OpenSwap University 101: Starting on Harmony

Getting started in decentralized finance (DeFi) can be a challenge. To assist new members of the OpenSwap family, we have created a series of introductory how to articles. This article will guide you on setting up a wallet on Harmony, adding tokens to it, and connecting to OpenSwap.

Why Decentralized Finance? (DeFi)
Decentralized finance has started to gain significant traction in the crypto community for a multitude of reasons.
Ownership: When you buy tokens on a centralized exchange (cex), the centralized exchange still has custody of the token. There are several instances where a cex prevents users from transferring tokens away from the exchange. In DeFi, you have custody of your tokens in your own wallet and have the ability to control them.
Security: We will discuss wallets later in this article. There are multiple layers of security you can add to a DeFi wallet to increase the security of your holdings. This includes software and hardware wallets.

Harmony One: Blockchain at it’s finest
OpenSwap operates on the Harmony protocol, thus it is important to understand some of the benefits of Harmony. The two biggest differences between Harmony and networks like BTC and ETH are time and cost. Transaction on Harmony will process in 2 seconds and cost a fraction of a penny. Transaction fees on the Harmony Protocol use the Harmony $ONE token. You will need some $ONE in your wallet to use OpenSwap.

Setting up a wallet
A crypto wallet is an application that provides a user interface for the blockchain. OpenSwap accepts 2 different wallets: MetaMask and the Harmony One wallet. This guide will discuss using MetaMask.
STEP 1: Go to https://metamask.io/, download and install the MetaMask wallet.
STEP 2: Open MetaMask
STEP 3: Enter a password and click “Create”
STEP 4: You will be presented with a 12-word mnemonic phrase. **Safety note: Please understand you should never share your seed phrase with anyone and store it in a safe place. If you lose your seed phrase, you will not be able to recover the funds from your wallet.
STEP 5: Now that you have your wallet created, you need to add the Harmony Network to MetaMask. When you open MetaMask, at the top middle of the popup, there is a drop down for network. Click in this drop down and select ‘Custom RPC’.
STEP 6: Enter the following information
- Network Name: Harmony Mainnet
- New RPC URL: https://api.harmony.one/
- Chain ID: 1666600000
- Currency Symbol: ONE
- Block Explorer URL: https://explorer.harmony.one/#/
click ‘Save’

Discovering your ONE address:
MetaMask is an Ethereum wallet and therefore has an Ethereum address. Don’t worry, we have you covered. Harmony provides an easy way to convert the address into a Harmony address.
STEP 1: Open your MetaMask Wallet
STEP 2: Copy you wallet address (click on the address near the top of the MetaMask popup)
STEP 3: Go to https://explorer.harmony.one/ . This is the Harmony Explorer, you can view addresses, transactions, and more on this site.
STEP 4: In the ‘Search by Address’ bar at the top of the page, Paste your MetaMask address in and click enter.
STEP 5: This will bring up the Address page. Near the top of the page, you will see will be the ‘Address’ area. It will start with ‘one’ and be followed by 39 characters. You now know what your Harmony One address is. If the address does not start with a ‘one’, don’t worry, please read through the next section.

Next I want to explain how you can switch between your ETH and ONE address:
STEP 6: Starting from the address page in the Harmony Explorer. Click on the three horizontal lines in the top right hand corner.
STEP 7: Locate the ‘Address Style’ area
STEP 8: Click on ‘ETH’ to view the ethereum based wallet address. Click on ‘ONE’ to view the Harmony based wallet address.

Transferring ONE from a Centralized Exchange
Now that you know your Harmony wallet address, we can start your DeFi journey and fill your wallet with $ONE. While the process is slightly different for each centralized exchange (cex), the information needed will be similar.
STEP 1: Access a Centralized Exchange (Binance, Kucoin, etc…)
STEP 2: Access your cex wallet
STEP 3: Click on Withdraw
STEP 4: Select Harmony One
STEP 5: Enter in your Harmony address, starting with ‘one’. Do not use your Ethereum address. See previous section regarding your Harmony address for your MetaMask wallet.
STEP 6: Select the network as Harmony.
STEP 7: Add the amount you would like to withdraw
STEP 8: Submit the withdraw

You should receive your $ONE tokens in MetaMask shortly.

Adding OpenX to you wallet
When adding new tokens to your wallet, you may need to import the token details. It is important to note wallets are just an interface for the blockchain. If you don’t import the token details, your tokens will still exist on the blockchain but may not appear in your wallet. Adding OpenX so it is visible is the next step.

MetaMask Wallet:
STEP 1: Enter your MetaMask wallet
STEP 2: Scroll to the bottom of MetaMask. Click ‘Import Tokens’.
STEP 3: In the ‘Token Contract Address’ enter in the OpenX address (0x01A4b054110d57069c1658AFBC46730529A3E326).
STEP 4: Click ‘Add Custom Token’ button.

Connecting to OpenSwap
To use OpenSwap, you will need to connect your new wallet to it. This will include granting access for OpenSwap to interact with your wallet. **Safety note: Make sure you trust the sites you grant access to your wallet.
STEP 1: Go to https://openswap.one
STEP 2: Select the wallet type in the bottom left hand corner. This will be either MetaMask or Harmony. Make sure it says ‘MetaMask’
STEP 3: Click ‘connect wallet’ in the top right corner
STEP 4: If this is the first time connecting the wallet, you will be prompted to grant access for OpenSwap to your wallet. Approve connecting to OpenSwap in your wallet.

At this time, you are now setup with a wallet on Harmony and connected to OpenSwap.

Please check out our OpenSwap University articles for additional introductory user guides. https://docs.openswap.one/information/openswap-university

OpenSwap (app.openswap.one) is a fast and secure non-custodial decentralized exchange that serves as a one-stop-shop to buy, trade, and earn crypto whether you’re from the Harmony, Ethereum, or Binance Smart Chain networks. OpenSwap allows Harmony users to seamlessly trade peer to peer without the tokens ever leaving the original wallet and through liquidity supplied by other users of the platform. With OpenSwap, users can:
- Exchange Tokens/Coins
- Provide Liquidity to Pools
- Earn Rewards by Staking in Lucrative Incentivized Liquidity Pools
- View ‘Personal Farming Profile’ detailing your rewards including Total Stake Value, Average APR %, Total Current Rewards, and Total Current Rewards in USD
- Simplified Bridge for Tokens/Coins to and from the Harmony, Ethereum, and Binance Smart Chain Network
- Collect Fees on Provided Liquidity Without Staking
- Vote on Governance Decisions, Including Adding New Tokens

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