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Today I am publishing again in the Universo Binario community. This community is my creation that dates back a few weeks ago, and you can find more info on the owner account or directly on the presentation post. In a nutshell, it's a place to publish posts about the digital world, be it descriptions of digital services/products or tutorials.
As some may know, I am the organizer of a small photo contest called Photochain Challenge. In the past months, I decided to create a specific account that could act as a reference fund to start receiving donations with which to broaden the horizons of this still limited contest. Among the supported addresses, we find an extensive list of ERC20 tokens.
Yes, because ERC20 tokens - tokens generated and supported by the Ethereum blockchain - require an expensive amount of ETH tokens (the better known GAS) to be sent. In the case of amounts up to $50, in many periods the charges have exceeded the value of the amount to be sent. How to solve the problem?
Some protagonists of the crypto landscape have tried and are trying to solve the problem by providing secondary chains connected to the main network, what you find defined as Ethereum Main Net.
Taking this as a starting point, I decided to expand the supported networks by also incorporating 2 secondary networks that are currently more tested: Polygon Matic and Binance Smart Chain
But let's start from the beginning, going to zoom in on the first step necessary to enter the Ethereum world: the creation of a wallet.
LEARN MORE HERE
Blockchain Interface Project - Extension Wallet
There are many supported wallets, many committed and certainly good developers. My experience falls on one of the first forerunners, the Metamask wallet.
Metamask has been an interface that has been present for years as an extension to be installed on your browser. After creating an account, you can use it to interact with the Ethereum network, both for simple transactions involving supported tokens, and to validate actions that require an authenticated signature.
To get this useful tool, you need to connect to the official Metamask.io website. Inside you will find various sections where you can get answers to your questions.
You need to look for the "Download Now" button and click on it.
This will open a page with more types of resources for you to download. In fact, you will see the writing Firefox, Chrome, Ios, Android, etc. You can choose the voice that best suits your needs: Android for Android devices, Ios for Apple devices (like Iphone), Firefox or Chrome depending on the browser you usually use from your desktop.
In my case, I was using Firefox as an example: I had to click on the button “Install Metamask for Firefox” or “for Chrome” or for “android”, etc.
At this point, a window will open from which you can download the extension and install it on your browser. In my case, the button read “Add to (for this time) Firefox”.
In some cases, a notification window may appear at the top left asking you whether to install or cancel. By installing, you accept the items that you will see appear in the central area of the notification window.
It may take some time or proceed very quickly depending on some variables (connection or pc used). You will then be notified that the extension has been added thanks to a notification that will appear at the top right of the screen. Just click on “Ok” and "Start".
And now the part of creating the wallet: a new web page will open with 2 options in the center and, if you will select one, you will be able to recover an account already created previously, which we are not interested in now; if you select the other, you will be redirected to the process of creating a new wallet: we have to click exactly on this one, starting the creation process from scratch.
A screen may open in which you will be made aware of some terms of service. Read carefully and click on "I agree" if you accept them.
Now you have to go to the delicate step: you have to choose a new password.
WARNING!
Never share or send this password to third parties. Use it only to log into your metamask account when you need it. If possible, always keep one or more copies, so you don't forget them. If you forget it, you can still recover the account ... but always better to avoid it.
WARNING: FUNDAMENTAL !!!*
At this point, the system will show you your seed phrase or allow you to download it. In some cases, you will also need to re-enter it to confirm the process. In any case, you MUST NEVER SHARE or SEND this series of words to third parties. Anyone with this series of words will be able to access your account, clearing it or doing operations for you. If this happens, your account will be irreparably compromised.
And there we are: a web page will open from which you can check your Metamask account. At the top, centered horizontally, there will be the name of your account with a lot of associated addresses.
PLEASE NOTE: at the top right you will find the wording "Main Ethereum Network". By clicking on it you can access a list of networks supported by Ethereum. It will be from this tiny menu that we will set up our secondary networks - the so-called SECOND LAYERS - of the Ethereum network.
LEARN MORE HERE
Blockchain Project - Blockchain Services
The first second layer we will talk about is that of the network using the MATIC token. The project, from the initial name MATIC then evolved into POLYGON, has launched a series of useful tools for scalability on the Ethereum network and probably beyond.
Just as on the Ethereum mainnet we can exchange tokens by spending a small commission in ETH, so we can do on the Matic network, by spending the MATIC token. This results in a much lower expense, with the disadvantage of being a less established and supported technology than the main Ethereum one.
