In recent years, Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has amassed a loyal audience due to the fact that it is a commendable alternative to the Ethereum blockchain. Blockchain enthusiasts are always looking for an Ethereum alternative because the way it is modeled has led to steep rises in the gas price—a fee, or pricing value, required to successfully carry out a transaction or execute a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain.
The volatile nature of gas might be pulling people away from Ethereum but it is still one of the most popular blockchains, especially with regard to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Apart from NFTs, Ethereum hosts a myriad of solutions that make the blockchain network unmatched. One such solution is MetaMask, a popular crypto wallet. However, owing to the software wallet’s configuration allows it to only interact with the Ethereum blockchain.
Luckily, there’s a way around it and MetaMask can be used with BSC. The combination of MetaMask and BSC opens up a whole lot of features to the users. To take advantage of these features, we will explain the process of connecting MetaMask to Binance Smart Chain. So, without any delay, let’s learn how to add Binance Smart Chain to MetaMask for seamless transactions in BNB.
Connecting MetaMask to Binance Smart Chain: What Is MetaMask?
Before we get started, it's important to understand what MetaMask is. MetaMask is essentially a crypto wallet that can be used to connect to the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum-based tokens, such as ERC20, 721, etc. are supported by the MetaMask wallet.
Primarily it is used to communicate with the Ethereum blockchain, but you can also connect MetaMask to the Binance Smart Chain network, which will enable you to make BNB transactions through MetaMask. Apart from this transaction, BNB can also be swapped for other tokens on decentralized exchanges.
What is Binance Smart Chain?
BSC can be best described as a blockchain that runs parallel to the Binance Chain but doesn’t replace the latter. BSC was launched by the Binance crypto exchange after the Binance Chain network to improve the programmability of its predecessor.
Even though both the exchanges support cryptocurrency, BSC has the upper hand because it is equipped with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and smart contracts. This affects BSC’s services in two meaningful ways. First, it supports NFTs, and second, it also supports Ethereum applications.
Binance & MetaMask: How To Add Binance Smart Chain To MetaMask
In order to receive the benefits, the MetaMask wallet must be connected to the Smart Chain. Here are the four easy steps to connect MetaMask to BSC.
- Step 1: MetaMask Installation & Wallet Creation
- Step 2: Wallet Configuration
- Step 3: Binance Smart Chain Network
- Step 4: Funding Your Wallet
Step 1: MetaMask Installation & Wallet Creation
If you do not own a wallet, the first thing that needs to be done is to download and install the Chrome extension of MetaMask.
- Open Chrome and visit the official Metamask website and click "Download Now"
- On the download page, select "Install MetaMask on Chrome"
- After installation, you'll be asked if you're "New to MetaMask?" along with several options like "Import Wallet" and "Create A Wallet"
- If it's the first time you're using MetaMask, click on "Create A Wallet", or else, click on "Import Wallet" for your secret recovery phrase.
On selecting the former, you'll get a recovery phrase that can be used to get access to your MetaMask wallet. The verification of this recovery phrase will be the last step to wallet creation.
Step 2: Wallet Configuration
As mentioned earlier, MetaMask is used to connect with the Ethereum blockchain. But to connect MetaMask to the Binance Smart Chain DApps, certain settings need to be changed so that the wallet is focused on the nodes of the Binance Smart Chain network.
- On the Settings page, select "Network"
- To add Binance Smart Chain (BSC) manually, click "Add Network" in the upper-right corner.
- We can now proceed with two networks Smart Chain testnet and the mainnet.
Mainnet
Network Name: Smart Chain
New RPC URL: https://bsc-dataseed.binance.org/
ChainID: 56
Symbol: BNB
Block Explorer URL: https://bscscan.com
Testnet
Network Name: Smart Chain - Testnet
New RPC URL: https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.binance.org:8545/
ChainID: 97
Symbol: BNB
Block Explorer URL: https://testnet.bscscan.com
After saving the network, you'll observe that your denominations have been converted to BNB instead of ETH.
Step 3: Binance Smart Chain Network
- Finally, you'll notice the BNB icon alongside your BNB balance.
- The "Smart Chain" dropdown menu will be displayed in the upper-right corner.
Thus, you've connected MetaMask to Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
When you want to set it back to the Ethereum network, just select the "Smart Chain" option and select "Ethereum Mainnet".
Step 4: Funding Your Wallet
Now that we've learned how to add Binance smart chain to MetaMask, it's time to make transactions using the Metamask wallet.
- Get the contract address of the token and copy it.
- Once you click on the address, you'll automatically be redirected to the BSCScan page and copy the contact address there.
- Once again open MetaMask and click on "Add Token"
- Paste the copied contract address in your MetaMask and select "Next"
- Complete the process by selecting "Add Token" How To Add Binance Smart Chain To MetaMas
Do You Need A Binance Chain Wallet to Link Binance Smart Chain to Meta Mask?
To answer in one line: No, you don't need a Binance chain wallet to be able to add Binance smart chain to MetaMask. This is because the Binance chain wallet is just a wallet that supports the Binance Chain network.
There are two ways to store your crypto assets on Binance Smart Chain-
- Either use the Binance Chain Wallet or MetaMask
- Or use the Binance platform (heads up: storing large amounts of crypto is not recommended)
What Are the Benefits of Linking Metamask and Binance Smart Chain?
There are multiple reasons to connect MetaMask to BSC, here are some-
- On linking the two platforms, you enable yourself the possibility to access, explore and use all DApps on BSC
- Transferring ETH, BNB among other currencies to the Metamask wallet becomes easier and smoother
- MetaMask is one of the safest wallets with protected user data allows which enhances the control of assets
Is Connecting MetaMask to BSC Safe?
You’ve gone and finished the whole setup of connecting MetaMask to Binance Smart Chain. But, the important question is, is this safe? It’s your tokens at risk after all. You’ll be losing the tokens that you send to the wrong address and recovering them is near impossible.
The good news is that connecting MetaMask to Binance Smart Chain is completely safe. BSC supports EVM and that’s why it is easy to bring projects over from Ethereum.
Even though MetaMask supports all EVM networks, it can only support Ethereum and all ERC20 tokens that were based on or are a hard fork of the Ethereum blockchain with some additional configuration.
Consequently, it gives you the liberty to connect MetaMask not only to BSC but also to any network that supports EVM such as Fantom, Matic, xDAI, Harmony, MoonRiver, and Hero Chain.
Even though it is safe, it doesn’t mean that you should be lenient while transacting on BSC with MetaMask.
While withdrawing your BNB tokens, it is important to note that you have to always withdraw them as BEP20 tokens or you will lose all your tokens. In case you end up withdrawing them as BEP2 tokens, you won’t lose your coins but they will not have the desired functionality. For instance, if you use them on dApps, they will not function as they don’t possess that functionality.
Reminder: Don’t forget to configure MetaMask to run with BSC before transferring any BNB to it. If you forget to do so, you’ll lose your tokens as MetaMask is only calibrated for Ethereum assets.
The Bottom Line
MetaMask has been a well-known wallet for Ethereum, but now you’ve seen how to also add BNB to MetaMask for swapping and exchanging tokens.
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