One of the most important elements in the cryptographic world and of blockchain technology are wallets, so choosing a suitable and secure wallet is of vital importance.
Interacting with a blockchain is not an easy or intuitive task,its why decentralized applications are very important to enter and operate.
Normal web browsers (called 2.0) such as Google Chrome, Opera, Internet Explorer or Firefox cannot establish full communication with blockchains, however, there are 3.0 browsers such as Mist, Ethereum's 'browser' with a decentralized nature, which acts in a more direct way with applications and projects based on Blockchain, here is the link in case you want to download it or explore a little https://mist.ethereum.org/
That's where METAMASK comes in, whose main mission is to make it as easy as possible to use Dapps (decentralized applications) based on Ethereum.
MetaMask is a wallet and a browser at the same time: it serves to store and exchange digital assets and to explore new applications on the decentralized web.
It is ideal for sending ETH, tokens or collectibles to anyone, anywhere,also to play, exchange, post content, chat with friends and more.
~ With MetaMask your private keys, seeds and assets are always under your control ~
We could say that Metamask are two things in one:
On the one hand, it acts as a “gateway” between our usual browser and the Ethereum blockchain, without the need to install any type of software or download its entire chain of blocks.
All this is possible thanks to a simple extension added to our browser :
if you use Chrome or Brave https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/metamask/nkbihfbeogaeaoehlefnkodbefgpgknn?hl=en if you use Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ether-metamask/ for Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.metamask&hl=en_US&ref=producthunt&_branch_match_id=879513668403858070 for iOS https://apps.apple.com/us/app/metamask/id1438144202?_branch_match_id=879513668403858070 which allows us to interact with Dapps and smart contracts in an easier and more intuitive way than we would through Mist, the Ethereum browser.
And on the other hand, this extension also functions as a wallet: it allows us to receive, store and send Ether and other ERC20 tokens from the address created in Metamask, just as we can add multiple addresses with their respective private keys.
In fact, by having multiple addresses, it is possible to manage numerous identities within Ethereum.
We can log into a Dapp with one address, but interact with a different Dapp through another address, all while keeping our identity private and our data unrelated between the different identities.
In short, MetaMask allows users to do anything Ethereum related just like it allows websites running Dapps to communicate with its blockchain.
offers various levels of security. Private data is generated entirely on your computer or smartphone,that also means that, unlike traditional web services, MetaMask cannot help you recover your password or seed phrase.
~ Important: Backup your seed phrase is essential, as it is the only thing that can restore your account ~
supports hardware wallets such as LEDGER and Trezor, so far Metamask has proven to be quite secure, it has not suffered attacks that have resulted in theft of cryptocurrencies by hackers.
It is backed by a strong developer community that updates its source code to the smallest error they detect.
It is an open source platform, this means that all the MetaMask code can be reviewed, updated and improved by the community, you can see the MetaMask code on Github:
https://github.com/MetaMask/metamask-plugin
How to create a wallet in Metamask
Creating a metamask wallet is very easy, we must enter a secure password for our account, once we have written it twice, we click "Create".
~ The "Import Existing DEN" option is for users who have already created a previous account in Metamask and want to log in ~
The next thing we will see is a list with 12 words written in a specific order called 'Seed words', it is advisable to write them on paper, do not digitize them or take screenshots, better write in handwriting and save different copies in different places for more security.
These words will allow us to recover our account in case of forgetting the password or if the data has been stolen.
~If we do not have these seed words and we have forgotten our password, the account will be lost forever along with the cryptocurrencies that we have stored~
Anyway, once we have our backup copy of these ‘seed words’ we can continue by clicking on“I’ve copied it somewhere safe”
Done! We already have our account created in Metamask.
How to import an account from My Ethereum Wallet (MEW) to Metamask
MyEtherWallet (MEW) is a website that allows you to create your own Ethereum wallet, in which you have the power of your private keys.
This platform is usually recommended to store our Ether and our ERC20 tokens, there are many people who make use of MyEtherWallet.
To import our MEW account into Metamask we have to follow the same steps as to create an account, except that instead of clicking on “Create Account” we must click on “Import Account”.
We write our private key and then click on "Import". Our MyEtherWallet account will automatically be added to Metamask.
I have crypto in another wallet, can I use that in MetaMask?
MetaMask uses a BIP-44 12-word lead phrase to generate your accounts, so you can enter any valid 12-word lead phrase into MetaMask and use the accounts associated with it.
Today, Metamask is one of the best and most complete wallets for tokens on the Ethereum network.
What I like the most about Metamask is that the entire DeFi ecosystem of the ethereum network is just a click away, for me this is super good because it saves a lot of time.
