Metamask extension
For a quick method, visit Chainlist to quickly add Binance Smart Chain and Polygon chain to MetaMask
Before you are able to use DeFi applications on Polygon, you first need a cryptocurrency wallet. Specifically - you need a wallet that can both hold crypto as well as connect to DeFi apps on Polygon. For this guide we will cover a very popular wallet that has established itself over the years - MetaMask!
This wallet was originally built to talk with the Ethereum blockchain, but it can actually be used to have an account on various networks - including Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polygon!
You may use MetaMask directly on your computer web browser 💻, or on your Android or iOS mobile device 📱. Go ahead and navigate to the MetaMask download page.
In this example, we will install MetaMask for the Google Chrome web browser as an extension.
Click “Install MetaMask for Chrome”
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Click "Add to Chrome"
For your convenience, we suggest you to pin the extension so that it is easily accessible to you at any time.
Once the MetaMask extension is installed, it should automatically navigate you to this view. If not, simply click on the fox icon in your extensions. Lets go right ahead and begin creating your very own cryptocurrency wallet account! Hit that “Get Started” button
Press get started
Since we are creating a brand new wallet, we will use the “Create a Wallet” button.
Doing so will allow you to create a secret recovery phrase, also sometimes called a seed phrase.
Before you proceed you must understand that this recovery phrase is what will allow you to access your funds on the Polygon blockchain - even if your computer is destroyed or lost. Think of the seed phrase as the key 🔑 that you need in order access the vault 🏦 that holds your valuable cryptocurrencies.
⚠️Warning: Never share your secret recovery phrase with anyone.⚠️
One of the most common scams in the cryptocurrency space are websites that ask users to enter their recovery phrase to fix a technical issue or to get free money. Unfortunately, the only outcome is stolen funds. Please be responsible and protect yourself, never share your seed phrase!
Next you will create a password for your MetaMask extension. This password is only used to protect your account on the present device.
Please memorize it or keep it for convenience, if you forget it you will have to start the process from scratch in the future and import your seed phrase.
Metamask talks about some of the same things we covered in this article about the seed phrase.
Go ahead and review the information and/or hit the “Next” button.
This step is incredibly important! You will want to write down and store these secret words away from prying eyes. Please know that if you ever lose these words, you will never be able to recover your funds. Also, keep in mind the order of the words matters. It is advisable to not write these down on your device (in case your device is ever compromised), but instead write them down on a non-digital medium such as paper (or engrave them on a titanium plate 🤪). Once you write down your secret words, go ahead and hit “Next”!
Store your secret passphrase in a safe place, and click the "Next" button once it's clickable.
Confirm 12 word phrase and click confirm
Finally, MetaMask will ask you to confirm your secret words to make sure you wrote them down. Simply enter the secret words in the correct order and hit “Confirm”.
Last modified 1yr ago