How to add Arbitrum to MetaMask?

Arbitrum is one of Ethereum’s layer-2 scaling solutions designed to improve smart contracts’ efficiency and transaction execution on the network while reducing fees drastically and adding extra privacy features. L2 networks are software that sit on top of the base layer of a blockchain like Bitcoin or Ethereum to boost the platform’s efficiency and offer inexpensive transactions.

In recent years, Ethereum’s surge in the development and adoption of Web3, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized applications (DApps) has resulted in the platform’s excessive congestion leading to skyrocketing fees. Different solutions have been explored to resolve Ethereum’s scalability, including layer-1 dedicated upgrades. However, L2 solutions seem to have picked up momentum, with the Arbitrum network being one of the most promising.

New York-based development company Offchain Labs created Arbitrum. The company raised $120 million in a Series B funding round in September 2021.

Why use Arbitrum?

While relying on Ethereum’s L1 security, Arbitrum can ensure inexpensive gas fees due to the use of Optimistic Rollups. Optimistic Rollups are smart contracts that bundle transactions, using less computation and gas for fast and cheap transactions.

For example, Arbitrum manages 40,000 transactions per second (TPS) against the 14 produced by the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum’s transactions can be very costly, hitting hundreds of dollars in times of high user traffic, whereas transactions are only a couple of cents on Arbitrum.

Arbitrum is also fit for developers who wish to integrate their Ethereum DApps with the platform since they are perfectly compatible. Indeed, Arbitrum supports the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) contracts and Ethereum transactions on L2 while benefiting from Ethereum’s prime L1 security.

Arbitrum is not the first or only platform built to overcome Ethereum’s limitations since other solutions provide similar features. However, none of them allows for such a unique combination of benefits.

Here’s an outline of the most significant advantages Arbitrum offers:

How to access the Arbitrum blockchain

To access the Arbitrum blockchain, users need to set it up through a compatible cryptocurrency wallet. This article will explain how to add Arbitrum to MetaMask, the most popular of Ethereum’s wallets.

MetaMask is a crypto wallet that allows users to access the Ethereum mainnet and its Web3 DApps and NFTs, other than store Ether (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens. MetaMask is both a browser extension and a mobile app and provides users with a key vault, secure login, token wallet and token exchange to easily manage digital assets. It’s widely used to connect blockchain-based applications securely while protecting users’ privacy.

To connect the MetaMask crypto wallet to the Arbitrum network, users will need to follow a few simple steps and add some blockchain information to MetaMask, including a chain ID, a custom remote procedure call (RPC) URL and a network name. You will also be able to add one or more of the Arbitrum tokens by importing the correct token address.

How to install and set up MetaMask

MetaMask can be added as an extension to Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Brave browsers and iOS or Android on mobile from the MetaMask website. Chrome browser steps will be discussed later in this article.

It’s essential that users verify the legitimacy of the MetaMask website to avoid being tricked into fraudulent pages. Downloading the right extension from the official website is strictly recommended.

From the MetaMask website, click “Download for Chrome” and “Add to Chrome” to add the extension.

Install the MetaMask Chrome extension and click “Get Started” on the MetaMask welcome page.
To import your existing wallet, you’ll need the wallet seed phrase; click on the “Import wallet” option.
You can also set up a new wallet by clicking on the “Create a wallet” button.
Here, you have to create a secure password to…