If any of the following words have no meaning to you, then this article is for you: metamask, erc20, transaction id, etherscan, private key, address (crypto)
Instructions
Follow this step by step guide exactly how it’s written here
before anything, install yourself either this browser extension https://www.lastpass.com/ or this one https://1password.com/ (whatever you prefer). You will put there the backups that the apps below tell you to do
ETH
Before we begin I’d like to say that Ethereum is the name of the blockchain, and Ether is the currency name. So please don’t say “I have 1 Ethereum” but,. the correct form is “I have 1 Ether”.
the wallet that you’re going to use is called Metamask
- On a browser chrome or firefox go to this page https://metamask.io/ and install this extension.
- Follow what metamask tells you to do, backup your seed and remember your password and you will get your first ETH address. Congratulations.
- Get some ETH from somewhere. Go to an exchange (eg: Kraken, Binance (you can use my referral link to say thank you for this article :) https://www.binance.com/en/register?ref=40879837), Coinbase) and open an account there. Pass KYC, put $60 or more and buy around $30 worth of ETH. Since you’re here, buy some BTC too..let’s say $60 or more
- Transfer the ETH that you bought to your Metamask address. Congratulate yourself, you did a great job and now you’re the owner of some crypto that only you have custody upon.
BTC
if you have an Android phone install this → https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samourai.wallet and backup whatever it tells you to backup in LastPass or 1Password
If you have an iPhone : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/trust-crypto-bitcoin-wallet/id1288339409
You can also back them up someplace else, just don’t use your printer because printers are very bad at security. Don’t use your phone to photograph it too…
Transfer from the exchange the BTC to your new wallet.
Congratulate yourself.
ERC20 Tokens
ERC20Tokens are crypto currencies that sit on top of Ethereum. They are smart contracts that need ether in order to function. So everytime you send an ERC20 token you must have some ether in your wallet.
The most famous erc20 tokens are Tether, USDC, TRX, LINK etc. https://etherscan.io/tokens
a very important thing to keep in mind is:
each erc20 has a contract address. you absolutely need to make sure you are using the correct one, everytime you interact with some ERC20 tokens.
You can verify the correct contract address if you go on the ETH explorer https://etherscan.io/token/0x514910771af9ca656af840dff83e8264ecf986ca
for example: for LINK the contract address is: 0x5149…..
Lots of $$$ went to scammers because someone didn’t check the correct contract address.
When you buy an ERC20 token from an exchange, you can add it in metamask under your ETH wallet, under tokens.
