MetaMask® Extension - |

Crypto wallets are serious business, but MetaMask makes it fun. When you first install the extension, the fox icon follows your cursor movements. The well-known fox icon represents an anonymous identity. Your wallet becomes your sign-in for web3 apps rather than a username and password.

I tested the MetaMask extension as well as the mobile app, looking for undiscovered features and evaluating everyday usability.

MetaMask Wallet Chrome Extension Review

Wallet

Sending crypto on MetaMask is intuitive. To receive crypto, you’ll need to copy the wallet address to the clipboard or click on the three-dot menu to get a scannable QR code from the account details screen.

When sending crypto using the extension, I was offered the option to change the gas fee. Higher fees typically provide faster transfers. Lower-fee transactions can get stuck for a while if the network is busy.

I did encounter one problem with the wallet: A token I sent to the wallet wasn’t detected. I had to add the token manually, which can be done from the home screen (import tokens).

Buying crypto

MetaMask lets you buy crypto through several providers:

  • Coinbase Pay (not available on Polygon)

  • MoonPay

  • Transak

Coinbase Pay connects your Coinbase account and some (but not all) payment methods you have saved in Coinbase. You can send ETH from your Coinbase exchange wallet or buy ETH with your bank account or cash you have on the exchange. I didn’t find an option to send other tokens, just ETH.

MoonPay, another crypto provider, offers six tokens, including ETH and three stablecoins. The minimum purchase is $30 with a $3.99 minimum fee.

Quick Sip

If you choose to send crypto from another wallet or exchange rather than buy in MetaMask, be sure to choose the correct ETH-compatible network on the sending app. Crypto bridges can help get your crypto to the right blockchain if it goes sideways – but at a cost.

Swaps

MetaMask provides a swap feature, which works like an aggregator and compares exchange rates from liquidity pools, including:

Swap fees are 0.875% and help fund MetaMask’s development.

dApp Connections

MetaMask’s Chrome extension doesn’t include an app browser, but it runs in a browser – so everything is just a new tab away.

Support

MetaMask offers support through two channels: a chatbot and a community support forum.

The chatbot was able to point me in the right direction but didn’t answer the question directly. The linked article I selected from the suggested list didn’t answer the question directly either but was helpful in that it discussed using trusted bridges.

If the chatbot can’t help, you’ll be able to speak with an agent. In my case, I spoke with Danny, who was very helpful and did answer my question: To bridge tokens from one block to another, you can connect your MetaMask wallet to the portfolio site dApp linked on the main page of the extension.

Portfolio site

An easily overlooked link on the main page of MetaMask’s extension points to the portfolio site dApp, from which you can see an overview of your assets on all blockchains you added to MetaMask. (Assets locked in smart contracts won’t show, however.)

From the dApp, you can also make swaps or use a bridge to move assets from one blockchain to another. A watchlist lets you track token prices.

I used the bridge, still marked as Beta, to move MATIC from the Ethereum blockchain to Polygon.

The actual cost of the transaction was $1.33 compared to the quoted fee of $8.53. Thanks, MetaMask!

MetaMask Wallet Mobile App Review

MetaMask ran poorly at startup on my octa-core Android phone. Once up and running, the app worked smoothly.

The mobile app supports fingerprint authentication or password authentication for login, protecting your crypto from phone thieves and snooping phone fiddlers.

I synced the mobile wallet with the Chrome extension using the 12-word recovery phrase to explore its features.

Wallet

Sending and receiving worked as expected on mobile. However, I didn’t find a setting to enable adjustable gas fees like on the extension.

Switching networks just takes a click but can only be done from the network listing on the wallet home screen. This is something to keep in mind if you wander off to explore dApps on a network not supported by the dApp (like I did).

Buying crypto

MetaMask mobile offered fewer options for buying compared to the extension. Notably, Coinbase Pay was missing in my region.

Other options include:

  • MoonPay

  • Transak

dApp browser

Connecting blockchain apps with crypto wallets can be a challenge on mobile devices, so MetaMask includes a dApp browser. Coinbase wallet offers a similar feature.

Apps are sorted by category, including decentralized finance, decentralized exchanges, collectibles, etc.

Popular dApp browser apps:

Using the MetaMask app browser, I stopped by Uniswap to check on my liquidity pool. Uniswap didn’t see my MetaMask Polygon wallet, instead suggesting I connect with my Coinbase wallet.

I’ll stick to the MetaMask browser extension for dApps, but the mobile app is great for sending and receiving on the go.

What is MetaMask Wallet?

MetaMask is a cryptocurrency wallet initially built by ConsenSys for the Ethereum network. Since its inception in 2016, support for additional networks has been added, including Polygon, BNB Smart Chain, Avalanche C-Chain, and many others – all just a click away.

The growth of decentralized applications (dApps) helps fuel MetaMask’s popularity; ETH-compatible dApps commonly offer MetaMask as the top option to connect a wallet.

With decentralized apps, MetaMask acts as both a wallet and a signing key to approve smart contracts. When an app needs permission to perform actions, the app passes a request over to your wallet. MetaMask then shows you the details, prompting you to accept or reject the request.

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