Coins SDK `createCoinCall()` returns 500 error on Base Sepolia

[estmcmxci]

[BUG] Coins SDK createCoinCall() returns 500 error on Base Sepolia

🐛 Bug Description

The Zora Coins SDK's createCoinCall() function returns a 500 Internal Server Error when attempting to create coins on Base Sepolia testnet (chain ID 84532). The error occurs during the SDK's internal API call to pre-compute the coin address.

📋 Environment

• SDK Version: @zoralabs/coins-sdk@0.3.3
• Network: Base Sepolia (Chain ID 84532)
• Node.js: v24.1.0
• Package Manager: npm

🔄 Steps to Reproduce

1. Install the SDK and dependencies:

npm install @zoralabs/coins-sdk viem dotenv

2. Set up Base Sepolia configuration:

import { setApiKey, createCoinCall } from "@zoralabs/coins-sdk";
import { baseSepolia } from "viem/chains";

setApiKey("your_api_key");

const args = {
  creator: "0x...",
  name: "Test Coin",
  symbol: "TEST",
  metadata: {
    type: "RAW_URI",
    uri: "https://...",
  },
  currency: "ETH",
  chainId: 84532,
  payoutRecipientOverride: "0x...",
  platformReferrer: "0x...",
};

const callData = await createCoinCall(args);

3. Observe the error:

Error: Failed to create content calldata
API Response: 500 Internal Server Error

🔍 Investigation Results

Root Cause

The SDK's backend API (https://api-sdk.zora.engineering/create/content) fails when calling the coinAddress function on the ZoraFactory contract:

The contract function "coinAddress" returned no data ("0x").

Contract Call:
  address:   0xaF88840cb637F2684A9E460316b1678AD6245e4a
  function:  coinAddress(address msgSender, string name, string symbol, bytes poolConfig, address platformReferrer, bytes32 coinSalt)

Discovery: Two Factory Contracts

We discovered that there are two different CoinFactory contracts on Base Sepolia:

Factory	Address	Age	Transactions	Source
Older	0x777777751622c0d3258f214F9DF38E35BF45baF3	~273 days	~1,931	Zora Documentation
Newer	0xaF88840cb637F2684A9E460316b1678AD6245e4a	~167 days	~124	@zoralabs/protocol-deployments

The SDK's @zoralabs/protocol-deployments package points to the newer factory, while the Zora documentation shows the older factory.

Important: Both contracts have identical source code, and the API fails with BOTH addresses.

✅ Working Workaround

We successfully deployed coins by bypassing the SDK API and calling the factory contract directly:

Complete Working Code

import { 
  createMetadataBuilder, 
  createZoraUploaderForCreator 
} from "@zoralabs/coins-sdk";

import { 
  encodeMultiCurvePoolConfig, 
  coinFactoryABI, 
  coinFactoryAddress 
} from "@zoralabs/protocol-deployments";

import { 
  createWalletClient, 
  createPublicClient, 
  http, 
  parseUnits, 
  zeroAddress, 
  encodePacked, 
  keccak256 
} from "viem";

import { baseSepolia } from "viem/chains";
import { privateKeyToAccount } from "viem/accounts";

// Step 1: Upload metadata (SDK works fine for this)
const uploadResult = await createMetadataBuilder()
  .withName("Test Coin")
  .withSymbol("TEST")
  .withDescription("Test description")
  .withImage(imageFile)
  .upload(createZoraUploaderForCreator(address));

const metadataUri = uploadResult.url.replace('ipfs://', 'https://').replace(/^https:\/\/([^\/]+)/, 'https://$1.ipfs.w3s.link');

// Step 2: Generate pool config
const poolConfig = encodeMultiCurvePoolConfig({
  currency: zeroAddress,
  tickLower: [-250000],
  tickUpper: [-195000],
  numDiscoveryPositions: [11],
  maxDiscoverySupplyShare: [parseUnits("0.05", 18)],
});

// Step 3: Call factory contract directly
const factoryAddress = coinFactoryAddress[baseSepolia.id];

const { request } = await publicClient.simulateContract({
  address: factoryAddress,
  abi: coinFactoryABI,
  functionName: "deploy",
  args: [
    address,           // payoutRecipient
    [address],         // owners
    metadataUri,       // uri
    "Test Coin",       // name
    "TEST",            // symbol
    poolConfig,        // poolConfig
    address,           // platformReferrer
    zeroAddress,       // postDeployHook
    "0x",              // postDeployHookData
    keccak256(encodePacked(["string", "uint256"], ["test", BigInt(Date.now())])), // coinSalt
  ],
  account: walletClient.account,
});

const hash = await walletClient.writeContract(request);
const receipt = await publicClient.waitForTransactionReceipt({ hash });

Verification

We successfully deployed 2 test coins using this workaround:

1. Using Newer Factory (0xaF88840...):

   • Coin: 0xd64b0ed9d13d4216f70b58e9b7b037f0692de9a7
   • TX: 0x7831a9f8cecc74fe4ca271f4384f679afb865d1e61bb9249e95cc591bf9b5425
   • Gas: 2,181,832
   • ✅ Success

2. Using Older Factory (0x777777...):

   • Coin: 0x7cbe31f824f3e387c7ed4f75b37999d86372aeba
   • TX: 0x8ac9152745a01e590db6bdc27b3c7dc018c7cbffc2288d5347f8c3d115bb6eb5
   • Gas: 2,181,832
   • ✅ Success

❓ Questions for Zora Team

1. API Error: What is causing the 500 error when the backend API calls coinAddress? Is this a known issue?

2. Factory Selection: Which factory should developers use:

   • The older factory (0x777777...) referenced in documentation?
   • The newer factory (0xaF8884...) from @zoralabs/protocol-deployments?

3. Timeline: When will the SDK API be fixed for Base Sepolia?

4. Documentation: Should the documentation be updated to:

   • Reference the correct factory address?
   • Include this workaround until the API is fixed?
   • Explain the difference between the two factories?

5. Mainnet: Does this issue affect Base mainnet (chain ID 8453) as well?

💡 Suggested Solutions

Short-term

1. Add the workaround to the official documentation
2. Update error messages to suggest direct contract calls
3. Add a createCoinDirect() helper function that bypasses the API

Long-term

1. Fix the backend API's coinAddress call
2. Clarify which factory is the canonical one
3. Add better error handling and fallbacks in the SDK

📎 Additional Context

• The metadata upload functionality works perfectly
• Only the coin deployment API is affected
• Direct contract calls work flawlessly with both factories
• Same gas costs regardless of factory used

---

Environment Details:

• OS: macOS 14
• Node: v24.1.0
• npm: 10.x
• Wallet: Metamask/Private Key
• Testnet: Base Sepolia (84532)

Impact: 🔴 High - Blocks all coin deployments on Base Sepolia using the SDK

Workaround Available: ✅ Yes - Direct contract calls work perfectly