# Setting up Amazon Managed Blockchain (AMB) Access Bitcoin
<a name="bitcoin-setting-up"></a>

Before you use Amazon Managed Blockchain (AMB) Access Bitcoin for the first time, follow the steps in this section to create an AWS account. The following chapter discusses how to start using AMB Access Bitcoin.

## Prerequisites and considerations
<a name="prerequisites-and-considerations"></a>

### Sign up for an AWS account
<a name="sign-up-for-aws"></a>

To get started with AWS, you need an AWS account. For information about creating an AWS account, see [Getting started with an AWS account](https://docs.aws.amazon.com//accounts/latest/reference/getting-started.html) in the *AWS Account Management Reference Guide*.

## Create an IAM user with appropriate permissions
<a name="create-an-iam-user"></a>

To create and work with AMB Access Bitcoin, you must have an AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) principal (user or group) with permissions that allow necessary Managed Blockchain actions.

Only IAM principals can make Bitcoin JSON-RPC calls. When making calls to the Bitcoin JSON-RPCs on Amazon Managed Blockchain, you can do so over an HTTPS connection authenticated using the [Signature Version 4 signing process](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/signature-version-4.html). This means that only authorized IAM principals in the AWS account can make Bitcoin JSON-RPC calls. To do this, AWS credentials (an access key ID and a secret access key) must be provided with the call.

For information about how to create an IAM user, see [Creating an IAM user in your AWS account](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_users_create.html). For more information about how to attach a permissions policy to a user, see [Changing permissions for an IAM user](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_users_change-permissions.html). For an example of a permissions policy that you can use to give a user permission to work with AMB Access Bitcoin, see [Identity-based policy examples for Amazon Managed Blockchain (AMB) Access Bitcoin](security_iam_id-based-policy-examples.md).

## Install and configure the AWS Command Line Interface
<a name="install-aws-cli"></a>

If you have not already done so, install the latest AWS Command-Line Interface (CLI) to work with AWS resources from a terminal. For more information, see [Installing or updating the latest version of the AWS CLI](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/getting-started-install.html).

**Note**  
For CLI access, you need an access key ID and a secret access key. Use temporary credentials instead of long-term access keys when possible. Temporary credentials include an access key ID, a secret access key, and a security token that indicates when the credentials expire. For more information, see [ Using temporary credentials with AWS resources](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_credentials_temp_use-resources.html) in the *IAM User Guide*.