May 30, 2022
Crypto wallet. Which one to choose, how to register, why do I need it?
Welcome all fellow crypto-enthusiasts! In this article, we will try to analyze in as much detail as possible all the issues related to cryptocurrencies and their use.
The topic of cryptocurrency wallets is very extensive, but we will explain everything in as simple words as possible, without diving into unnecessary technical details. But if you don’t understand something, you can always ask us in the comments.
Why do I need a crypto wallet?
For “ordinary” fiat money, there are physical wallets and banking applications where your dollars or other currency is stored, as well as for cryptocurrencies there are special applications and devices where they can be stored.
Globally, crypto wallets are divided into 2 types — «hot» and «cold». A hot wallet is connected to the Internet. A cold one is a device on which data about your cryptocurrency is recorded. It can be a conditional «flash drive» or a hard drive that you can take with you in a suitcase or put in a safe. A cold wallet is the most reliable place in terms of storing, but it restricts operations with it. To transfer currency, invest or trade, we need to connect said wallet to the Internet.
Therefore, next we will talk about hot wallets.
Which wallet should I choose?
There are many convenient and reliable wallets with a user-friendly interface, the most popular of them is Metamask. Most users choose Metamask to work with exchanges. If you are a beginner, we recommend choosing this wallet. In the future, it will be possible to change it to another one without any problems.
SafePal or C98 wallets can be used as alternatives. These are also reliable apps. All these wallets work according to similar principles, and if you learn how to use one, you will easily learn how to use others.
In the future, we’ll analyze all of the steps using the example of MetaMask wallet
Installation and registration
Metamask wallet can exist in two versions — as a phone app (available for iOS and Android) or an extension in the browser — Metamask works on Google Chrome (download) and Firefox (download).
For more convenient and visual work, we recommend using Metamask on pc.
Download the application from the website https://metamask.io/download/
After you have installed metamask, open it and click the “get started” button
After that, Metamask will appear in the right corner of your browser. To open a wallet and start working with it, left-click on it and wait a few seconds.
The app will offer a choice — to create a new wallet or restore an existing one. Choose to create a new wallet.
The application will prompt you to set a password. It is desirable that the password contains uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and special characters. Do not use the password that you use for other services. It may not be safe.
After creating a password, the application will give you your unique seed phrase. This is a set of 12 random words in English that will work as a reset key for your wallet. You can use this phrase to restore your wallet if you forget your password. It is very important to write this phrase on paper and hide it in a safe place. Don’t show this phrase to anyone.
Done! Now you have a metamask wallet. At the top, you can see your address in the format 0xA2268778230F839c67FFe1654us08eA141898FB8
Using this address, you can receive cryptocurrency to your wallet.
NETWORKS
An important aspect of working with a crypto wallet is understanding the networks in which the cryptocurrency works. There are quite a lot of networks, they differ in the speed of work, commissions and tokens.
If you send tokens from one network to a wallet that works on another network, you may lose them. Therefore, you need to be especially careful here.
By default, the Ethereum Mainnet (ERC-20) network is installed in metamask wallet. This is one of the most popular networks, the well-known Ethereum token and its other derivatives work in it. However, this network has very high commissions.
Another network that is often used is the Binance Smat Chain (BEP — 20) network. Transactions in this network are fast, and the fees are very low. Many exchanges support this network and we recommend using it.
The network selection button is located at the top of the wallet.
It’s worth mentioning the importance that the same token can exist in different networks. For example, you can withdraw Ethereum from the binance exchange in the ERC-20 network or in the BEP-20 network. It will be the same token, with the same value corresponding to the current exchange rate, but with different commission. And the fact that different services can support different networks.
In addition to ERC-20 and BEP-20, there are also Polygon, TRX-20 and other networks.
How do I add a network to Metamask?
At the top of the wallet, where the network is written, you can click on the “add network” button.
After that, a window will open where you can add network data.
For example, Binance Smat Chain network data:
Network Name: BSC Mainnet
New RPC URL https://bsc-dataseed1 .binance.org/
ChainID: 56
Token: BNB
URL of the explorer: https://bscscan.com/
Copy this data to needed columns and click add network. Data from other networks can be easily found on the Internet or on the project website.
This is the basis of working with Metamask. And we will talk about how to replenish the wallet and withdraw cryptocurrency in the following articles.
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