Learn about wallets & wallet safety.
Metamask is one of the most popular Ethereum hot wallets. It is praised for it’s simplistic user interface that not only serves as a way to store and manage Ether and other ERC-20 tokens, but it also allows users to spend coins in games, trade them on decentralized exchanges, stake tokens in gambling applications, and most importantly store your digital art (NFTs)
To install the metamask for your browser, click on the link below
Download Metamask from metamask.io for your preferred browser and also your phone (ios/android). Follow the outlined steps and most importantly write down your recovery “seed phrase” in a safe (offline) place. The recovery phrase is vital to accessing your assets. And if you lose your seed phrase, your wallet is lost forever.
Helpful Tips in Settings
1. Sync with Mobile – After setting up your Metamask you can link it to your phone by heading to the “Advanced” tab and clicking “sync with mobile”
2. Reset Account – Under the “Advanced” Tab you have the option to clear out your metamask transaction history (this will not affect your assets) by clicking “reset account”
3. Currency Settings – Change your primary currency and currency conversion preference under “General”
How to buy/deposit Ether
Buy Ether with Wyre :
Wyre will allow you to use a debit card to deposit ETH right into your MetaMask account.
Buy ETH with Transak :
Transak will allow you to use debit card and bank transfers depending on your location. ETH will be deposited right into your bank account. (Warning weekly limits and additional fees will apply)
Directly Deposit :
If you have Ether hanging out in another wallet you can send ETH to your new metamask wallet.
Head to the main page of your metamask wallet. Under the name of your wallet , you will find your wallet address. To easily copy this to your clipboard , simply hover your mouse over the address and right click (or tap if you’re using your phone/table).
Head over to your other wallet or exchange account and paste your wallet address into the “send” section. Depending on what platform you are using , the user interface will be different. However, following these steps will allow you to send eth to your metamask wallet.
How to send crypto from Metamask
1. To send your assets from your metamask wallet to another wallet, head over to the main page of metamask and click “send”.
2. Paste the wallet address of the receiving address where prompted to.
3. Choose the asset and amount you would like to send.
REMEMBER TO ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK THE WALLET ADDRESS YOU’RE SENDING TO.
A Seed Phrase—or a Recovery Phrase—is your key to accessing your assets in the crypto and NFT world.
It is a string of words that is code for a longer string of numbers—and only YOU know what they are.
You don’t create the phrase. It is usually somewhere between 10 to 24 words (in a specific order) assigned to you when you create a brand new wallet.
It is critical that this phrase remains secret.
As soon as someone else knows your seed/recovery phrase, you can not undo it.
You cannot pass go, or collect $200.
They now have access to your digital assets, and they’re likely already stolen.
So now that you know that your Seed or Recovery Phrase is your personal, super secret key to accessing your digital assets, let’s talk about keeping it safe below!
Your Seed Phrase or Recovery Phrase is your personal, super secret key to accessing your digital assets.
When you open up a brand new wallet, here’s what you’re going to do when it comes to that super-special-can’t-lose-it-or-reveal-it-seed/recovery phrase:
1. Write it down. Literally write it on a piece of paper.
2. Do not store it online or anywhere in your phone.
The more times the phrase is shown or saved on a screen, the easier it is for someone to find it.
This means anywhere digitally — Do not take a picture. Do not put it in Google Docs or Evernote. Do not save it in a password manager.
3. Store the physical copy of the seed/recovery phrase in a safe place only you know where to find it, and potentially with a backup or two elsewhere.
When using many wallets you are the ONLY person who has this phrase, so in most cases if you lose it, it’s gone. There is no such thing as a password reset here.
You may even consider storing different pieces of the phrase in different places to increase the level of security.
Keep it safe, and know where to find it.
4. Never, ever give the phrase to anyone.
The only time you should need to see your seed phrase at all is when it is generated for a new wallet or if you need to recover your existing wallet.
No one will need to ask for your phrase at any time. If they do, it is a scam.
Seed Phrase — Let’s review!
