I’ve done a few videos that reference MyEtherWallet, unfortunately, those videos mostly consisted of warnings, and how to tell if you are on the legitimate site. No doubt, that is great information for all to be aware of, but I wanted to take a better look at what exactly you can do using MyEtherWallet.
You can think of MyEtherWallet as the user friendly way to access the Ethereum blockchain.
You can use this site to quickly create an Ethereum wallet that gives you control of the private keys. They give great instructions on their site so if you are interested in doing this go ahead and take a look.
If you’re very new to this I encourage you to take your time and thoroughly read through the instructions to be sure you understand the implications of your responsibility for being in control of your own private keys.
Consider this the next step up from just keeping your coins on an exchange.
MEW has also proven particularly helpful with the massive increase of ERC20 tokens.
It enables you to view and transfer any ERC20 tokens that you may have that are connected to an Ethereum address. So if, for example, you’ve used Metamask or a MEW ethereum address to partake in an ICO and you’d like to transfer the coins to a different place,
Here’s how you can do that:
- Import or access your wallet, MEW now gives quite a few options, (but let’s say you want to import your metamask wallet.)
- Input your password and you’ll be taken to a screen like this.
- Because there are so many tokens now, you’ll need to click the box that says “show tokens”. Here you’ll see a long list of tokens. If you have a balance of any of these, this is where you will see that information.
- If the token you’re interested in is not listed, you can easily add it by scrolling to the bottom and filling out the “add custom token” form.
- You’ll need the token contract address which you can find by going to ethplorer and search for your token. This is where you can find the token contract address, the token symbol and decimals information.
- Go ahead and fill in this form with the correct information and your new token will be added to this list for this wallet.
If you want to make a transfer of any ERC20 tokens that are connected to this wallet:
- Just select the drop down menu that is to the right of the “amount to send” box
- Select the token you’d like to transfer
- Fill out the amount you would like to send, the address you’d like to send it to
- Set your gas limit- this determines how quickly your transfer gets from point A to point B. If you want to learn more about gas price and its affect on transactions, check out the link up above.
- Once this info it filled out to your satisfaction, click “generate transaction” and your tokens will begin their journey through the crypto space.
In addition to the wallet services they provide, you can also make trades with the BITY application right on the site, you can interact with smart contracts and the Ethereum Name Service.
As we continue our exploration of MyEtherWallet, you’ll see the next few tabs give you options like:
Trading Ethereum for Bitcoin or Ethereum for Augur, also you can trade Bitcoin for Augur or Ethereum as well.
Interact with smart contracts, and even deploy your own smart contracts.
Search the ENS, the Ethereum Name Service system to see if your desired name is available.
They also provide the steps needed to secure your own name.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with this concept, you can check out my past video that talks more in depth about the Ethereum Name Service, basically this name service allows you to choose a name that you can use instead of a long public address. This can be very beneficial for those who often receive payments in Ethereum or who make numerous transactions with this coin.