Hello Steemians, I welcome you all to another great week in the Steemit crypto academy. Last week, we took a lesson from professor @yohan2on on Decentralized finance (DeFi). This week, we will continue with part two of DeFi. Last week's lessons have been informative and we hope to continue broadening our knowledge on DeFi in this week's lesson. The assignment task for this week is on DeFi wallets and I will be explaining MetaMask wallet.

A brief introduction to DeFi

Last week, we talked about how DeFi has changed the traditional method of the financial system by eliminating the central body responsible for controlling and verifying transactions before they are processed. DeFi does this through an open-source permissionless and transparent financial system that uses smart contracts on blockchains. Similarly, DeFi provides ease of access to financial services such as loans, lending, and staking services to users in a decentralized manner meaning that users have full control of their assets using DeFi.

MetaMask Wallet

Source

Meta mask is a web-based cryptocurrency wallet that is used to store Ether and ERC-20 tokens. Meta mask run as an extension on browsers like chrome and Firefox. Similarly, Users can connect with the Ethereum blockchain and decentralized applications using a normal browser like chrome.

_{MetaMask chrom extension}

MetaMask supported Coins

MetaMask wallet supports only Ethereum based and ERC-20 tokens. The wallet is specifically built to ease and support Ethereum. Users can easily add other ERC-20 tokens by searching for the token using the name. Similarly, users can also add custom tokens using the smart contract address or symbol.

MetaMask Fees

Ethereum network has its cryptocurrency called Ether (Eth). This coin is used for transaction fees on the Ethereum network. Since MetaMask is an Ethereum supported wallet, Ether is used as transaction fees on the wallet. This fee goes to the miners in the Ethereum network and it is measured in Gwei.

How to download MetaMask wallet

MetaMask wallet can be downloaded for free on Playstore for android users and the apple store for IOS users. For browsers, it can be installed by downloading and installing the MetaMask extension on the official page.

Downloading and installing MetaMask wallet on Browser (Chrome)
Step 1: visit MetaMask official website and click on install MetaMask for Chrome.

_{Install MetaMask}

Step 2:After step 1, you will be redirected to the chrome web store where you will add MetaMask wallet to your browser. Click on add to chrome. After that, another dialog box will pop up. Click on add extension.

_{Add to chrome}

Step 3: After that, another dialog box will pop up. Click on add extension.

_{Add extension}

After that, a dialog box will pop up showing that MetaMask has been successfully added to chrome. You will be redirected to the MetaMask wallet web page where you can either create a wallet or install an existing wallet. We will discuss that in another chapter.

How to use MetaMask wallet

For this chapter, I will be explaining using the android mobile app downloaded from the Google play store. The reason is that it’s easily accessible by the majority of users.

_{Using MetaMask}

First, a user is allowed to import an already existing wallet. That's if you already have a seed phrase for another wallet.
Secondly, a user is giving the option to sync with the MetaMask extension by following the steps in the picture below:

_{Sync with MetaMask extension}

Thirdly, a user can create a new wallet by clicking on import. A new page is displayed where the user is required to create a password and import a seed phrase.

_{Creating a new wallet}

The seed phrase generated can be used to login into any Ethereum supported wallet. It is advisable to store seed phrases in either a vault, a safe, or in multiple places. But it should be kept away from a third party. Congratulations, you have created your wallet successfully.

_{Wallet page}

Features of MetaMask wallet interface

_{MetaMask wallet features}

The browser allows you to explore and interact with the Ethereum blockchain and The Dapp (DeFi and DEX).

_{Wallet Browser}

Here, users can be able to use the DeFi apps to access lending and borrowing features by clicking the Decentralized finance.

_{DeFi Browser}

Similarly, click on decentralized exchange takes you to the Dex apps where users can exchange and swap cryptocurrencies in a decentralized manner.

_{DEX Browser}

Advantages of using MetaMask wallet

Links to Ethereum Blockchain:

MetaMask allows users to easily connect to the Ethereum blockchain by having easy access to DeFi and Dex apps.

Private key security:

Unlike centralized exchanges like Coinbase who store their wallet on remote servers. MetaMask keys are store on their web which allows users have full control of their assets. This particular feature is under the mission of blockchain technology (Decentralization).

Easy to use:

MetaMask interface is designed in a simplified manner allowing crypto newbies to access the features of the wallet easily.

Disadvantages of MetaMask wallet

For me, the disadvantage I can tell about MetaMask is that it supports only Ether and ERC-20 tokens. Currently, other crypto wallets are adopting multi-chain wallets for a better user experience. Multi-chain wallets allow users to store and monitor their assets from different blockchain at the same time without going through the difficulties in installing several wallets.

In conclusion, MetaMask is an essential part of the Ethereum blockchain. It allows users to interact with the Ethereum network. MetaMask services are easy and safe to use allowing Crypto newbies to find their way using the wallet. I suggest that MetaMask adopt the Multi-chain wallet feature for a good user experience.

Thank you Professor @yohan2on for this amazing lesson.

Cc:@steemcurator01
Cc:@steemcurator02
Cc:@trafalgar
Cc:@yohan2on