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You want to start investing in crypto and more precisely in the decentralized (DeFi) space but don’t know how to set up your wallet? We’ll take you through the different steps from adding and navigating through networks, adding funds, swapping coins, tracking transactions, sending, receiving, withdrawing your crypto, and adding your NFT in this Metamask tutorial.

Adding a network to Metamask

Once downloaded and your account set up, you will need to add at least one network to your wallet. In order to do so you will need to click on the button ‘Add network’. There will be two options:

• Popular, with a few popular networks to choose from.
• Custom networks, where you will be able to add the network of your choice.

To add a network, go to the network’s website and search for ‘setting up a wallet’. You will find all the links and details needed such as the Network name, RPC URL, Chain ID, Symbol, and Block Explorer URL. Once all the details are entered on your Metamask, you can click on ‘Add’. After that, you will be able to add tokens. Go to the token’s website to get the smart contract address or go to Coinmarketcap to add it. To get it from Coinmarketcap choose a coin:

• If on a desktop, go to the right side of your screen, scroll down and you’ll find the smart contract addresses where one or several networks will be available. Make sure to select the address that matches the network that you just added to your wallet.
• If on the app, scroll down and you’ll then find the smart contract addresses.

After setting up your network(s) and token(s) you can add decentralized applications (dApps) and exchanges (Dex). You can always connect your wallet directly to a Dex. However, you also have the possibility to add links and have them all in one place, on your Metamask app. Always make sure that the links are correct before adding them. Click on the ‘browser’ button from your Metamask app and add the links of your choice. Once again, before being able to browse on your Dex or dApp you will need to select the right network. Some Dex are only available on one network.

Adding funds to Metamask

Depending on the country where your card is registered, you will have the option to add funds directly to your Metamask. In order to do so:

• Click on the double arrows button and select the ‘Buy’ option
• Select your current region (the region in which your card is registered)
• Select your payment method (amongst Paypal (ETH only), Debit or Credit card, Bank Account, Apple Pay, and Wire transfer – options will vary depending on your locations)
• Select the asset you wish to buy
• Choose a provider (fees will vary depending on the provider you choose) and confirm
• And your coin will appear on your wallet

If you can’t add funds directly on Metamask, you still have the possibility to do so from a CeFi Wallet (Centralized wallet), such as Binance, Coinbase, and others.

• Add funds to your CeFi wallet
• Select the right network in which you’ll want to send your tokens to
• Copy your wallet address from Metamask (Make sure that the network matches the one on your CeFi wallet too)
• Paste your DeFi wallet address on your CeFi wallet
• Confirm all the steps and confirm your transaction
• You’ll then have funds in the form of crypto tokens
• To do your transactions on Metamask you can either have funds in stablecoins such as USDT/ USDC or have the main coin of the network (i.e., ETH for Ethereum network, FTM for Fantom network, BNB for Binance Smart Chain, etc)

Swapping Coins on Metamask

To swap coins, go to your browser on your Metamask app. As mentioned earlier, you will have already added links to Dex and dApps to your browser.

Go to the Dex of your choice, let’s say Pancakeswap on the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem. Choose the ‘Swap’ option. The coin that is at the top is the token you will swap for another, so you will need to have funds in that one. The coin that is at the bottom is the token that you will get. Select the amount you want to swap, the amount that you will get will be displayed below, along with the gas fees. When happy with the gas fees, you can confirm the transaction.

Your new tokens will then appear in your wallet. (Don’t forget to add your new coin to your wallet before doing the transaction, as seen previously).

Sending and Receiving Crypto on Metamask

To send crypto from your Metamask wallet to another wallet:

• Click on ‘Send’ (‘Send crypto to any account’)
• Paste the address of the wallet you wish to send the crypto to
• Click on ‘Next’
• Select the token and the amount
• Click on ‘Next’ again and confirm the transaction

To receive crypto on your Metamask from another wallet, make sure to have the token saved in your wallet as seen previously (even if you have no funds on that token). Copy your wallet address from the right network and once all the steps are completed you will receive the funds within seconds.

Although transactions are instant they may sometimes take a bit more than just a few seconds. In that case, to make sure that you did the right transaction, you can check your transaction history.

Go to your ‘Transactions’ section, each of your networks has one. You can check the status of the latter as well as the amount of the transaction. The network may be congested especially when swapping coins during a high peak of volatility when lots of transactions are happening at the same time.

You will have the option to speed up the transaction for a fee, cancel it if not already complete, or see the transaction on the network Block Explorer website (Etherscan for Ethereum, Ftmscan for Fantom, and so on).

Withdrawing (or selling) your Crypto on Metamask

In order to withdraw or sell your crypto, you have two options just like when adding funds.

Directly from Metamask:

• Click on ‘Sell’ (‘Cash out your crypto’)
• Select your payment region
• Choose the token you wish to sell and the amount
• Select where you wish to send your funds (Bank account, Credit or Debit Card, or Paypal)
• Choose your preferred provider and confirm the transaction

You also have the option to send your funds to another wallet as seen previously.

NFTs on Metamask

NFTs are Non-Fungible Tokens, they are unique digital items that can be purchased with crypto. One of the most popular marketplaces is Opensea on Ethereum, but lots of exchanges now also have their marketplace. Just like Dex, you can access NFT marketplaces directly through your browser section on the app.

You’ll also be able to import and store them by clicking on the ‘NFTs’ section, then on ‘Import NFTs’. You’ll be asked to add your NFT address and ID to see it appear in your wallet.