What is Metamask? How to create a Metamask wallet

If you are interested in the crypto market, one of the first things you need to do is create a wallet. For the Ethereum network, Metamask is probably one of the best options. So what is Metamask and how to create a Metamask wallet?

What is Metamask Wallet?

Metamask is an electronic wallet used to store, send & receive ETH and ERC-20 tokens.

See more: What is Coin? And what are tokens? 4 differences between coin & token

It is an extension (Extensions) on Chrome, Firefox or Brave browsers. Metamask also has an app for iOS.

Metamask acts as a bridge between the Ethereum blockchain and the browsers mentioned above.

In other words, Metamask allows you to trade Ethereum through a normal web browser.

Thus, the Metamask wallet is only for ETH and tokens running on the Ethereum platform (ERC20) such as ETC, BAT, USDC ...

If you want to store other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, use a wallet Trust Wallet Please.

Pros & cons of Metamask wallet

Every wallet has its own pros and cons. And Metamask is no exception.

Advantage:

• Open source => large community & always up to date
• Using HD wallet helps users manage and backup accounts easily
• Beautiful interface, intuitive, easy to use
• Support multi-language including Vietnamese
• Unlock MyEtherWallet quickly
• Alert when entering fake site

Defect:

• Online wallet => risk of being hacked than hardware wallet
• As an extension, it is possible for your browser to collect user information

How to create a Metamask wallet

Here I will demo how to create a Metamask wallet on Chrome. Other browsers you just do the same.

First you enter https://metamask.io/ then click the [Download] button:

NOTE: Not only installing MetaMask on Chrome, but with the app on iOS / Android or the extension for Firefox, Brave, Edge, you should also go to the Download page of MetaMask to avoid counterfeiting!

Then click on [Install MetaMask for Chrome].

Then click [Add to Chrome]. As you can see there are more than +1 million Metamask users on Chrome.

Continue to click [Add extension]. You wait a little…

After the installation is complete, Chrome will switch to the interface as follows. Click the [Get Started] button to get started.

Next you will have 2 options: [Import wallet] if you already have 12 seed phrases. And [Create a Wallet] if you want to create a new wallet.

Here I will create a new wallet so I will click [Create a Wallet].

Next you will be asked if you want to help Metamask improve better, choose I agree (I agree) or No Thanks (No thanks) is up to you.

You enter a new password (at least 8 characters), retype the password and then tick the box I have read…then press [Create].

Metamask will give you 12 phrases to backup and restore your account later.

Write it down somewhere to remember next time you restore your wallet. Losing these 12 words is the loss of the wallet, which cannot be recovered anymore.

These 12 words all have meaning in English. Can you imagine an interesting story that contains all 12 of these words. In my opinion, this is the best way to remember and secure.

To restore MetaMask on another browser/device you use these 12 words. To log in to an existing account, use the password you just created above!

NOTE: These phrases should never be revealed. Anyone who knows these words can hijack your account.

You click on the word [CLICK HERE TO REVEAL SECRET WORDS] => copy somewhere then click Next.

In the next window, you arrange those 12 words in the correct order by clicking on the available words below.

TIPS: In the previous step, you copied this 12-word line, so paste it in the browser bar to make it faster and more accurate. Note just paste it, don't press Enter 🙂

When done, click [Confirm]. You have now created your first Metamask account. Click [All Done] to finish.

NOTE:

• Metamask cannot recover 12 words from this seed phrase. You must store it carefully.
• You can always find this seed phrase for backup at Settings => Security.

How to use Metamask?

At the main screen of Metamask, click on the 3 dots and select [Account Details].

Here you can edit the account name by clicking on the pencil image next to it. Or see the wallet above etherscan.com and export the private key (Private key) to save.

Here's how to use the basic MetaMask wallet.

Send and receive

Once you have a wallet, you can send and receive ETH and ERC-20 tokens. If the balance is zero, you must buy first.

To send you click the Send button, paste the receiving address in the box. You can also scan the QR code to scan the address.

To receive from another place, you just need to click on the account name to copy the address and transfer money there.

Enter an existing wallet

If you already have a wallet elsewhere like MyEtherWallet, you can easily import the wallet into Metamask via Private Key or JSON file.

Add token

You search to add tokens. If that token is not available, you can use Contract Address, token & Decimal to enter it manually.

But that was before. Now you don't need to do so many steps anymore.

Currently, you just need to enter the Contract Address correctly, then MetaMask will automatically identify the token and Decimal for you.

