Course outline
- 1What a crypto wallet is, and where the coins actually live
- 2Custodial vs non-custodial wallets: whose keys are they
- 3Types of crypto wallet: hot, cold, extensions and hardware
- 4The seed phrase: what it is and why you tell it to nobody
- 5Address, private key and password: how they differ
- 6Where to download a wallet without installing a fake
- 7How to install MetaMask and create a wallet
- 8How to install Rabby: a wallet for many EVM chains
- 9Phantom: a Solana wallet and how to download it
- 10Tonkeeper: how to get a wallet on TON
- 11Hardware wallets: why Ledger and Trezor, and where to buy them
- 12An exchange wallet: convenient, but the keys are not yours
- 13What DeFi is, in plain language
- 14CEX and DEX: where to swap, and what that implies
- 15Gas: why a swap will not send without ETH, SOL or TON
- 16How to buy crypto: fiat, exchange, network, DEX
- 17How to swap tokens on Uniswap (EVM)
- 18How to buy a token on Jupiter (Solana)
- 19How to swap a jetton on STON.fi (TON)
- 20Phishing: where you never type a seed phrase
- 21Why a tracker asks for an address, not a seed phrase
- 22How to check the purchase arrived: network, address, tracker
- 23Wallet security: short rules that actually work
- 24Twitter / X: how to find a project's real account and skip the clone
- 25DefiLlama: where to find a project's real site and Twitter
MetaMask is the recognisable hot wallet for Ethereum and other EVM chains (Base, Arbitrum, BNB…). For a Uniswap swap it is usually enough.
Install
- Open metamask.io yourself, not from a chat.
- Hit download. Browser — the extension. Phone — App Store / Google Play via their link.
- Create a wallet, not import, if you do not have a phrase yet.
- Write the 12 words on paper. Check the order. Do not screenshot.
- Confirm the words in the app. Set a password for this device.
Password ≠ seed. Forgot the password, seed on paper — you restore. The other way around — you do not. See the seed phrase.
Right after
The default network is often Ethereum. Fees there are expensive. For cheaper swaps people add Base / Arbitrum — the network must match the one you withdrew the stablecoin to.
You can add the address to Crypto360 as watch-only immediately: you see the balance, the tracker cannot spend it.