To create and/or own digital assets (in the Ethereum Blockchain for now), you need to install a crypto wallet.
A crypto wallet is an application with 2 main roles: to store your keys (access credentials) and seamlessly transact your digital assets.
Although the name might suggest it stores crypto, like a conventional wallet, that is not the case. In crypto – as well as in the traditional digital bank system -, your money is just bytes on a database, and you need some type of credential to move them, whether an ID and password in the bank system or keys in crypto rails.
So, the crypto wallet stores these keys that are used to sign your transactions allowing you to move them. All this of course is transparent for the user, and managed by the wallet app.
Metamask is a digital wallet for Ethereum-compatible crypto assets, like cryptocurrencies, community tokens, and NFTs.
It is the main gateway to the Web3 world.
If you want to experience the ownership economy, follow through this entire tutorial to learn how to set up the wallet, how to properly secure it and recover it, and also how to use it in real-world web3 applications.
Let’s go.
Step 1: How to install
The first step is to install the Metamask.
We are going to use Google Chrome Extension, which also works for other browsers like Brave and Microsoft Edge.
Go to metamask.io, click on Download and then Install Metamask for Chrome.
So you will be redirected to the chrome web store. Just click to Add to Chrome and add the extension.
After installation has been completed, it will show up a popup pointing out the Metamask icon on the bar, and a new tab automatically will open.
Before starting the configuration, it is convenient to click on the Extension List icon, in the upright corner, find the Metamask icon and click on Pin to pin it to the browser bar.
This will facilitate future use.
Ok, let’s start setting up the wallet.
Step 2: Creating a new wallet
First click on Create a new Wallet.
Now be careful.
Always read the instructions about security on Web3.
Remember, you are not just installing a new app. You are learning a completely new technological paradigm that is very different from those you are used to using.
If you miss an important step, you can easily lose money.
In this step, Metamask is asking permission to gather data and improve usability.
Here I will choose No, thanks.
On the next screen, we are going to create a password.
But, attention: this is not the private key.
This password just works locally in your browser to unlock the metamask app every time the browser is launched.
So, type an 8-character password, confirm and click on Create.
Now, it’s important to watch the short video explaining the concept of the Secret Phrase. Don’t skip it.
After watching it, click next, and let’s start the most important process of this tutorial.
The backup of the Secret Phrase.
Step 3 – Backing up the wallet
The secret phrase, also known as Seed Phrase or Private Key, is 12 random words with which you can restore access to your funds on the Blockchain.
Imagine you lost your computer, have uninstalled your browser, or just deleted your metamask app.
The only way, I will repeat, the only way to get access back to your crypto assets is to import this secret phrase into another wallet you have installed.
So, write it down on paper and keep it safe in at least two different places.
Oh, and important: don’t show them to anybody. Ever.
If anyone has access to your secret words, they can (and will) steal all your funds, and you will never be able to recover them.
So, once you understand this, let’s copy the words.
Click on the dark area with the lock icon and write down the words, following the sequence, on paper.
Click Next.
Now you need to click the buttons respective to the order of the words in your seed phrase. When finished correctly you will be able to click on Confirm.
One more time, read all the security information on this page and click All Done.
Congratulations, now you have a crypto wallet.
Now let’s launch your first NFT collection, and make it available to free mint.
In other words, let’s create your first unseizable digital property, storing an article on the Ethereum Blockchain.