Even on Coingecko or Coinmarketcap, adding tokens to MetaMask is even faster. You just need to click on the fox icon next to the Contract address and you're done.

I will give an example with Alien Worlds $TLM because this token has a pretty contract address.

First you go to coinecko.com then type TLM in the search box. Then tap the fox icon next to the blockchain you want to add.

The default is the Ethereum network. If you want to add another network, click the [More] button next to it to select other networks.

A popup appears, just click [Add Token] and you're done.

Delete tokens on Metamask

Above you have added tokens to the Metamask wallet. If you no longer trade that token, you can remove that token from Metamask!

Actually, it's okay to leave it there. But maybe because that token makes you lose, you “hate” and want to delete it.

Or if you see a strange token, you should also delete it. Otherwise, you accidentally messed up the swap machine and lost all your money.

To delete tokens on Metamask, do the following:

• First, click on the token you want to delete. For example, here I want to delete WBTC
• Click the 3-dot next to the token name and select [Hide WBTC].
• In the window that appears for you to confirm again, select [Hide]

When I went back to the main screen, the token was no longer visible. You can also re-add it at any time if you want.

How to log out of MetaMask . wallet

If you install the MetaMask wallet on a computer with multiple users. Then you can use this!

But if you have a lot of money in your wallet, I think you should install MetaMask wallet on your phone for more security.

Because this is actually a key, not a logout. When re-entering you just need to enter the password set above to unlock.

First you click on the avatar of the wallet. In the drop-down window, click the [Lock] button and you're done.

MetaMask . wallet recovery

When you install MetaMask on another browser or on another computer, then instead of clicking [Create a Wallet] you click [Import wallet].

NOTE: If you use multiple browser-based wallets such as MetaMask and Coin98 Wallet. Then you should install a different wallet for each browser to avoid conflicts.

Enter the 12 word seed phrase, set a new password, repeat the password and tick the box I have read…Then press [Import].

If you haven't used MetaMask for a while, clicking on it will ask for your password. You just need to enter the password created above to unlock.

As long as you forget this password, you can click the [import using Secret Recovery Phrase] box to recover the wallet with 12 seed words like I mentioned above.

Change MetaMask . wallet password

First, click on the wallet avatar, select [Settings] > [Security and Privacy] > [Change Password] and follow the instructions.

But some wallets won't show the [Change Password] box. To change your password you will need up to 12 secret recovery phrases so make sure you back them up carefully.

You then click on the wallet avatar > [Key] and use the 12 recovery secret phrases to restore the wallet and set a new password.

How to get the Metamask Wallet Private Key

• Click on the 3 dots next to the account name
• Select [Account Details]
• Click [Export private key]

• Type Metamask wallet password
• Click [Confirm]
• Copy the Private Key to a safe place
• Press [Finish] to return to the main screen

How to rename Metamask wallet

• You click on the 3 small black dots next to the current wallet name
• Select [Account Details]
• Click on the pencil image then name the wallet as you like

How to delete MetaMask . wallet

Because of the nature of the blockchain, you cannot delete a MetaMask wallet address. Once created, it will live there forever with the blockchain network.

But if you no longer need to use it, you can delete the MetaMask wallet utility on the browser.

NOTE: Remember to transfer all the money elsewhere! Because sometimes you forget both the password and the seed phrase.

For example on Chrome, you right click on the MetaMask wallet then click [Remove from Chrome]…

Then just forget about it!

Using Binance Smart Chain on MetaMask

To use this feature you need connect MetaMask wallet to Binance Smart Chain.

Other networks:

• Connect MetaMask wallet to Polygon
• Connect MetaMask wallet to Avalanche

MetaMask does not support the Tron (TRC20) network, so you cannot connect the MetaMask wallet to this network. If you want to use a browser wallet for the Tron network, install TronLink!

Bscscan MetaMask

To view the MetaMask wallet Bscscan do the following:

• Switch to BSC network (if you are on another network)
• Click on the 3 dots and select [View Account in bscscan.com explorer]

Gas fee on Metamask

As you know, Metamask is an ETH wallet and ERC20 tokens, so the gas fee on Metamask is also the gas fee on the Ethereum network.

See more: What is Gas Limit? How to calculate gas fee for Ethereum network

But when you add Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) compatible blockchain networks such as BSC, Polygon, Avalanche, Fantom, etc., the gas fee on Metamask wallet is the gas fee on these networks.

