Downloading a Wallet
WHY DO I NEED A WALLET?
Before we start, you might wonder what a wallet is and why one is necessary. Well, most web3 projects like Immortal Game are built on blockchain technology, and a wallet effectively acts as both the door and the key to access the information (and assets) stored on the network. Immortal Game rewards play with crypto tokens, but you need somewhere to actually store them.
In addition, a core feature of our games is its Non-Fungible Tokens. (If you’re not sure what an NFT is, consider them a digital version of a unique asset like a baseball card or original painting containing a ‘signature’ proving you own it. In our case, they are special versions of chess pieces that activate in-game challenges and rewards). Like the cryptocurrency tokens, these NFTs need to be stored somewhere safe for use when playing. This is where a non-custodial DeFi wallet comes into play.
The good news is that as soon as you create an Immortal Game account, you can open a wallet for all your earnings directly from the website. Yet, in order to withdraw or trade them, you will need to link them to a secure application. The process is pretty straightforward, so let’s dive in!
SELECTING A WALLET
There are many types of wallets, including software and offline hardware wallets. To get started with Immortal Game, we recommend choosing a software one and upgrading when you feel more crypto savvy. There are several excellent ones to choose from, but MetaMask has always been king; their wallet makes it extremely easy to connect to DeFi Applications straight from a mobile or web browser while simultaneously making it easy to keep funds safe. (We will use MetaMask as our example but if you want to look at others, TrustWallet and ZenGo are good alternatives).
MetaMask has an excellent step-by-step guided tutorial, making the process extremely straightforward. But before you can do any of that, you need to ensure you’re downloading the software from the correct website (because there are plenty of phishing attempts at the top of Google search results trying to trick you into downloading a scam wallet). For MetaMask, the URL you need is:
THE IMPORTANCE OF SEED PHRASES
The most essential part of the setup is storing your “seed phrase” or “private keys” correctly. You can think of these as the keys to your bank, and it’s usually represented as a list of 12 or 24 words. If something happens to your mobile or PC (accidental damage or theft), you’ll need this list of words to recover your funds.
The wallet setup wizard will display the list of words for you to copy and keep safe. DO NOT copy this digitally into a notepad or word document as it can be hacked and stolen – and someone can then easily access your wallet and steal funds. Instead, the best practice is to keep it old school and write down the list of words (in the correct order) on paper. Consider writing two copies and storing one in a physical safe for additional security (it really is that important). If you lose this phrase and get logged out of your account, you won’t be able to regain access. Wallets are getting more sophisticated over time, and eventually seed phrases probably won’t be needed, but for now, they are, so do ensure you keep the phrase safe.
TOPPING UP AND GETTING GOING
Once you have a wallet, the next step is to fund it with Ethereum or USDT so you can purchase assets such as our awesome Immortals NFTs. You can buy ETH through services like Moonpay straight from the app itself or use a centralized exchange, such as Binance - and then send it to your public address (a long string of numbers and letters shown at the top of your wallet dashboard). Once you have funds in your wallet, you can connect it to our dashboard and buy your first Immortals NFT!
Now, with your wallet loaded with funds and NFTs, you might be wondering how to stay safe out there. Well, don’t worry because we’re here to help you learn everything there is to know about DeFi security so that you can remain safe and have fun without worrying about your funds. Tune in to our next Crypto 101 article, which will be about avoiding tricks and scams while getting the best out of the space.
Now, let’s play some chess!