What You Need to Fund Your Wallet

Network’s Native Coin:
Each blockchain needs its own coin for gas (transaction fees). 

• Ethereum → ETH 
• Polygon → MATIC 
• Arbitrum → ETH 
• Solana → SOL 
• Bitcoin → BTC 

To save on fees, we will use Solana for this run-through. For on-chain trading on Solana, you’ll need SOL in your wallet. 

• Stablecoins
  After funding with SOL, you can swap into stablecoins (like USDT) or other tokens, but that is up to you. A good rule of thumb is to keep it in the native coin (such as ETH or SOL) if you believe the market will go up, increasing the price of your holdings, and to swap into stablecoins if you want to avoid risk – your holdings will remain the same whether or not the market goes up or down. 

Ways to Buy Crypto

There are two main routes: 

Buy Crypto on a Centralized Exchange (CEX) 

1. Make an account on Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, or another exchange that supports your country. 
2. Deposit fiat (USD, EUR, etc.) via bank transfer, card, or PayPal, depending on the CEX. 
3. Buy SOL 
4. Withdraw to your wallet: 
   • Open your wallet 
   • Copy your public address. 
   • Paste it into the withdrawal field on the exchange. 
   • Confirm and send. 

IMPORTANT: Always double-check addresses. One wrong character means that your funds will be sent elsewhere and lost forever. 

Alternatively: Buy Crypto Directly in Your Wallet 

Some wallets allow you to buy crypto with your card or through another source. As I mentioned, while this is convenient, there are higher fees associated with doing this. You can enter your buy amounts in both the Cex and in your wallet, and compare prices for reference. Factor this in when deciding how to purchase your crypto! 

Bridging Funds 

Bridging funds is converting one type of token to another – for example, you could bridge your Solana to Ethereum. If you want to trade on new chains without buying more crypto, you can simply bridge the crypto you already have to that chain. Some wallets, such as Phantom Wallet, support bridging within the app, either in-wallet or through a dApp. 

Confirming Your Funds Arrived 

After you have bought your funds and/or withdrawn them to your new wallet, you should then open your wallet to check your balance. It may take a moment, particularly if you are withdrawing from a CEX, so if your funds still have not appeared – do not panic! It may just be taking a minute to process.

Additionally, you can copy your wallet address and paste it into either Solscan for Solana or Etherscan for Ethereum. They will then show your on-chain wallet balance with your funds – the wallet server may simply have not updated yet. 

Quick Safety Checklist 

Since this is your first transaction, it would be smart to send a test transaction first. Simply follow the steps above, but instead of sending the full amount, just send $5 to your wallet. Once that $5 appears in your wallet, you can feel confident in sending the rest of your funds (if you are buying directly in-wallet, this doesn’t apply). 

Make sure to always use the correct blockchain – do not try to send Solana to an Ethereum address or vice versa. Doing this can cause you to lose your funds.

Finally, make sure to have enough left over for gas fees. Solana’s transaction fees are just a few cents, while Ethereum gas fees can be a few dollars or even more when network congestion is high. That is why we are using Solana for this! 

Congrats, now you have a set up and fully funded wallet! Now you are ready to trade on-chain.

This is an excerpt from The On-Chain Blueprint, our guide to becoming a proficient on-chain trader. Get the entire guide for free when you subscribe to our weekly newsletter!