As we continue to look at Layer 2 (L2) networks like Polygon and Optimism that you can use with MetaMask, this blog will show you how to connect to Arbitrum, bridge your assets, find the dapps that define Web3, and finally do trade for less. We’ve all heard the term “transacting for less,” which means paying lower gas fees on Ethereum, whether you’re new to crypto or have been using it for years. Let’s look at it from two points of view: gas and fees.
How do gas fees work? Why are they important?
Gas is the network fuel (ETH) that makes it possible for transactions to happen on Ethereum and other blockchain networks. It’s like how the heat from the sun helps plants grow. Plants can’t grow without the sun’s rays. Without gas, you can’t do anything on Ethereum. Because decentralization is about spreading out work, fees are the cost of a transaction. Gas fees are how miners get paid for the transactions they make possible, just like a bank will charge you for a wire transfer.
Also, on blockchain networks, if you don’t pay gas fees, you are the product. This means that while we don’t pay (gas fees) directly in Web2 to use apps, we do pay with our data. Web3 has gas fees as a way to give people more freedom online.
Even though gas fees are important to crypto networks, they are also one of the biggest reasons why people don’t use them. This is because they are expensive, and sometimes too expensive to allow for growth. This is why there are L2 networks, of which Arbitrum is one.
A look at Arbitrum and how to connect your MetaMask
Arbitrum is the first L2 solution for Ethereum, and you can connect your MetaMask to it. At the moment, there are about 2.5 billion locked assets on the network, and more than 3 million transactions have been made on it. Arbitrum’s security is based on Ethereum’s Layer 1 (L1) security, which makes it a safe network with lower gas fees. The use of optimistic rollups is what keeps gas prices low on Arbitrum. Optimistic rollups are smart contracts that group transactions together into bundles that useless computation and, as a result, less gas, making transactions faster and cheaper. Try out Arbitrum! This is how.
First, add the Arbitrum network directly from your MetaMask in three steps.
- Open your MetaMask and click “Ethereum Mainnet” at the top:
- Then, select “Custom RPC.”
- Lastly, input the network credentials shown below and click, “Add Network.”
Voilà! Now that you have linked your MetaMask to the Arbitrum network, you can bridge your ETH and find new dapps.
Bridging Your Assets from Ethereum to Arbitrum
Here’s how to move your ETH from the Ethereum layer to the Arbitrum layer.
Go to https://bridge.arbitrum.io/. Since your MetaMask is already linked, you’ll see a screen like the one below, where you can choose to make a deposit:
Then, simply enter the amount of ETH you wish to use on Arbitrum and click “Deposit”.
The next step is to verify the transaction in your wallet. Please note that this transaction is on Layer 1 and that standard gas fees will apply. But once you’re on Arbitrum, you can pay less for gas. Click “Confirm” when the amount is right.
Once confirmed, the transaction will show up at the bottom of your screen and be processed. This could take some time.
If you need more help bridging your assets, you can look at this tutorial from Arbitrum.
You can start using ETH on Arbitrum as soon as you have some.
Next, let’s check out some of the dapps on the Arbitrum One Portal.
Dapps Available on Arbitrum
The Arbitrum One Portal is called the “gateway to the Arbitrum ecosystem,” and it currently works with more than 50 of the most popular decentralized applications (dapps) on Web3.
Now that you’re ready to use the Arbitrum network with your MetaMask, take a deep dive into what you can do. You’ll see that a lot of the dapps you already know and love on Ethereum mainnet, like Curve, Uniswap, and Balancer, are also on Arbitrum.
Final Words
No one should be stopped from using Web3 because of high gas prices. By transferring your assets to L2 networks, you can keep looking into the value of Web3 in a sustainable way. And, as you saw in the Aribitrum One Portal, there are a lot of dapps being deployed
