I have been recently reading and learning about various DeFi apps in the Cosmos ecosystem and I have decided to give it a try a couple of weeks ago to speed up my learning process. As I have mentioned in my past blog articles about crypto, it will be a part of my present and future savings and investment strategy for myself.
By the way, before we continue, please be aware that this is not financial or investment advice. I’m just sharing my personal financial journey on this blog. If you need financial advice, I suggest that you get in touch with a professional financial advisor and do your own research (DYOR) as well.
A Brief History of my Cosmos/$Atom Experience
$Atom is the token of the Cosmos Blockchain and it’s one of the first-ever crypto that I bought in Binance when I was very new in the crypto trading and investing world in Q1 2021.
And since I was a complete noob at that time (February 2021), I did not have any form of trading and investing strategy yet and I immediately sold my small $Atom bag after it doubled in price.
Looking back, I kinda regret that decision because it would have been one of the best things I have done for my crypto investment if only I held on to it. And, it’s not just because of the price appreciation of $Atom but because of the multiple airdrops of various valuable tokens that were given to qualified $Atom holders/stakers (in non-custodial wallets) in the past few months.
Anyway, there’s no use in crying over spilled milk. For the time being, I have decided to hold on to some $Atom and stake it using a non-custodial wallet to increase my chances of getting future airdrops.
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What is Keplr Wallet?
Keplr wallet is one of the known and widely-used browser-extension wallets for the Cosmos ecosystem. It enables users to interact with various DeFi apps in the Cosmos ecosystem.
As of the time of writing, it only supports Chrome and (unofficially Brave and Edge browsers).
If you are interested to try various apps in the Cosmos ecosystem, having a Keplr Wallet on your browser should be the first step you have to take (after buying $Atom from your preferred crypto exchange of course).
How to Install Keplr Wallet on Chrome
Installing Keplr and creating a Keplr account is a very easy process and here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do this.
The first step is to download Keplr Wallet by going to the Keplr website – https://www.keplr.app/.
Before you download anything, be sure that you’re on the right website by double-checking the URL on the address bar. As of now, I have not read any cases of a scammy/phishing website impersonating Keplr yet, but scam websites impersonating legit apps/websites are not an uncommon issue, especially in the crypto/finance world. So better be safe than sorry.
Once you have clicked the “Install Keplr on Chrome” on the Keplr Homepage, it will lead you to the Chrome webstore.
Just click on “Add to Chrome” and it will start downloading the browser extension.
After it finished downloading, it should “run” itself and a pop-up will appear if you want to “Add the Extension”. Just click on ” Add Extension.”
It will also ask you to “Turn on Sync” which personally, I did not click on. I just clicked on the “X” closed button on the pop-up. Basically, since I’m only using one laptop for this, I didn’t have to “Sync” it with any gadgets anymore.
Once it has been downloaded and installed, the next step is to create an account.
I do not want to link my Keplr wallet to my Google account thus I clicked on “Create new account”.
It will then give you your 12 or 24 Mnemonic seeds (depending on your preference). I usually opt for the 12 words only. Please write this down in your notebook and keep it safe at all times and do not share this with anybody.
Bear in mind that anyone that has access to your wallet seed phrases will have access to your wallet.
It will also ask you to assign an Account Name and Password.
Afterward, it will ask you to retype the words in order to ensure that you have written your Mnemonic Phrase correctly.
That’s it!
After you have completed all the steps, you can start using it to store your $Atom or other Cosmos tokens and interact with various Cosmos apps.
I will share in the future how I use my Keplr wallet to interact with various Cosmos apps and link it here.
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How to Keep Your Keplr Account Safe and Secure
Scammers want to get hold of your crypto wallet so they can withdraw your funds in whatever Defi App you have saved/staked your token in and you should keep your Keplr wallet safe at all times.
Here are some tips on how to keep your Keplr Account safe and secure.
- Do not browse any unsafe websites. Due to the rise of crypto adoption in the world, online scammers are targeting internet users in order to get your crypto. If you browse unsafe websites, malware might be installed on your PC that might lead you to a phishing website that wants to get hold of your wallet.
- Do not give your seed phrase to anyone. As of the time of writing, the only way that someone can get hold of your online wallet is by giving them your seed phrase. Scammers have been very creative in getting this from unsuspecting users. These people pretend to be Devs, Customer Service People, etc. Some have even made phishing websites to make them look like the real website of the app that people use. Always be cautious when you are being asked for your seed phrase because legit devs and customer service people of various crypto apps will never ask this from you.
- Use Hardware Wallets. Keplr can be used alongside Ledger and other hardware wallets. Once you have a budget for a hardware wallet, I suggest that you get one.
- Stay Updated. To keep yourself ahead of the game, always keep yourself informed with the developments in the crypto world, especially in your chosen ecosystem. There are various online communities that share helpful information such as security-related info and updates. Since we’re talking about Keplr and Cosmos, I suggest that you join the Cosmos Network Reddit Group to keep yourself updated.
- Always DYOR. Always take any information you see online with a grain of salt and always counter-check information to ensure its validity. Especially if the information that you got online entails linking your wallet to a new app. Always be vigilant.
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Final Thoughts
I’m quite excited about using the Cosmos ecosystem using my Keplr wallet. As of the time of writing, I have tried using Osmosis and Juno Swap and I have also staked my $Atom using Keplr wallet. I will be sharing how to do these too in the coming weeks.
One of my goals in 2022 is to grow and diversify my crypto holdings and I think Cosmos can help me do that. 🙂
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