MetaMask is an online cryptocurrency wallet which is used to interact with the Ethereum blockchain widely known by its iconic fox mascot :) Despite being mostly used by professionals, it is also beginner friendly with the option to connect to test networks. To create a wallet you first need to install the MetaMask extension supported by your browser. Then, just like in every website, decide on a strong password to use every time you open MetaMask to login. Once you approach the next page, you would see something called MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase. This is where the difference of blockchain shows itself! To define, a seed phrase is a 12-word unique phrase that is generated at the time when you first set up the wallet. It is always notified to make a note of it because to access your wallet you would need to remember them. To keep the assets inside the wallet safe you should never share these twelve words with anyone.

It was mildly amusing for me to see that you don’t need tons of information to create a wallet in the Web3 system unlike the actual bank accounts where they need every single detail from your social security number to your birth place. This would be a good comparison to acknowledge one of the main principles of blockchain technologies: Anonymity. Transactions or activity done on the blockchain or on the exchanges can be linked to one user which in this case is one’s public key, but could not be associated with a person since no personal information is being collected while creating or accessing a wallet. This is called “pseudonymisation”.

Networks and Test Networks

Once your wallet is properly set, you can start exploring the world of MetaMask. There are a variety of options to choose from different networks such as Etherium Mainnet and Linea Mainnet. Test networks allow users to have the cryptocurrency experience without actually having to buy Ethereum (ETH). ChainLink is a website that provides Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) networks for users. You can connect your wallet and connect to the chains. They also have testnets like Fuji Avalanche and Mumbai. The most widely known test network is Sepolia. Sepolia is a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) testnet and was named after a place in Greece. The native token of Sepolia, like many other network, is Ethereum. Sepolia ETH is only used for testing purposes and the currency does not have real life value. If you are also new to this area like me and would like to learn more about how cryptocurrency can be earned by mining, feel free to check out this Testnet Faucet. Unlike actual crypto mining, you can earn limited amounts of Sepolia Ether without having high-technology computers with sufficient GPU.

Public and Private Keys

Blockchain technology is using asymmetric cryptography which means all the accounts have both public and private keys associated with them. Keys are basically hashes starting with “0x”. (Yes, this is the reason why you see X usernames starting with 0x such as 0xeceyurtseven xD) Every public key hash is unique to the user and is used as an IBAN number in terms of usual banking. Users can make transactions and send ETH by only knowing the recipient’s public key. As can be understood by its name, public keys are publicly available and are being recorded with each transaction one makes. Etherscan is a website used to track blocks and tokens. Just by having the hash for a transaction anyone in the internet can access the data publicly. This is where transparency comes into play since public blockchains allow anyone to view the entire history of transactions conducted on that specific blockchain. By having the transaction hash one can see the sender, recipient and amount of the payment. If you are curious about how it works go to https://sepolia.etherscan.io/ and search my public key “0xD369029F4dF7b3aEA60eb0425A5f34C3b2Cf4006” to see the transactions I made with my practice account on Sepolia network.

Private keys, on the other hand, act as a password to protect a cryptocurrency holder. They allow users to unlock access to their virtual wallets. Private keys should never be shared with others; otherwise, someone else will have access to your wallet and would be able to exchange your cryptocurrency.

Works Cited

https://sites.google.com/usacoinhelp.com/metamaskio/blog/metamask-seed-phrase

https://docs.avax.network/build/dapp/fuji-workflow

https://help.coinbase.com/en/coinbase/getting-started/crypto-education/glossary/ethereum-virtual-machine

https://chainlist.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography

https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/tokenized-assets-on-public-blockchains-how-transparent-is-the-blockchain-20240403.html

https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/dpc-guidance/anonymisation-pseudonymisation

https://www.fool.com/terms/p/private-key/

https://thegivingblock.com/partnership/metamask/

https://sepolia.dev/