How to set up an Ethereum Wallet
Web3 Musings: Edition 3
So, by now you should be familiar with Web3, and have a basic idea of how Ethereum works. In this article I will show you how to set up an Ethereum wallet and get started exploring the fascinating world of Web3.
To start, here’s a quick recap of what an Ethereum wallet is: “Wallets are your profile on Ethereum and the home for managing and storing your digital assets.” Pretty simple in theory, but they can quickly become complicated and overwhelming. Let me help with that.
Getting started:
There are many wallet providers available, each with their own quirks and benefits. For the purpose of this explanation, I will be using Google Chrome with Metamask installed. The process will be similar with other wallets, and you can check those out here.
Ok, enough rambling. Let’s begin.
I’m going to assume you have Chrome installed on whatever computer you’re following this tutorial from. If not, head over to this site.
Now, head to metamask.io/download/ and select “Install Metamask form Chrome”. You will be taken to the Chrome webstore, where you will then need to click, “Add to Chrome”. Once approved, a new tab will open up asking you to get started, then it will ask if you already have a wallet or if you’re setting up a new one. I’m going to go through the process of creating a new wallet.
If you’d like to share anonymised data with Metamask (I do, as this is relatively risk-free and helps improve the platform), click allow. Next, you will be prompted to create a password. It is important to note that this password is only to protect the extension on your current device. It cannot be used to recover funds from another device or wallet. Either way, make this something secure so that it cannot be easily guessed.
The next page will show a quick video explaining how to keep your wallet safe. I recommend watching it for your own benefit. If you’re lazy like me, here’s a quick summary:
On Metamask, all the power over the funds is controlled by the holder of the “Secret Recovery Phrase,” not a bank or centralised organisation.
Your Secret Recovery Phrase is your master key and allows you recover your funds if you ever lose access to your wallet.
It is important to keep your master key safe and secret—anyone with access to it can freely take all of your assets. We don’t want that.
No one, not even the team at Metamask can help you recover your wallet fi you lose your master key. That’s why it’s important to keep it safe. The easiest way to do this is by writing it down on paper and storing it in a safe location only you have access to. I would even recommend not storing a digital copy of this at all, not even in a secure password manager. Physical copies cannot be hacked remotely.
Most importantly: NEVER give ANYONE your Secret Recovery Phrase unless you want to lose everything.
I have probably scared you now with all the responsibility controlling your own wallet entails. But don’t worry, if you follow the tips above, it will be pretty hard for someone to access your wallet. Let’s proceed.
Now for the most important part of this whole tutorial—getting your master key. Remember, write this down ON PAPER and store it somewhere safe. In the next step you will be required to confirm your phrase to make sure you’ve copied it correctly. Go back and get it down again if you copied it incorrectly.
If you pass this final test, congratulations! You now have your first Ethereum wallet set up.
Now what?
Now you are ready to interact with the Ethereum network. When you visit compatible sites, you might be asked to connect your wallet to access their decentralised features. Let’s use OpenSea (an NFT trading platform) as an example. Go to opensea.io/ and click the profile icon in the top right corner. Select Metamask from the list. A window should popup from Metamask asking you to connect to the site with your wallet. Click next, then you will be shown what permissions the site is asking. This screen is very important as it is a way to expose malicious sites that get you to connect your wallet only to steal all your assets. Always check the link and the permissions being requested. Since OpenSea is a staple in the Ethereum world, we already know it is safe and can proceed to connect. However, you can never be too sure and it is a good habit to always double check everything before connecting to a site.
Once you are connected, you will be taken to your profile. This is where any NFTs you own will show up. Feel free to customise your profile, add a profile name and photo, and make it yours.
The decentralised world awaits you. Thank you for following along with this tutorial and I hope you found it useful.
Interesting Content from this week:
Packy McCormick from Not Boring published ‘Optimism’ discussing the importance of maintaining a positive outlook on life. It’s a long read, but definitely worth it. Packy describes the differences between blind optimism and, well, just plain optimism. This is how he summarised it:
It’s not blind optimism, but it’s not pessimism. It’s the very optimistic belief that things will inevitably go wrong, but that each new challenge is an opportunity for further progress.
As it turns out, making the world more optimistic might actually be more beneficial in the long term. Packy uses the example of how mass media takes a bias towards pessimism—front pages from The New York Times, Wired, BBC, and many others are typically flooded with pessimistic-sounding headlines.
I’d highly suggest reading this for anyone looking for a different outlook on life’s outcomes.
This thread on practical applications of crypto:
Key takeaways:
The ability to send and receive payments from anywhere in the world is one of the primary applications of crypto.
Lending and borrowing is made equally accessible to anyone with an internet connection.
Decentralised trust allows for decentralised governance within organisations.
Easily forgeable documents such as medical records can be replaced by immutable and verifiable NFTs.
On finding valuable information in crypto:
Key takeaways:
Advanced search functions in Google allow users to filter out irrelevant search results and cut through the noise by specifying parameters such as publication date, or only showing results that include or exclude a certain phrase.
Use Etherscan to search for smart contracts and transactions on Ethereum. Be prepared to fall down the rabbit hole.
ETHGlobal will show what’s happening in the latest hackathons, where skilled developers and teams compete for rewards. This is often the place where many early stage tokens start.
Bear market thoughts:
This is a short thread I wrote expressing some thoughts I had towards the current market conditions. I know I’m not the only one in my position and I hope it can help others know they are not alone and that we will get out of this.
That’s all for this edition of Web3 Musings, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading.