Here are easy to follow steps to:
Securely create your first crypto wallet via MetaMask
Purchase Ethereum and transfer it to your new MetaMask wallet
Mint your first NFT for FREE.
View your new NFT inside your wallet.
I share this because there are lots of people who will try to scam you out of your cryptocurrency and NFTs. You need to be extremely careful who you trust in this space; ESPECIALLY when taking advice on things as important as setting up your wallet, interacting with contracts or making purchases.
The below instructions are designed to help those who are brand new to cryptocurrency and NFTs. It can be daunting to get started in this space – but it’s a lot simpler than it might seem on the surface.
I was on @CNBC this afternoon talking about #NFTs.
— Adam Hollander (@HollanderAdam) December 31, 2021
Lots of discussion about the future of our space and of course @BoredApeYC 🍌 and my own project @HungryWolvesNFT 🐺
Happy New Years NFT fam! 🎉 WAGMI! 💎 LFG! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/FER3n2fC9C
CREATE YOUR WALLET
Installation
MetaMask is one of the most popular crypto wallets; used by over 20 million people. It’s also easily the most widely supported when it comes to collecting NFTs. It can be installed in minutes via metamask.io.
Your first lesson: only click links in crypto that you’ve researched & validated. There are tremendous numbers of fake websites that will try to maliciously steal your assets. Google “MetaMask” and ensure you’re on the authentic website before proceeding.
MetaMask is an embedded plugin for your web browser and works with Chrome, Firefox, Brave and Edge. You can also download it for iOS or Android – but for purposes of these instructions, we’ll be using the web version via a computer.
Once you install the plugin you’ll see a “Welcome to MetaMask” page in your browser. Click “Get Started” and then select the “Create a Wallet” option on the right side of the screen.
New To MetaMask
From here, follow the basic instructions - accept their terms & create a secure password.
The final step is obtaining your Secret Recovery Phrase, or Private Key. For MetaMask, this will be 12 unique words provided to you in a specific order.
If you pay attention to any part of these instructions, read the next section EXTREMELY CAREFULLY.
⦁ Anyone who obtains your private key can access your wallet and steal all of your assets. They don’t even need your MetaMask password to do so. If this phrase isn’t kept safe, your cryptocurrency & NFTs are not safe, period. DO NOT SHARE THIS WITH ANYONE, EVER. If someone asks for it, they are trying to scam you – there are no exceptions to that rule. No one should ever ask for your private key under any circumstance.
⦁ If MetaMask becomes uninstalled or you lose access to your device, the ONLY way to access to your wallet again is with this Private Key. There is no support number to call or alternate way to recover your assets.
⦁ It’s a best practice to not store the key digitally. If you store it digitally, someone can potentially hack your machine, cloud or email/chat history and gain access to it. I personally write my private keys down with a pen and paper and store them in a safe.
⦁ OPTIONAL: I mix up the order of the words in a way where only I know how to unscramble them. E.g. You could put the 5th number in the 8th position and vice versa. This way even if someone finds my Private Key, they wouldn’t be able to actually access the wallets. However, if you take this optional step, make sure YOU don’t forget how you’ve scrambled them!
⦁ OPTIONAL: Finally, I have a copy of my private keys in a secondary location with someone I trust. Just in case I somehow lose access to my safe or need to access my keys from a remote location.
You should make your own decisions as to how secure you want to be with your private key. The risk you take on can be balanced with the value you’re planning to store in the wallet.
With all of that in mind, you’ll be shown a screen called “Secure Your Wallet” to obtain your 12 word phrase and validate it before proceeding.
Congratulations
That’s it! You’ve now installed MetaMask and have successfully setup your crypto wallet!
You can now access it via the toolbar in your web browser. Click the MetaMask icon (which looks like a fox) and you’ll see your wallet named Account 1 with a very complicated string of characters below it. This is your public wallet address. It is completely OK and safe to share this. Think of it like the email address of your wallet. If someone wants to send you something, you provide them your public address.
Wallet Account
If you click on Account 1, MetaMask will copy the public address to your clipboard. To prove that it’s safe to share, here’s the public address of the wallet address above: 0x9d3fA0EF5029DF9165FBfbD70aC0D29361573dF3. Feel free to send whatever you like to it.
