The fees on ETH are insane. Due to high transaction fees and slow confirmation times a large number of DeFi participants are preferring other blockchains that are providing decentralized finance.
There are many L1, L2 networks where you can enjoy low fees and instant transactions. To name some you got Avalanche, Arbitrum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon etc. Another popular alternative is the Fantom network – A third generation blockchain and a layer-1 platform that is decentralized, highly scalable and secure.
Fantom is same as any other platforms that are providing decentralized finance where you can make money by staking tokens, through yield farming and via liquidity mining.
To enjoy the decentralized finance (DeFi) services and DApps on Fantom, all you need to do is connect your MetaMask wallet to the Fantom Opera network which is the name of the Fantom mainnet.
Here in this beginners guide we’ll show you how to connect your Metamask wallet to the Fantom network (FTM). We’ll walk you through the steps that is super easy for you to get stared with the Fantom network.
$FTM – Fantom
Fantom is a directed acyclic graph (DAG) based smart contract platform and a layer 1 scaling solution that aims to solve the scalability issues found on the distributed ledger technologies. This protocol is massively focused on the decentralized finance and it provides DeFi services using its own bespoke consensus algorithm.
Fantom is an open source network that is permissionless and decentralized. It is build on an aBFT (Asynchronous byzantine fault tolerance) consensus protocol and is powered by the Lachesis – A DAG-based aBFT consensus algorithm. This allows Fantom to be much cheaper, faster and more secure. Also it is highly scalable than the previous technologies.
The transactions can go through in a second on average and the network is capable of handling thousands of transactions per second. Moreover Fantom network can scale to hundreds of nodes.
Fantom is also fully compatible with EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) so users and developers can create smart contracts and deploy decentralized applications as they wound on Ethereum and other alternative blockchains.
There are many reasons to join the Fantom ecosystem such as: network speed, low gas prices and network opportunities etc. So what are you waiting for? Connect your wallet and interact with the DApps on the Fantom ecosystem.
Getting started with Fantom ecosystem
To get started with Fantom you’ll need a web3 wallet that is compatible with the Fantom Opera network. For this purpose we’ll be using the Metamask extension.
Once Metamask wallet is connected to Fantom (FTM) network you can use that to access DApps deployed on the Fantom network as well as to manage your FTM assets. That is you’ll be able to send, receive, and store FTM cryptocurrency and other supporting Fantom network tokens.
How To Set Up MetaMask for Fantom Network
First of all we hope you have your Metamask wallet up and running. If not then refer to this beginners guide where we explained how to setup and use Metamask.
Adding FTM Chain to Metamask is fairly simple. Open up your Metamask extension, select network, choose custom RPC and then enter the Fantom network details.
Add Fantom (FTM) network to Metamask
- Open Metamask extension by clicking on the fox icon at the top right corner of your browser. Then input your password to unlock your wallet.
- Now at the top you’ll see Ethereum mainnet which is the default network setting.
- Drop down Ethereum mainnet and select custom RPC which you’ll find at the bottom of the list.
- Custom RPC will open networks window where you’ll see a list of networks which your Metamask can connect to.
- Select new network and enter the Fantom network details.
Fantom Network Details (Mainnet)
- Network Name: Fantom Opera
- New RPC URL: https://rpc.ftm.tools/ | or | https://rpcapi.fantom.network
- ChainID: 250
- Symbol: FTM
- Block Explorer URL: https://ftmscan.com/
You need to enter the Network Name, New RPC URL, Chain ID, Currency Symbol and Block Explorer URL as shown in the image below.
- Once you’ve entered the network details click save. Metamask will automatically connect you to the Fantom Opera network. Click on the current network at the top of your Metamask and then select Fantom Opera if you are not already connected to the Fantom network.
That’s it! You’re now connected to the Fantom network with your Metamask wallet.
Note: Using the network switch button you can switch between your favorite networks anytime. Also you can use the same address for Ethereum, Fantom, BSC, Avalanche or any other EVM networks. To access the tokens from particular network all you have to do is switch to the correct chain.
