How to Add Binance Smart Chain (BSC) to MetaMask

MetaMask is your gateway to the world of DeFi, but when you first create a wallet it will only work with the Ethereum network (and some testnets).

With ultra-high fees on the Ethereum network, we recommend that beginners start out on a network like the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Solana, or Polygon, due to the low fees. BSC has a particularly wide selection of dapps (decentralised apps), including the popular and user-friendly PancakeSwap.

Adding the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) to MetaMask is dead easy, and is only the work of a minute or so. If you still haven’t installed MetaMask, you can find out how to do so here.

First, click the colourful account icon in the top right.

Click Settings.

Click Networks.

In the top right, click Add Network.

Enter the following details:

Network Name: Binance Smart Chain (or any name you like)

New RPC URL: https://bsc-dataseed.binance.org/

ChainID: 56

Symbol: BNB

Block Explorer URL: https://bscscan.com

And that’s it! Make sure you always keep an eye on the current network in the top right of the MetaMask page. When you want to interact with a dapp on BSC, you need to make sure MetaMask is connected to BSC and not Ethereum or any other network.

You’ll also notice your main balance is now shown in BNB instead of ETH. BNB (Binance Coin) is used for transaction fees on the BSC network, and so you’ll definitely need some of that before you can start investing and trading on BSC.

As for how to get hold of some BNB, you can read about that here.