TL;DR

  • MetaMask is a cryptocurrency wallet that gives you access to the world of blockchain apps and decentralized finance. MetaMask is available as a mobile app and web browser extension.

  • Although originally designed to interact with the Ethereum network, you can use MetaMask to access several other blockchain networks, including the BNB Smart Chain.

  • This article will guide you through the process of setting up a MetaMask and connecting it to the BNB Smart Chain (BSC).

Installing and Setting up MetaMask

MetaMask can be used on multiple browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Brave. On mobile, MetaMask is available for both iOS and Android users. Note that the instructions might be slightly different depending on the platform you are using, but you should be able to follow through regardless.

1. First, go to the MetaMask download page (https://metamask.io/download.html) and select whichever platform you’re using. Then, follow the steps to install it on your device.

2. Next, click [Create a new wallet] and follow the instructions.

3. It’s recommended to secure your wallet with a secret recovery phrase (also known as a seed phrase). This phrase will work like a master key to your wallet and funds.

4. Write down your secret recovery phrase and save it in a secure place. Without this phrase, your funds can’t be recovered if your device is damaged or lost. You should never share your secret recovery phrase with anyone.

5. Enter the missing words to confirm your phrase and click [Confirm].

6. That’s it! You should now see your wallet, ready to send and receive funds.

Adding a New Blockchain Network to Your MetaMask

You might notice that the new wallet is, by default, connected to the Ethereum network. But, our goal here is to connect MetaMask to the BNB Smart Chain (BSC). This will allow us to interact and use the decentralized applications (DApps) that are only available on the BNB Smart Chain.

1. Go to [Ethereum Mainnet] at the top left corner and click on [Add network].

2. Next, find the BNB Chain on the list and click [Add].

3. Check the network details and click [Approve].

4. You have now added the BNB Chain network to your MetaMask. If you want to start using it right away, click [Switch to BNB Chain]. If you want to stay on the Ethereum network for now, click [Dismiss].

5. Keep in mind that you can’t simply transfer funds from one blockchain network to another (e.g., transfer from BNB Chain to Ethereum). BNB Chain transfer can only be made to and from BNB Chain wallets – unless you are using a blockchain bridge, which is specifically designed to move funds across different chains.

6. Good job! You should now be connected to the BNB Chain. Note that you will need to fund your MetaMask wallet with some BNB to pay for transaction fees. For example, you can withdraw BNB from your Binance account to your MetaMask via the BEP-20 network.

How to Manually Add a Network to MetaMask

Since we’ve already added the BSC mainnet in the previous steps, we will illustrate the following steps by adding the BNB Smart Chain Testnet network. You can use the testnet network to play around with fake money and get familiar with the wallet.

1. To manually add a network to your MetaMask, click [Add network] and then [Add a network manually] at the bottom of the screen.

2. Next, you have to add the network parameters. Note that these parameters are unique to each network.

BNB Chain Testnet parameters

  • Network name: BNB Chain Testnet

  • New RPC URL: https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.binance.org:8545/

  • Chain ID: 97

  • Currency symbol: tBNB

  • Block explorer URL: https://testnet.bscscan.com

3. Done. You have added the BNB Chain Testnet to your MetaMask.

Making MetaMask Transactions (On the Testnet)

To illustrate how the wallet works, we will make a transaction on the testnet network using fake money. 

1. Go to your MetaMask wallet and click on your address to copy it.

2. Go to the BNB Smart Chain Faucet (https://testnet.binance.org/faucet-smart) and paste your wallet address in the respective field. Then click [0.1 BNB] under [Give me BNB].

3. Wait until the fake funds arrive. Note that tBNB is the fake BNB used on the testnet network.

4. From here, we’ll send the funds off somewhere to demonstrate how it works. We’ve just grabbed a random address from BscScan Testnet that we’ll donate them to. 

Click [Send] and paste the destination wallet address. Then, select the asset and amount and click [Next].

5. Check the transaction details before clicking [Confirm]. In this example, we are sending 0.05 tBNB to this random address.

6. Wait a few seconds for the transaction to be confirmed. You can check your past transactions under your MetaMask’s Activity tab.

Closing Thoughts

MetaMask has long been a popular Web3 wallet for accessing the Ethereum ecosystem. But, in just a few steps, anyone can configure it to connect to the BNB Smart Chain, which opens up a whole new set of decentralized applications that run on the BNB ecosystem.

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