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There are two different types of exchanges in the crypto universe, Cex (Centralized Exchanges) and Dex (Decentralized Exchanges). And although before you couldn’t buy crypto directly with your payment card on Dex, Pancakeswap now offers the opportunity to do so. Which will limit the number of transactions. You also still have the option to buy crypto through Cex and then transfer the funds to your Dex wallet.

Introduction to Pancakeswap

Pancakeswap is considered a leader Dex in the industry! When trading on their platform you have the possibility to use the following ecosystems:

• Binance Smart Chain (BSC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Polygon (MATIC)
• Arbitrum (ARB)
• Base (BASE)
• and others

They are amongst the best thanks to the variety of options they offer. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of what you can do on this exchange:

• Swap coins (Exchange a token for another)
• Access Liquidity Pools (Deposit two different tokens in a pool to earn passive incomes)
• Use Bridges (Transfer a token from a network to another network)
• Buy Crypto (This is a new feature, that allows you to buy and trade on one platform)
• Trading Rewards (Earn $CAKE token when trading)
• Gaming Marketplace (Play and earn rewards)
• NFT Marketplace (Buy and sell NFTs)

Please note that you’ll have access to more or less options depending on which network you’ll use. There are currently more options available in the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem. It is always interesting to hold some Dex tokens as you can earn more rewards when trading on their platform. Part of the rewards you can earn will be their token, $CAKE.

Getting Started with Pancakeswap

In order to start using Pancakeswap, you will need to connect your wallet. Here are some wallets that are compatible with this Dex: Metamask, Binance Web3 Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, Opera Wallet, and more.

They even guide you into how to connect your wallet if you have never done it before. To do so, you will need to click on the ‘Connect Wallet’ button in the top right-hand corner. Select the wallet of your choice. Your wallet app will then open and ask for permission to connect it to the Dex.

On their landing page, you’ll be invited to discover their ecosystem and be introduced to what types of transactions they offer. You can trade, earn, and access their game and NFT section. And last but not least, you can buy their token which will give you lots of benefits. They also invite you to join their community of more than 2 Million members and they have a news section.

Swapping

It is really easy to swap coins on Pancakeswap, simply click on the swap icon. The token at the top is the one you want to exchange, so you will need to have funds in that one. The token that is at the bottom is the token that you want to acquire (you won’t need to have funds in that one).

Let’s say that we are on the BSC (Binance Smart Chain) network and want to swap some Binance Coin ($BNB) for some $CAKE (Pancakeswap’s token). Select the amount of BNB that you wish to swap. The first line that will appear under $CAKE will be the number of shares that you will get, and the line right below that is the amount in USD.

You will also see the conversion rate between the two coins along with the slippage tolerance (that you can adjust). This is a setting that will help you determine how much price slippage you can accept so your order can be completed.

They will also display the minimum amount received (compared to what you asked), the price impact, the trading fee, and the route.

Bridging

Another great feature on Pancakeswap that isn’t necessarily available on all Dexs is ‘Bridging’.

Bridging is a transaction that occurs between the two chains (or ecosystems) of your choice. If you have some $CAKE on the BNB network and wish to transfer it to another network, that’s where you can use Bridging. It is a very useful and convenient transaction as it allows you to do it all in one place and saves multiple transactions.

However, fees may be quite high. To complete the transaction, you will have to choose your token, its amount, and your network and add the first wallet on which the token is.

Then, select the same token, and the network to which you want to transfer it, connect your other wallet, and proceed if satisfied with the fees.

Liquidity pools

To start with liquidity pools, click on ‘Liquidity’. You will have the option between All, V3, StableSwap, and V2.

Liquidity pools allow you to deposit two different tokens in a pool to generate passive income. Select the two tokens of your choice along with the fees: 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.25% and 1%. You can then view prices in one token or the other.

Select your minimum price and maximum price to enter the pool along with the percentage of each token you want to place. You can choose from 10%, 20%, or 50%, or add a custom amount.

Gaming and NFT Marketplace on Pancakeswap

To get started with the gaming section on Pancakeswap, click on their ‘Game’ or ‘Gaming Marketplace’ section.

The first game that you will see on their gaming page is, Pancake Protector. They partnered with Mobox (a gaming platform and metaverse creator in the DeFi space) to create this strategic tower-defense and PvP (Player vs Player) game. You will be asked to connect your wallet before playing.

The second game is Nemesis Downfall, a first-person shooter game (in partnership with Nemesis Labs, a company that brings support to web3 companies and helps blockchain projects to launch). To start playing this game you will be asked to sign in with your username and password or to sign up.

The third and last game is Pancake Mayor, a strategic, wheel-spinning, and base-building game for which you will just need to connect your wallet.

NFT Categories

To access the Pancakeswap marketplace, click on ‘NFT’. Please note that you will only be able to buy and sell NFTs on the BNB Smart Chain. They have three sections that you can browse:

• Newest Collections
• Hot Collections
• Newest Arrivals

Amongst some of their hottest collections you can find the following:

• Pancake Bunnies with 34,842.88 BNB Volume
• Gamester Apes with 2,878.96 BNB Volume
• Degen Ape Clubs with 989.35 BNB Volume
• Dauntless Alpies with 821.46 BNB Volume

There is also a section for you to track NFT activities (listed, delisted, modified, and sold).