How to bridge Avalanche to MetaMask

The following guide will help users understand how to connect their MetaMask wallet to the Avalanche (Ethereum) layer one solution. The article will provide a short review of what Avalanche really is and why it can benefit users who choose to process their crypto assets through the Avalanche network. Lastly, a short 3-step guide will explain how to easily connect MetaMask to $AVAX following one simple method by completing all details manually and very easily. If you are reading this article and you are still unaware of what MetaMask is, then please check out one of our previous blog posts on how MetaMask wallet works.

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What is Avalanche?

In short, Avalanche (Ethereum) or $AVAX is an open, programmable smart contracts platform for decentralized applications which allows users to execute transactions on the Ethereum network. Transactions are processed quicker and for a much lower gas cost than the Ethereum network itself.

Avalanche (AVAX) is being named as the Layer 1 solution and $ETH killer. It has quickly gained popularity in the recent times and is a popular Ethereum alternative due to its amazingly cheaper and faster transaction timing and processing power. Avalanche blockchain attempts to address the downfalls of the preceding blockchains such as security, centralization and last, but not least - scalability.

In addition, it claims to be cheaper (currently with lower gas fees), faster and more secure blockchain than Ethereum itself. Avalanche has adopted a PoS (Proof-of-Stake) consensus mechanism. The transactions times are as low as 3 seconds. Also, according to research it is should be able to handle over 4500 TPS (transactions per second). As a result and thanks to the low fees and faster transaction timing, Avalanche is considered as an excellent solution for decentralized finance (DeFi). Therefore, many users and most likely you would be interested in Avalanche because of its capabilities.

Moreover, Avalanche features a main network which is its subnet that that is divided into three separate chains. As such, below are the three main chains:

• Exchange chain (X-Chain)
• Platform chain (P-Chain)
• Contract chain (C-Chain)

Each chain is different by nature and offers specific capabilities to users interacting with the Avalanche Network.

1. The X chain is the platform which is used to create and trade digital assets as well as real world assets.
2. The P chain is used to store the metadata blockchain which coordinates with validators and allows for the creation of new subnets.
3. The C chain is part of the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) that is powered by Avalanche's consensus protocol called "Snowman". The C chain is also responsible for ERC20 tokens, NFTs and dApps.

Benefits using Avalanche

The first benefit of Avalanche is that users can deploy blockchains that fit own personal application needs. Developers have the opportunity to build own virtual machine and dictate exactly how the blockchain should operate. Moreover, stake or lock up with your AVAX to help process transactions and further secure the platform–providing security guarantees well-above the 51% standard. For example, staking funds with Avalanche will add much value to any user and this can be viewed by the platform's staking calculator.

Another benefit regarding Avalanche would be its low processing fees and processing power. Ethereum gas prices (gWei) is always fluctuating and causing headaches to many users due to its various high prices per transaction. As such, Avalanche saves the day or to be specific, saves money when bridging your MetaMask wallet to it. Not only that, but it speeds up the process that would normally take for your transaction to be process on the Ethereum network.

Why connect Avalanche to MetaMask?

Similar to Arbitrum, there are multiple benefits that allow users to benefit from bridging Avalanche to MetaMask. In addition to that, they can benefit from arguably one of the best wallets for storing digital crypto assets users can find the best transaction prices every time. The MetaMask wallet secures prices from different aggregators and markets in order to remain consistent with its 0.875% service fee.

The importance of connecting the wallet to Avalanche is also related to slippage protection. Large swaps are usually associated with swift price changes whenever there is not enough liquidity available on a specific decentralized exchange. Therefore, swapping tokens with MetaMask is an automated process which allows user orders to be spread across all DEXs in order to reduce the impact of slippage.

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How to connect MetaMask to Avalanche in a few steps

The following short guide will explain how to easily connect Avalanche to the Ethereum wallet – MetaMask, by following a three simple steps.

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Step 1.

Initially, users must be registered with MetaMask and have the browser extension enabled. If a user is not registered to MetaMask, then this can be achieved by installing the MetaMask wallet from their website.

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Alternatively, users can visit the browser extension marketplace and download the MetaMask extension which will achieve an identical result.

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Step 2.

The next step is to create a MetaMask wallet or to import an existing one by using the browser extension feature.

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Step 3.

After the previous steps have been completed, in order continue the and set up MetaMask with Avalanche, users have to complete this process manually and add a custom RPC network as per the instructions below:

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Connecting to Avalanche manually

To accomplish this, users have to open up the browser MetaMask extension and to select the Network button titled Ethereum Mainnet which will open a drop down menu.

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The dropdown menu where Custom RPC must be selected should resemble the image below:

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From there, users have to navigate and click on the Custom RPC option will prompt them to input data. The data includes: network name, new RPC URL, chain ID, currency symbol and block explorer.

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Users can enter the following Avalanche RPC network input data below:

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• Network Name: Avalanche Network
• New RPC URL: https://api.avax.network/ext/bc/C/rpc
• ChainID: 0xa86a or 43114
• Currency Symbol: AVAX
• Block Explorer URL: https://cchain.explorer.avax.network/

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Once users have completed the correct data input and have clicked on Save, then they will be able to switch to Avalanche from the application’s drop-down list in the future. As a result, MetaMask and Avalanche will be successfully linked. Here is an image of the correctly completed custom RPC:

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After completing all steps accordingly, your Ethereum wallet should be successfully connected to the Avalanche network. If you enjoyed reading this article, please visit our Blog page or if you would like to learn more about the services our company offers, then definitely check out the Services page.