_ADDRESS in L2 headers should be the EOA (private key holder), AND
• order.signer should be the Deposit Wallet, AND
• The CLOB should accept this combination for POLY_1271?

If so, the server-side validation logic appears to be incorrect — it should allow EOA-owned API keys to submit orders on behalf of their associated deposit wallet.

Alternatively, is there a separate API key derivation flow for deposit wallets that is not documented?