BitLab Academy offers a tutorial on MetaMask, a popular crypto wallet used for holding Ethereum and other ERC-20 compatible tokens. The tutorial covers topics such as setting up a MetaMask account, the importance of diversification and cold storage, and how to add tokens to the wallet. The lesson also covers how to swap and exchange networks, and how to use MetaMask to buy an NFT. MetaMask is trusted by over 30 million users worldwide and is popular due to its convenience in connecting to dApps and NFT marketplaces. The tutorial emphasizes the importance of securing one’s crypto assets, stating that wallets like MetaMask are necessary in safeguarding one’s crypto.
—
MetaMask Tutorial: How to Use and Set Up MetaMask for Crypto Transactions
Introduction:
Hey! What’s up? My name is Ajwritescrypto. And welcome to BitLab Academy! In this lesson, we’re going to do a tutorial on MetaMask.
What is MetaMask:
Before we jump into the demonstration, I want to take a few minutes to explain what MetaMask is, why people use it and why it’s so popular today. Not only is MetaMask a crypto wallet you can use to hold Ethereum and other ERC-20 compatible tokens, MetaMask is a gateway into the world of Web3, DeFi and NFTs.
Why Choose MetaMask:
First of all, in this day and age, the last thing you want to do is leave your crypto on an exchange. And that’s one reason why wallets like MetaMask are so important. Unless you’re actively leverage trading on KuCoin or Bitget or something like that, the safest place for your crypto to be is on a hot or cold wallet. We’ve seen what the insolvencies have done to FTX and Celsius. And unfortunately, the people that left their hard-earned crypto on those exchanges got left holding the bag. Don’t let this happen to you. If your crypto is on a wallet like MetaMask, you won’t lose a single penny if another exchange goes down.
Hardware vs. Software Wallets:
Understand that a Ledger is an example of a cold storage hardware wallet, meaning that it’s a physical device and it’s not connected to any servers once you put your crypto on it and unplug it. MetaMask, on the other hand, is an example of a software hot wallet, meaning that it’s a program that lives on your computer and it is connected to a server.
How to Set Up MetaMask:
For starters, you can download MetaMask on your computer, your iPhone, your Android. For the sake of this demonstration, we’re going to use Google Chrome. So click Download. Install MetaMask for Chrome Add to Chrome Add extension Get started
So, right here, if you already have a Secret Recovery Phrase that MetaMask gives you, you can import your wallet. But in this demonstration, we’re going to create a new wallet. So click on Create a wallet. So, right here, you make a password. And make sure it’s not a password you also use on social media or something. Think of something unique for this. Click Create.
So this is the part with the Secret Recovery Phrase. Be sure to physically write your recovery phrase or seed phrase down And never ever type it in your computer or phone.
Once you write down your 12-word recovery phrase, make sure you go back over it and make sure the words are in order and they’re spelled correctly. Congratulations!
Using MetaMask:
So, now that we’re here in MetaMask, take a minute to familiarize yourself with everything. If you want to link your MetaMask with your mobile phone, click in the top right, go to Settings, Advanced, and sync up with mobile. If you want to see your recovery phrase, If you need it for anything, you’re going to type in your password that we started with, and, boom, there is your Secret Recovery Phrase.
So there’s multiple ways that you can add tokens. So when you click this to add Fantom into your MetaMask, This is putting the contract into your MetaMask. So it recognizes that that’s Fantom. Someone once asked me, “Can you hold Bitcoin on MetaMask?” The answer to that question is no.
So if you want to add a different network or a different blockchain, click on Networks, go to Add network. Also, BNB is cheaper to use than Ethereum for gas fees. But when you’re on the Binance Smart Chain, you’ll have to pay gas with BNB and not Ethereum.
So when you add another network, there are these available networks right here. To manually add a network, we’re going to go down here. Click Add a network manually.
And that’s it! You’re now ready to use MetaMask for your crypto transactions.
