Since 2018, there has always been a place in the news about crypto world, always. And to be honest, you have definitely heard about the word “bitcoin” of course; if not, hang in there, this article will put a spotlight on all these matters.

Ever since 2011 when a guy bought a whole pizza with the currency that he thought was worthless as a rock for 30 and some bitcoins, the whole world of crypto has been in a manner of development.

Bitcoin, etherium, dodge coin, sand, all of these names are a tiny piece of a bigger whole, all meaning and living in one reality, crypto world and using one singular thing, crypto currency.

Is it rather important to have a brief introduction about essentials here in order to proceed to understand the wallets, so here is a very tiny bit of an intro about crypto currency:

Crypto currency is a rather new type of currency that ensures safety of your daily or big deals in a manner of digitalization; better said, you do not need paper money anymore to deal, buy, sell or do any transaction that you do now, and it is much harder to get stolen from anyone.

What is a wallet?

Right now in the second half of 2022, most of the international transactions are done by using crypto as it is a much safer way to send or receive money and there is no third parties as banks or financial institutes in the middle to charge you for simply transferring money.

But in order to keep your money safe, you either have to keep it in the bank or store it in a safe at your disposal, so you prevent your goods from being stolen or harmed, same goes for crypto currency as well.

In order to keep your, for example bitcoin, safe you will have to store and keep it in well trusted wallet.

There are many of these wallets out there, Meta mask, trust wallet, atomic wallet, wallet of binance, all do the same and all serve a single purpose, more or less, but choosing them depends on your need and platform.

What can wallets do?

If you are holding a crypto currency, pretty much you can do whatever you like with your money within the wallet itself.

Send money, receive money, send cryptos and receive them, store your NFT in some certain wallets, place payments, exchange your crypto (works in some regions) and place your important deals.

Like said, pretty much everything, but in a safe way, but that is not the amazing feature to make them interesting, probably one of the most outstanding, and by outstanding we mean outstanding safe, is that you can connect them to a web service or application of your own choice.

There are two types of crypto wallets; physical and digital wallets.

Digitals are like the ones you install on your smart phones and computers, which require login information and tight security and believe me when I say they are required to be hard on the matter of security.

The security must be tough; imagine you are walking on the side walk in a sunny day, how would your money or valuables be stolen? That’s right, a thief night steal them and you will not even notice until you get to use them.

Same thing goes for the crypto wallets; the thieves are a little advanced though. Your wallet probably will be running on a safe platform but no matter the safety, there always will be a way to hack your information or even worse, maybe someone find out your combination, that is why they are secure.

Physical wallets on the other hand, are much safer. They look like a USB that you can carry around and there is no way of getting to your information unless you plug it in a computer that is connected to the internet, such as Ledger Nano S Plus which is famous one or trezor.

What is Meta mask?

Meta mask is an online browser wallet that uses block chain technology and is a leading wallet for ethereum, and will let you do any transaction you like with ethereum and any other ERC-20 token.

It is a plug in wallet which means you can use it as an add on to your browser and will have to access it the same way.

Here is how to install and use the Meta mask:

1- Go to the Meta mask official website and choose the extension based on your chosen browser; it is best advised to use fire fox or google chrome.

2- Select the compatible version and install it on your computer.

3- Once done installing, click on the “get started” button at the presented page.

4- On the next page click on the “lets’ create a wallet” remember here the application starts to connect the server so do not use a VPN at this point.

5- The next step is agreeing with the terms and conditions, try to read them carefully and hit “I agree”.

6- Probably the most important step is the security step. Now you must pick a password containing at least 8 characters, remember to create a truly unique one specially not the same as your email or phone’s password, it is a common mistake to pick the same one because if a hacker can get to your wallet, he can most probably access your other data as well.

7- The next step is your security key, Meta mask will provide you with 12 word backup phrases which will be used to identify you as the owner of the wallet in the case of forgetting your chosen password.

This a secure key that will be presented only once to you, so write them down in the same exact order or keep them safe in another digital device not the same one that has the wallet on it.

8- The next step will be verifying that you have your secure key by asking you the same thing. The Meta mask will ask you the exact order and you must provide with exact order given to you.

9- Last step required you to confirm all by clicking on “all done”. Now you can use it and be sure about the safety of it.

Now there are some other good and recommended wallets out there such as coin base wallet which is perfectly welcoming the new comers to the crypto world, there is trust wallet for your smart phone, exodus for desktop and others.

What is wallet connect?

Before we get into that, you may want to get introduced to decentralized applications or better known as DApps:

Decentralized applications are protocols with a smart contract background and a user friendly interface at the front that lets users get to interactions without any permission needed from a third party authority such as banks or governments.

That is fancy explanation, let me say it in common tongue; DApps are some sort of verified and safe abstract of contract such as printed money that lets you trade, buy and sell without any problem of printed money and any authority.

As an example Bitcoin and ether were amongst the first of these DApps, basically they are money for spending but in a digital way. Being digital does not make them unreal!!!

Now due to so many different types of wallets being made, DApps developers cannot make a way for every wallet being compatible with the DApps, so there was a need for a third party aid to step in.

Wallet connect is that third party, an open protocol that makes a connection between different wallets and DApps which is both open source and encrypted at a same time.

That being said, we understand that every wallet needs a protocol to connect to DApps. Now off to how to connect them with the wallets.

How to connect Meta mask and wallet connect?

In order to connect your Meta mask wallet to wallet connect, you will have to follow the given instructions:

1- Download the Meta mask wallet on your computer and activate it (it has been discussed earlier in this article).

2- Go to your browser and type in the website of the DApp of your choosing; remember to get to the original and true website or any of them that is the official web page of the DApp.

3- Find the “connect wallet” button on the DApp, it is mostly located on the top of the page.

4- On the presented page, select Meta mask or any other wallet of your choosing.

5- Go to the wallet and then head for the setting.

6- Select wallet connect and enter the next page.

7- Tap and select the new connection button to initiate the key trade between your wallet and the DApp servers.

8- If you are on a mobile phone, use the QR code to resume and if you are using your desktop, copy and paste the given secure code.

9- Wait for it to verify the connection. Usually takes at most 3 seconds, if any longer be sure that something is off and the connection is exposed to a third party user.

10- Start using it and make sure to stay connected to the host server of yours.

What is the difference between Meta mask and wallet connect?

Like said Meta mask is a digital wallet, just like your physical wallet that you use to withdraw money out of, but it is used for digital currencies such as bitcoin and tether and doge coin.

In other words, Meta mask is vault for your digital money that keeps your goods such as crypto coins and NFTs safe from hackers and prevents them from being lost.

On the other hand wallet connect is an open source protocol that lets you connect your wallet to your choosing DApp.

For example, you are trying to interact with a web site or DApp, like you are trying to liquid your bitcoin or you want to but some coins or even an NFT, now you should connect your wallet to the web site or DApp in order to take money out or put some in.

Wallet connect makes that happen , it is like a bridge that connects your wallet to the DApp and makes sure the connection is proper and secure.

Remember that wallet connect is not a wallet on its own and it is just a protocol that operates between wallets and DApps.

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