diff --git a/web3_proxy/src/bin/web3_proxy_cli/create_user.rs b/web3_proxy/src/bin/web3_proxy_cli/create_user.rs
index 554548dd..2534c65f 100644
--- a/web3_proxy/src/bin/web3_proxy_cli/create_user.rs
+++ b/web3_proxy/src/bin/web3_proxy_cli/create_user.rs
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@ use anyhow::Context;
 use argh::FromArgs;
 use entities::{user, user_keys};
 use ethers::prelude::Address;
-use sea_orm::ActiveModelTrait;
+use sea_orm::{ActiveModelTrait, TransactionTrait};
 use tracing::info;
 use uuid::Uuid;
 use web3_proxy::users::new_api_key;
 
-fn default_rpm() -> usize {
+fn default_rpm() -> u32 {
     6_000_000
 }
 
@@ -30,11 +30,13 @@ pub struct CreateUserSubCommand {
 
     #[argh(option, default = "default_rpm()")]
     /// maximum requests per minute
-    rpm: usize,
+    rpm: u32,
 }
 
 impl CreateUserSubCommand {
     pub async fn main(self, db: &sea_orm::DatabaseConnection) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        let txn = db.begin().await?;
+
         // TODO: would be nice to use the fixed array instead of a Vec in the entities
         let address = self
             .address
@@ -49,23 +51,29 @@ impl CreateUserSubCommand {
             ..Default::default()
         };
 
-        let u = u.insert(db).await.context("Failed saving new user")?;
+        let u = u.save(&txn).await.context("Failed saving new user")?;
 
-        info!("user #{}: {:?}", u.id, Address::from_slice(&u.address));
+        info!(
+            "user #{}: {:?}",
+            u.id.as_ref(),
+            Address::from_slice(u.address.as_ref())
+        );
 
         // create a key for the new user
         // TODO: requests_per_minute should be configurable
         let uk = user_keys::ActiveModel {
-            user_id: sea_orm::Set(u.id),
+            user_id: u.id,
             api_key: sea_orm::Set(self.api_key),
-            requests_per_minute: sea_orm::Set(6_000_000),
+            requests_per_minute: sea_orm::Set(self.rpm),
             ..Default::default()
         };
 
         // TODO: if this fails, rever adding the user, too
-        let uk = uk.insert(db).await.context("Failed saving new user key")?;
+        let uk = uk.save(&txn).await.context("Failed saving new user key")?;
 
-        info!("user key: {}", uk.api_key);
+        txn.commit().await?;
+
+        info!("user key: {}", uk.api_key.as_ref());
 
         Ok(())
     }
diff --git a/web3_proxy/src/frontend/users.rs b/web3_proxy/src/frontend/users.rs
index b822faa2..a2d19153 100644
--- a/web3_proxy/src/frontend/users.rs
+++ b/web3_proxy/src/frontend/users.rs
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ use std::sync::Arc;
 
 use crate::app::Web3ProxyApp;
 
-use super::{rate_limit::RateLimitResult, errors::anyhow_error_into_response};
+use super::{errors::anyhow_error_into_response, rate_limit::RateLimitResult};
 
 pub async fn create_user(
     // this argument tells axum to parse the request body
@@ -65,6 +65,8 @@ pub async fn create_user(
     // TODO: proper error message
     let user = user.insert(db).await.unwrap();
 
+    //
+
     // TODO: do not expose user ids
     (StatusCode::CREATED, Json(user)).into_response()
 }