A Seed or Recovery Phrase is your personal, super secret key to accessing your digital assets.
You should never store this phrase digitally, and you should have a written copy (and maybe a backup or two) in a safe place only you can find.
Never, ever share your Seed/Recovery Phrase with anyone. No one. If someone asks, they want to steal your stuff. Big nope.
Remember that these are simply best practice suggestions and not a foolproof way to keep everything safe. Now that we’ve gotten the first (and most serious) security out of the way, you should feel (just a little) more confident in keeping your assets and wallet secure!
✔️You’ve chosen a wallet.
✔️You’ve purchased some ETH.
✔️You’ve researched and decided on an NFT project/artist to support.
🧐But once you approve that transaction, where does the NFT get stored?
The short answer: in a wallet!
Let’s dig into the long answer…
Pretend the Ethereum blockchain is a big museum. There are all kinds of things displayed in this museum, and deep inside in one of the rooms, your new NFT is hanging for the world to see!
An NFT project is split into 2 parts; The smart contract and the digital artwork which is represented by ‘metadata’.
The smart contract exists on the blockchain and is customised to contain rules, standards and project specific items (ie mint price, number of tokens etc). The smart contract contains a rule that points to the server that stores the digital artwork.
The digital artwork may not live on the blockchain, and may be stored on an offline server such as an InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), which is a ‘centralised storage server’. It should be noted that not all NFT collections use ‘IPFS’ and are truly stored on-chain (eg ‘On-Chain Monkey’ NFT collection).
The NFT that sits in your wallet provides you with the certificate of authenticity and proof of ownership.
When buying and selling NFTs it is recommended to have both Hot and Cold Wallets. Once you’ve purchased an NFT, it is recommend to transfer/send it to your cold wallet.
No NFTs stored in this wallet and amount of Crypto kept to a minimum.
Used for transacting, purchasing and minting.
Also known as a Hardware Wallet.
Features an extra layer of security through your hardware device.
Used for storing Crypto & NFTs in a safer manner.
A hot wallet is a digital cryptocurrency wallet that is stored digitally only.
Protected only by your Seed Phrase, they are often subject to attack from scammers. If you store all of your cryptocurrency and NFTs in your hot wallet, they are less protected than when in a cold wallet/hardware wallet.
Examples of a hot wallet are a MetaMask Wallet or Coinbase Wallet that is held digitally only.
So you’re researching how to store your crypto and you’ve come across this new concept of hardware wallets and wondering, “WHY would I need a physical wallet for digital currency?”
Great question! Let’s unpack.
Hardware wallets—also known as cold wallets—are the best practice, industry standard for storing your digital assets. Hardware wallets are the most secure option for a few reasons:
1. They are completely offline.
Your private key is stored securely and encrypted within the hardware wallet itself, and it is never passed through to the online side of things. Being disconnected from the internet makes it significantly harder for scammers and hackers to break in and steal your stuff.
2. The funds are less accessible.
Approving the movement of crypto and NFTs into or out of your hardware wallet requires you to actually be holding the hardware wallet. On top of simply needing to be in physical possession of the wallet, you will also need to input a PIN number to approve.
Add in the increased protection of encrypted chips to fight sophisticated hacking attempts, and it’s clear why this is the industry standard for security.
3. Hardware wallets are a non-custodial wallet, which is a fancy way of saying that the owner—YOU—is in full control of what is inside the wallet.
Assets are stored on the blockchain, they are solely managed by you—so there is no middleman like a bank or exchange involved—and only you hold the key.
There are quite a few hardware wallet options on the market, so be sure to research and decide on the option you’re most comfortable with. The two most popular options as of this writing are Ledger and Trezor.
Important Security Note: When selecting a hardware wallet, ONLY purchase directly through the hardware wallet company, as opposed to a third party site such as Amazon. Purchasing through a third party increases the chance of someone tampering with the device before it reaches you, allowing for the wallet to be compromised.
Ready to learn more?
Want to buy an NFT? Learn about where to purchase and how!