A final note before we proceed. What you’ve now created is called a hot wallet. This means that the Private Key is stored digitally inside of MetaMask. If you keep your Private Key safe, it’s perfectly OK to use this wallet. However, it’s not nearly as secure as using what’s called a Hardware Wallet.
A Hardware Wallet acts as 2-factor-authentication for the blockchain. The Private Key is stored on the physical device. Meaning you won’t be able to transfer assets away from your wallet or complete any type of transactions without having a physical USB device attached to your computer or phone.
I HIGHLY recommend looking into this if you plan on purchasing or storing valuable assets. There are many different hardware wallets available; I personally use a Ledger Nano X.
To note that if you do purchase a hardware wallet, you’ll have to then connect it to MetaMask via the “Connect Hardware Wallet” option found on the main menu. It will have a new public wallet address completely separate from the hot wallet you created above.
AFTER SETUP
PURCHASE ETHEREUM
Now that you have your wallet setup, you see that it has 0 ETH inside it. ETH is short for Ethereum; like how we abbreviate Dollars to USD. Obviously, you don’t have any yet.
Ethereum can be used for a variety of things, including the purchase of NFTs. It’s important to note that doing virtually anything on the blockchain will cost transaction fees. The most common of which are called gas. You’ll need Ethereum to pay these fees, regardless of what you’re looking to purchase.
You’ll notice there’s a “Buy” button directly in the MetaMask wallet. You can use this to purchase small amounts of Ethereum with a debit card – though there are restrictions; certain banks or geographies may simply not allow the transaction to go through.
If you find yourself in this situation, or wanting to purchase more Ethereum than the limits provide, you can use what’s called an Exchange. You may have heard of some of the larger exchanges like Coinbase and Crypto.com. You can create accounts on these exchanges, purchase Ethereum via bank transfers or other means, and once you have it, transfer it to your MetaMask wallet.
I personally use Crypto.com most often when buying Ethereum, because they accept same day wire transfers and immediately make the balance available without a waiting period.
If you do purchase Ethereum from an Exchange, you’ll use the public wallet address from the previous step when you want to send it to MetaMask. So as an example, in Crypto.com you would click “Transfer to External Wallet” and then paste the public address of your MetaMask wallet.
It’ll take a few minutes to process, but you should shortly see a balance in your MetaMask wallet.
MINT YOUR FIRST NFT FOR FREE
This step is optional. But if you’re looking for a way to “test your newfound crypto powers” this is a safe and fun option to do so. I’m the founder of a generative NFT collection called Hungry Wolves; 6,000 NFTs with a variety of randomized traits & an ecosystem of game mechanics attached to them.
Part of that project is called RUNTZ, which are a collection of smaller wolves that can be minted (created & purchased) for free. The only amount you’ll be asked to pay are the transaction fees. To be clear: my project generates 0 revenue from someone minting a new RUNTZ.
If you visit runtz.hungrywolves.com you’ll see a button labeled MINT RUNTZ. If you click on this and follow the steps that popup in your MetaMask wallet, you’ll be able to mint your very first NFT!
It should be noted that you ALWAYS should do your research before signing any transaction with your MetaMask wallet.
There are malicious contracts/websites that if you engage with them, can steal your assets – as you unknowingly are giving them permission to do so. Anytime that you’re asked to sign or confirm a transaction in your wallet, you’re taking a risk. Make sure you only do this with reputable sites & projects; those that have been validated by others that you trust.
VIEW YOUR NEW NFT
Once you’ve minted a RUNTZ, you can visit OpenSea.io, one of the largest and widely used NFT marketplaces. In the top right corner you can connect your wallet via MetaMask. Then by clicking the profile icon you can select Profile. Did you remember to validate the link before clicking it?
On your profile you will see a Collected tab and should see your brand new NFT!
This is where you can go to view your NFT collection as well as to subsequently sell any of your NFTs in the future via the OpenSea marketplace.
At the top of OpenSea you can also begin to search other collections. But before you make any purchases, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Not every NFT is valuable. Not every NFT is a good investment.
Most NFT projects have Discord servers and Twitter accounts. Go and engage with those communities and learn about different projects before you get involved.
The RUNTZ NFT that you minted for free has its own community and is a great place to start.
You can visit: https://discord.com/invite/hungrywolves to meet other members and ask questions.