Alright! Now that your FTM DeFi wallet is ready its time to join the Fantom ecosystem.
Gas fee on Fantom – $FTM
To get started with the Fantom ecosystem you have to transfer tokens to your Fantom network wallet address. Now before you send any other tokens to your address in the Fantom network send some $FTM tokens first.
The $FTM token is the native token of Fantom network and it will be used as gas fee for any transactions on the Fantom blockchain. That is all transactions on Fantom network are paid with the native FTM tokens. This is like Ether (ETH) being used as gas fee on Ethereum blockchain and Binance coin (BNB) on the Binance Smart Chain.
So now we need to send some $FTM tokens to your Metamask address that is connected to the Fantom blockchain. After sending tokens you should be able to interact with DApps and make transactions on the Fantom chain.
Transferring FTM and tokens to Fantom
First of all Fantom $FTM tokens are native to the Fantom network. But FTM tokens are also available as ERC20 on Ethereum and as BEP20 on Binance Smart Chain. Know the difference between ERC20 and BEP20.
To send $FTM or any other tokens to the Fantom chain make sure to choose the Fantom network for transfers. There are two ways to send tokens to your Fantom address. 1. From exchange and 2. By bridging assets.
1. Transfer from Binance
For example let’s assume you got your Fantom tokens in your Binance account. BTW you can buy Fantom and other tokens from Binance.
To withdraw your FTM from Binance to your Metamask connected to Fantom choose the Fantom as network on the withdrawal page. You can also withdraw to the same address by choosing ERC20 and BEP20. But remember that ERC20 is for the Ethereum network and BEP20 is for the Binance Smart Chain network. Fantom is the Fantom network. So choose Fantom network on the withdrawal page.
Test it with small amounts and once you receive it to your address on the Fantom network you can proceed with large amounts.
Use the Fantom block explorer to track your transaction: https://explorer.fantom.network/ (just input your address)
But what if Fantom option is disabled. True, every now and then binance seem to be disabling direct FTM transfers like you see in the image below.
If direct transfer is not an option then you need to bridge tokens on to the Fantom network. Also by mistake if you transferred to the wrong network then you can use the bridge to transfer tokens to the Fantom network.
2. Bridging Tokens
There are many cross chain bridges supporting Fantom network. You can use Multichain Fantom Bridge, Anyswap or SpookySwap to bridge tokens onto the Fantom Network. Using these bridges you can transfer to Fantom network either from Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain networks.
Just connect your Metamask to one of these bridges. Next choose the source chain and destination chain as Fantom. Set the amount you want to transfer and then perform a cross chain swap. This will transfer the coins from other Ethereum, BSC or other blockchain to your address on the Fantom blockchain.
A few moments later you should see the tokens on your Metamask Fantom receiving address. Using this method you can send any ERC20 and BEP20 tokens on to the Fantom ecosystem.
Fantom faucet tip bot
To get started with the Fantom opera network there are also few faucets that you can use. Just Google them and you’ll come across these Fantom faucets that will help you with a small FTM tip.
Using either of these methods you can get FTM on to the Fantom network. Now that you know how to store, receive, send FTM tokens its time to use the Fantom DeFi platform.
Fantom Ecosystem
Welcome to the Fantom ecosystem. The Fantom Ecosystem is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine. It means all the popular Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain applications can also operate on the Fantom smart contract platform.
Some good examples are Sushiswap and Curve. There are also some native projects on the Fantom Chain.
SpookySwap Finance – A decentralized exchange on the Fantom network and Spiritswap Finance.
There are many other exchanges and DeFi platforms that support the Fantom network. You can start accessing these DeFi platforms, stake Fantom FTM and earn passive income.
That’s it! Other than Metamask you can also additionally use https://pwawallet.fantom.network/#/: – This is a Fantom fWallet which you can use to send, receive and stake your Opera FTM.
Congratulations! You’ve leaned how to connect your MetaMask wallet to the Fantom network. Also you know how to transfer tokens to and from the Fantom Opera network! You can now provide liquidity, stake tokens and earn yield farm.
If you got any questions about DeFi or Fantom in general then feel free to post your comments.
