How to access the Polygon chain and create a Polygon Wallet

Polygon Chain, or the Polygon Network, has seen increased activity and popularity in the crypto space. Many large companies like Opensea and Rarible have chosen the Polygon blockchain as their default chain of operations. This article will dive into how to access the features of polygon and its ecosystem.

With this rise in acceptability and usability, many people may find it challenging to use the blockchain or have trust issues with it. To get over this resolve, it is best that you independently research the blockchain protocol and come to a conclusion. An excellent place to start is here.

Polygon Blockchain is a fork of the very popular Ethereum blockchain. The only difference is the method of consensus. Polygon uses a Proof-of-Stake with low gas fees, and now Ethereum (ETH2 Merge) has switched to this protocol. Polygon has been the go-to choice of development due to its low cost of operation, making many more ideas commercially viable.

Creating a Polygon Wallet

Creating a polygon is as simple as creating a wallet on Ethereum. As both the blockchains follow the same specifications (which were the same chain at one point), the polygon chain also uses the 0x followed by 16 characters address.

To create a wallet and make it seamlessly connect across multiple computers, you can use a wallet app like Metamask or Coinbase wallet. Here is a comparison between the two. Using a wallet like Metamask, you can utilize the dApp functionality that web3 websites have to create NFTs/tokens, sell NFTs/tokens, or complete transactions over contracts. Here is a quick Guide -

Step 1: Download Metamask form here

Step 2: Add Polygon Mainnet to Metamask

You can add the Polygon Mainnet information by visiting polygonscan.com or manually add it with the information given here.

Network Name: Polygon Mainnet

New RPC URL: https://polygon-rpc.com/

Chain Id: 137

Currency Symbol: Matic

Block Explorer URL: https://polygonscan.com/

Step 3: Create an address

Creating an address is a very simple task and very intuitive on metamask.

After adding this information, you can proceed to create an address just like how you would for Ethereum. You can also use your existing Ethereum addresses on the Polygon chain, But keep in mind your funds will not be shown and will not work as this is a separate chain.

Accessing Polygon Dapps

One of the most important uses of a polygon wallet is accessing Polygon dApps. Many apps rely on crypto wallets to be able to log in. 

Switch to the Polygon network, and choose your desired address on Metamask. Once selected, any Metamask option provided by the app will ping your extension and ask you to sign the transaction. Here is an example of a prompt when you log in to dArticle.io.

Read carefully what it does and only allow a transaction if you initiated it. Be careful out there, as there are many who are looking to try to sign transactions and grab your funds maliciously.

Final Words

Polygon chain, a fork of the Ethereum chain has risen in dApp popularity, and here's how to create a wallet that allows you to access the ecosystem.

• Download Metamask or other similar wallets
• Add polygon network to the downloaded Extention
• Create an address that will store your funds
• Interact with dApps, by prompting transactions and signing them

Be careful about what you do, as you can get phished by sites that make you sign malicious transactions.