NOTE: Which network you use, you need that network's coin as a transaction fee.

For example, if you use Metamask wallet to transact on the Ethereum network, you need ETH as a transaction fee. The BSC network on Metamask requires BNB as a transaction fee.

Same with other networks.

Fees on the Ethereum network are quite high, low, $5 and high, $50 even hundreds of dollars. When the network is congested, nothing can be done.

Fees on other networks like BSC are quite cheap. I usually lose about $0.5 for a transaction on this network.

Other EVM networks have relatively low transaction fees.

MetaMask . spending limit approval

To approve a spending threshold for the MetaMask wallet, do the following:

• Access website: https://app.unrekt.net/. Supported networks: ETH-BSC-AVAX-FTM-MATIC-HECO-CRONOS-MOONBEAM-ASTAR-DOGECHAIN
• Connect wallet
• Select the app for which you want to cancel the permission press [Revoke] and follow the instructions on the wallet

Install MetaMask for iPhone

MetaMask is now available on iOS and Android apps. So you can install MetaMask on iPhone from the App Store like any other app.

After opening, you will have 3 options as follows:

• Restore the wallet using the 12 from the seed generated above.
• Synchronization with MetaMask is already available on the computer.
• Create a new wallet.

In particular, the feature of syncing with the newly updated MetaMask is quite convenient.

There is an interesting point when using MetaMask on the phone. It's a Browser feature built into MetaMask.

From there you can use Uniswap quickly and conveniently without having to work on a computer.

Add USDT on MetaMask

Using the way of adding the token as I mentioned above can add any token to the MetaMask wallet.

But I will talk more about how to add USDT tokens on MetaMask wallet because of its popularity.

See more: What is USDT?? Information that newbies need to know

First you visit https://coinmarketcap.com/vi/currencies/tether/. Afterward:

• Click on the fox icon next to the word Ethereum if you want to add USDT on MetaMask (default).
• If you want to add USDT network BSC on MetaMask. Click [More] then click on the fox icon next to the Binance Smart Chain network.

Other networks you do the same.

See also: How add USDT to MetaMask

Transfer coins from ETH network to BSC on MetaMask

To transfer coins from ETH network to BSC and vice versa on MetaMask wallet you do the following:

• Access: https://portfolio.metamask.io/bridge
• Connect wallet
• In the [From this network] box, select [Ethereum] in the drop-down
• In the [To this network] box, select [BNB Smart Chain] in the drop-down window
• Select the coin you want to transfer and enter the amount. For example, if I want to transfer 100 USDT from Ethereum to BSC, I choose USDT and enter the number 100

The system will estimate the gas fee and the amount that you will receive. In my example, the gas fee will be $3.78 and the amount received is $99.5

How to secure MetaMask . wallet

Recently, there has been a lot of fraud and hacking of MetaMask wallets. So you need to note a few of the following information about how to use Metamask!

1. “Isolating” the secret recovery phrase

I see some people take pictures of 12 seed words. Some people save it on Google Drive or Notepad on their computer.

This means that these files are still connected to the internet. Hackers can still steal your information! Not to mention that you accidentally deleted or the computer was damaged…

The best way is to write it down on paper and keep it somewhere safe, like in a safe…

Also like I said above, you can make up an interesting story that contains all 12 of these words in order. Combined with the fact that you wrote it down above, I think your account is quite safe.

2. No meal is free

If you see a strange token in your wallet, you should delete it immediately. Because when you try to swap that token, you might lose your wallet.

Absolutely do not connect the wallet to untrustworthy websites. You can delete websites connected to your wallet by doing the following:

On the MetaMask wallet > click on the 3 dots next to your account > select Connected sites > click on the trash can icon to delete any websites you want.

Show testnet network

Recently MetaMask wallet added a feature to hide/show the testnet so sometimes you won't see the Kovan network anywhere.

To show testnets again, click on the wallet's icon > Settings > Advanced > turn [ON] in the [Show test networks] box.

Is Metamask safe?

Metamask is a hot wallet that is considered unsafe. So you might be wondering if Metamask is safe or not?

Since its launch in 2016, Metamask has not encountered any major hacks.

MetaMask uses HD backup settings and has a large developer community that keeps the open source code up to date.

However, because it is an online wallet, it is more risky than hardware wallets and other forms of cold storage.

The most common risk that metaMask wallets face is phishing attacks…

Some questions about how to use Metamask wallet

So I just went through what is Metamask and how to create a Metamask wallet.

Good luck!