01/06/2021
If you’ve ever tried to use a DeFi application through a web browser, you’ve likely come across Metamask. For those unfamiliar, Metamask is a non-custodial Ethereum wallet taking form as a browser extension.
Metamask provides access to web3 applications using popular web browsers like Google Chrome. The wallet emphasizes security, self-custody, and ease-of-use among other things that we’ll touch on towards the latter half of this article.
For the most part, Metamask transactions are primarily initiated by dApps rather than the actual users. This means that typical Metamask users are using the wallet for interacting with web3 applications, like Compound or MakerDAO instead of sending and receiving ETH and ERC-20 between each other.
It can almost go without saying that Metamask is one of the more prominent wallets benefiting from the proliferation of DeFi. If you don’t have Metamask yet, you can currently install it on Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Brave by visiting the official website.
Core Features
Metamask simplifies Ethereum transactions across the board. Users can easily send and receive transactions with a few clicks of a button along with leveraging accessibility features like scanning QR codes. For more seasoned users, Metamask allows you to tap into more advanced features if need-be, such as setting your own gas prices.
Since the wallet is non-custodial, all users benefit from storing their own private keys as Metamask never has access to them in the first place. This is the most secure way of storing your crypto assets, however, you are responsible for safeguarding the private keys. If your keys are lost, the funds are likely unrecoverable.
Token Storage
With MetaMask, users can securely store ETH, ERC20 tokens (like Dai) and ERC721 tokens. Similarly, users can see tokens in the wallet by importing the contract address.
Seed Phrases
Instead of relying on an encrypted private key full of random numbers and letters, Metamask allows you to store your private key in the form of a mnemonic phrase. This means that your private keys comes in the form of a 12-word human-readable phrase. This makes it substantially easier to remember or simply write down on a piece of paper.
Adjustable Gas Fees
Unlike Argent Wallet and other non-custodial wallets that look to abstract user complexities (like gas fees) to the highest degree, Metamask gives users intuitive options to set fees based on the urgency of the transactions. The wallet also offers the ability to dive into advanced features and set gas fees and prices on a more granular level.
Supported Networks
While only limited to Ethereum, users can interact with a variety of the Ethereum networks including the Main Ethereum Network (i.e. Main-net), Ropsten Test Network, Kovan Test Network, Rinkeby Test Network, Goerli Test Network, along with the ability to integrate with a local node or a custom RPC. As such, this feature is more developer-facing rather than end-user facing and is largely not needed for the majority of Metamask users.
Hardware Wallet Integrations
If you end up accumulating a significant amount of capital on your Metamask wallet and want to increase your security, Metamask currently offers support for a multiple of industry-leading hardware wallets, including Ledger and Trezor.
Drawbacks
No Usernames: As we saw with Coinbase Wallet, abstracting the complexities of public addresses is something we can begin to look for with many non-custodial wallets. This allows users to no longer have to rely on cryptic addresses and instead to send and receive transactions with usernames, similar to existing banking solutions like Venmo. However, it is important to note that Metamask does support ENS addresses, which is beginning to see more popularity in recent months.
Only Supports Ethereum-based Assets: Since Metamask is only offered on Ethereum, users cannot store other prominent crypto assets, like Bitcoin. With that said, users still have access to wBTC and most stablecoins, which are beginning to emerge as one of the killer applications for Ethereum and a core aspect of DeFi.
