The world we live in is rapidly changing and those surreal moments and technologies you and I often see in our favorite sci-fi movies are slowly becoming real. Owning something now doesn’t stop at buying a car, a house or even our favorite mobile gadget, ownership is fast going into the virtual world thanks to VR, AR, and now the blockchain technology.
The great genius behind the blockchain technology has been the fact that once something is created and entered on a blockchain, it can be sabotaged, or counterfeited by any entity on earth. This sense of uniqueness is what is fueling the rise of a new world where people can own anything from virtual pet cats, homes, virtual renewable energy grids, or even buy a country of their choice all on the blockchain.
These are a distinct class of digital assets unlike cryptocurrencies themselves which are freely tradable. These new digital assets are mostly collectibles and are bought and sold majorly using the Ethereum blockchain which powers most of them. So how does one buy a digital asset such as Cryptokitties using Ethereum? Let’s get into it
What do I need to get going on?
Buying a digital asset using Ether is a pretty straightforward process. You don’t need to buy any extra hardware or gadget, as all you need are
A Computer connected to the internet with either a Chrome or Firefox browser
A MetaMask Wallet, and
The appropriate amount of Ether in your wallet to begin your conquests
How do I Install MetaMask?
MetaMask is a dedicated wallet for the decentralized apps on the Ethereum blockchain and has been designed to be used without any extra cost to the user. In order to install it, use the following short steps:
On your Chrome Browser, go to the Chrome Store and search for MetaMask on the search bar.
From the results, you will see the MetaMask Wallet with an icon of a red fox click on it. Alternatively, use this link to take you directly to the MetaMask chrome app page.
Click on “ADD TO CHROME” on the top right side of the loaded page, this should install the MetaMask wallet on your chrome browser
Open the Installed App and set up your wallet. Ensure that you copy the 12 seed recovery words and store them somewhere safe, as they will help in recovering your account in case of some mishap
MetaMask is a highly secure wallet, and in order to ensure that your digital assets are protected at all times, there might be instances when MetaMask asks you to log back into your account. Whenever this happens, don’t panic as it is only a security measure, simply open the extension and log yourself back into the wallet.
How Do I Add Funds To My MetaMask Wallet?
MetaMask exclusively uses Ether for all transactions on the game. Therefore, if you want to fund your MetaMask wallet to begin your world conquest there are two simple ways to do that, these are:
Simply log into any reputable exchange such as Coinbase, Gemini, or other similar outfits, buy your Ether and transfer immediately to your MetaMask wallet.
Alternatively, you can buy your Ether directly from MetaMask itself. This option, however, is only available for US citizens
Once you Meta Mask wallet is funded, you are good to get going depending on the DApp you are trying to use. All you need do is access your MetaMask wallet from within the DApp such as Cryptokitties and makes the purchase you need as long as your balance is up to the buying price.