For any possible curiosity, you can consult the official website of the project, currently https://polygon.technology/
Sifting through it, you will find direct links to pages for developers or to set access to the second layer. In the photo below, you can read the name of the site in full at the top: inside you will find the resource that will explain how to set up the new network on Metamask. In full, at the moment the address of the resource is:
https://docs.matic.network/docs/develop/metamask/config-matic
But how do I do it, you ask me? If you have never followed this process, rest assured: you can access Metamask by clicking on the fox-shaped icon at the top right of your browser page, or the puzzle-shaped icon always at the top right of your browser page and from there on "extensions", in the list of which you will find "Metamask" and its identifying icon.
You can log in by entering your password. A window like the one you see in the figure above will then open. The 2 red circles try to highlight the icon and the area dedicated to the network used.
Clicking on “Ethereum main network” will open a list of networks that you have to scroll through. Metamask occasionally adds some new networks, so the ones you want to insert may already be present. If so, just click on it to leave the main network and switch to the desired one. If, on the other hand, the network we want to reach is not present, we should enter it manually.
At the bottom of the list, you will find “Custom RPC” written. Click on it.
A series of empty spaces will open in which you will have to report the specific information that the resource present at the aforementioned link has shown you. I reiterate that these specifications may be subject to change, so I advise you to carefully read the official document issued by the project from time to time.
In the figure, you can see the different fields filled in as required, each marked with a red circle. When finished, click on "save".
At this point, your Metamask wallet will support the Matic network.
ATTENTION!
Each time you open Metamask you have to pay close attention to the network in which you are operating. When you want to change it, you have to click in the space dedicated to networks (circled in the figure) and choose the one you want to use. All transactions you perform will be performed on the selected network.
LEARN MORE HERE
Blockchain Project - Blockchain Services
The second additional layer is that of Binance Smart Chain, which can also be used through Metamask. The steps to follow are the usual ones, varying only the specific parameters for adding the network.
In this case, after clicking on custom "RPC", you will need to complete with the specifications provided on the official Binance portal. At present, the data is shown in the figure below. However, check for added security.
We would like to, but no. Let's follow the reasoning: if you open Metamask on the Ethereum mainnet, you find some tokens; when you change the network with any other one, you will find that your balance will be different. Why?
Each node of each different network actually behaves like an independent node, despite having the same address. In fact, by changing the network, your wallet address doesn't change: only the network used changes.
However, this means that to send a sum from one network to another, despite the fact that the address is always yours, you will need an additional service. This type of algorithm has been called "bridge" and we will see in a subsequent article how to use it. It will be essential for you to transfer the funds from the Ethereum Mainnet to a second layer that you will use. My advice, for now, is never to move the entire amount to a second layer but to move the liquidity used for more frequent interactions in Ethereum (for example for apps with which you often interact or with small amounts you want to allocate as donations). This advice of mine is dictated by the fact that a second layer is usually a smaller and sometimes private network: if it were to become extinct, if it were to be hacked, if it had any kind of problem, you would suffer the consequences of that event. As legislation is still very nebulous today, you risk never recovering the existing value within that network.
With this I greet you and I hope to be able to help you with the second part of the explanation which I think will not arrive in a very short period of time, both for the lack of time and above all for the lack of funds with which to show this in detail this type of step. Just to understand the expensivity of the transactions, in recent times the exchange of a stablecoin worth about 50 USD would cost me an amount in ETH with a value that fluctuates between 15 and 25 USD. Until a few days earlier, the amount even reached a range between 60 and 75 USD (often around 0.015 ETH)
But like any end, it always needs some notes.
This post was made for informational purposes only. I always invite anyone who wants to access the world of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain to document themselves independently and carefully, because they are potentially subject at all times to the irreversible loss of part or all of the capital spent/invested.
Furthermore, it is possible to provide the wallet addresses ... but NEVER PROVIDE your credentials (password or seed phrase) to third parties, under penalty of the possibility of losing the amount of your balance at that time or in the future.
And at this point I greet you, hoping to see you with some new posts in the new Universo Binario community. Any post that specifically deals with the digital world - through tutorials, experiences, or informative articles - will be welcome, as long as it respects the pillars of the community, rules that you find in the GUIDELINES POST of the community.
