If you are just starting out with investing in blockchain then you may be wondering if it is really safe to do so. The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) space is ripe with opportunities for innovation, but every now and then people find a way to use this innovation for the wrong purposes and try to get a hold of your tokens.
While there are many ways to ensure that your tokens remain safe, perhaps the easiest one is getting a secure wallet. But with so many options out there, choosing the right one is difficult.
It all comes down to the tokens you intend to store in your wallet. And if that token happens to Polygon (MATIC), you should definitely try out the subject of this article, MetaMask.
Now, MetaMask is one of the most popular Ethereum-based wallets in the entire DeFi space. So some of you may already know about it. If you’re one of those people, skip directly to the second part of the third section. But if you aren’t, I advise you to read the full article.
To make things easier for you, here’s everything you’ll find in the article:
And with that out of the way, let’s dive right into it!
What is MetaMask?
Put simply, MetaMask is a browser plugin funded by ConsenSys, the Ethereum incubator. It’s a plugin that doubles up as an Ethereum wallet (and more, as you would find out later).
Once you’ve installed the MetaMask wallet, you can use it to store ETH and a slew of ERC-20 tokens that you own. All you need to do is just point them to your address and they’ll be in your wallet.
Upon connecting the wallet with Ethereum-based DApps, you can use it to spend your tokens on games, or on trading using decentralized exchanges, or even staking them through the various gambling applications available on the Ethereum blockchain.
But perhaps the most important thing MetaMask can do is set you up on your path to one of the emerging sectors of the blockchain industry. Yes, we’re talking about Decentralized Finance (DeFi).
What is Polygon (MATIC)?
Polygon (MATIC) is an Ethereum token that acts as the governance token for the multichain scaling solution, Polygon Network. The aim of Polygon is to provide cheaper and faster transactions on the Ethereum blockchain with the help of Layer 2 sidechains. Layer 2 sidechains are blockchains running alongside the main Ethereum chain.
There’s a lot that users can do with the help of Polygon. They can deposit ETH tokens using Polygon bridge smart contracts, they can interact with the ETH tokens within the Polygon sidechain, and when the need arises, they can withdraw their ETH tokens back to the main chain. For paying the transaction fees and for participating in proof-of-stake consensus, the MATIC token is used.
How to set up MetaMask for Polygon?
How to install and set up MetaMask?
Installing and setting up the MetaMask wallet is pretty simple and straightforward regardless of the device you’re using it on.
To install it on your mobile device, you can simply download it from your app store.
If you’re an Android user, all you need to do to install the app is visit the Google Play Store and search for MetaMask. Once you find it, hit install and you’re good to go.
If you’re an iOS user, you would need to visit the Apple App Store and search for MetaMask. Once you find it, you would need to install the app and follow the upcoming steps to set the wallet up.
But what if you’re a Chrome or Firefox user? Well, for Chrome users, the simplest way to install the MetaMask wallet is through the extension you can find on the Chrome Web Store. Once installed, it can be used directly.
Firefox users have a similar process to follow to install the MetaMask wallet on the browser. All they need to do is visit the Addons store, search for the MetaMask wallet, and install it.
After downloading and installing the wallet, you would be taken to a welcome screen. And it is on this screen that you would see the MetaMask logo with a twist—it moves.
The fox follows your cursor so every time you move it, the fox’s head moves and it is hard to explain why I fancy that so much. But all I know is that it is entertaining and it took me ten minutes before I could remember that I had other things to do too. And then I played for some more.
Assuming you’re not that big of a fan of foxes, all you would need to do is click on the Get Started button. And that would take you to another screen where you would be met with an important question, “New to MetaMask?” Depending on what your answer is, the wallet would take you to a different page.
If you’re an existing user, all you need to do is keep your seed phrase handy and enter it when the wallet asks you to. Once recovered, you’re free to use it as you like.
But if you’re a new user, you have a couple of steps ahead of you before you can use the wallet. To start with, you need to click on the “Create a Wallet” button.
This would take you to a screen where you can choose to either allow the MetaMask team to gather your usage data to improve the usability and user experience by clicking on the “I Agree” button or simply refuse it by clicking on the “No Thanks” button.
In case you’re wondering, no, your keys and other personal data remain with you. They aren’t shared with the MetaMask team. The only data that makes it to the team is the anonymous usage data. So, rest assured, your data remains safe.
Next up, MetaMask would ask you to create a password for the account. That’s a pretty standard procedure. I don’t think we need to dig too deep into it.
After entering the password, confirm it and click on the checkbox next to the text that says “I have read and agree to the Terms of Use”. Since you’ve clicked on the checkbox, it would be great if you could actually go through the Terms of Use and figure out if you would agree to them or not. Your call.
Lastly, create your account by clicking on the button that says Create.
And voila! Your account has been created. Now, to keep your account safe, you would need to secure it with a secret backup phrase. This phrase would be provided by MetaMask and is unique to you. If you ever find yourself in a situation wherein you need to import your wallet, this phrase would be really important for you.
Make sure that you save this phrase somewhere safe—preferably not on your mobile or computer. A few pieces of paper would work best. It is even better when you store those pieces of paper in multiple locations.
And congratulations! Your wallet is now ready to be used. You can now send and receive funds on it.
How to configure the MetaMask Wallet to work with Polygon?
By default, Ethereum is what your MetaMask wallet would be set to deal with. Needless to say, sending your MATIC tokens to the wallet of this address would lead to a loss of funds.
Luckily, there are provisions for you to be able to make your wallet support MATIC tokens. But to make that happen, you need to click on the round bubble on the top right corner that shows your profile picture. This should open up a dropdown menu containing various options for you to select from. Click on Settings.
Once in Settings, try to find Networks amongst the rest of the options on the left and give it a click. If you see something like what’s present in the screenshot below, you’re at the right place.
All you need to do now is to click on Add Network to enable tokens from the MATIC network to be exchanged to and from your wallet.
Out here, fill in the following information:
- Network Name: Matic Mainnet
- New RPC URL: https://rpc-mainnet.maticvigil.com/
- Chain ID: 137
- Currency Symbol (optional): MATIC
- Block Explorer URL (optional): https://explorer.matic.network/
Now when you hit save, you should be able to see Matic Mainnet in Networks as you can see in the screenshot below.
That is all it takes for you to set up MetaMask for Polygon.
Before you go…
The process of setting up MetaMask for Polygon (MATIC) is quite an easy one, as you can clearly see by now. What’s difficult is to fill it up with profits. Because for that, you need a whole lot of knowledge.
Stay tuned to our site, because that’s exactly what we’re here to provide.
