good morning everyone!! I had not planned to make this post, but as I saw many new people come to this world of cryptos and specifically a little more airdrops, I wanted to make this post to help them and pass them in case of doubt to not explain one by one hahaha without more preambles let's start !!
What is a Token ERC-20?: For starters I would like to make a small introduction so you know what it is and why it is used.
-The first and the biggest difference with a crypto the tokens do not have their own blockchain, but they are "added", so to speak, there are several cryptos that accept this but the ones that we are going to see are the ERC-20 (ERC means Request for Comments from Ethereum) that are tokens within the blockchain of the aforementioned ethereum and that when making any transaction eth is needed to use it in the form of "gas", the tokens can not be used to pay the transactions
-It is important to know about this since the majority of airdrops (a system widely used to promote projects for companies and a way to earn some free tokens of these) use this system, and this is thanks to several factors:
Mainly because these tokens created by the ERC-20 standard benefit from the existing Ethereum infrastructure instead of having to build a completely new blockchain for them, with the saving of time and resources that entails.
The security that gives the blockchain of ethereum which grows constantly thanks to the massive amount of tokens that are added in these days.
3.not less important that being within the eth network makes it much easier to enter the market and to wallets that are commonly used.
What is an ERC-20 wallet?
an ERC-20 wallet is anyone who accepts these tokens, because if they do not, they will simply be lost, for example, coinbase does not allow tokens, so you can only send eth there. A good ERC-20 wallet has to leave you control of your private key (since these are the safest) and give you an easy interface to receive and send these tokens.
The wallets that I used (there are many and I logically did not try all) and I recommend are the following:
1-MyEtherWallet(mew)
It is a wallet for the web based on an open source and written in JavaScript. It allows direct interaction with the blockchain in an easy-to-use and secure interface to protect both the Ether cryptocurrency and the ERC20 tokens, in the same way interaction with intelligent contracts is also possible.
where you have several tabs depending on what you want to do (send receive or only see the tokens if you want)
Personally it is the first one that uses and what it has is simplicity in the creation of this, but it is annoying that to enter at any time there is to enter the private key (which in case you do not know is extremely long) but its simplicity and speed eclipse this last
2-Metamask
metamask works as an extension of the google browser is a tool that can be used very quickly the only problem is that the tokens have to be added manually so when they arrive you will not see them until you enter the data of the token in question (do not despair although you can not see them they are there so there is no rush), this extension also allows the purchases of ethereum from the browser, which is generally used for games like rumble legend or CryptoKitties.
And having the private key you can use your wallet of mew in metamask and the one of metamask in mew
3-Coinomi
This is the most recommended except for one thing and is that it is only for mobile, now coinomi not only serves for tokens but also you can save many more crypt style btc ltc dash doge among many more.
to add the tokens is as easy as going to add eth token and select from its list of more than 400 tokens, now if the one you have is not there do not worry you just have to enter it manually entering the data of the contract name of the token and decimals, how do I know that? I will explain you now.
FUNDAMENTAL TOOL: ETHERSCAN
What is etherscan? as the name says it is a tool that serves to "scan" your ethereum account no matter what wallet it is in, you will not be able to send tokens but it allows you to see the transactions of the account, the amount of ethereum and any token of the account without the need to add it manually, that is token that exists in the ethereum network is a token that appears in etherscan, so I recommend using it to see when you get a token for example an airdrop and click on the token to know the necessary data to add them to the wallet you use
For now it seems a good introduction, there are many more data but my idea is not to make an infinite post that nobody ends if not teach the basics and if someone is interested in something special, and can search with more ideas and not be in 0 , although who knows capable later and do a post explaining in detail some aspects mentioned above.
One last clarification, I ask you strongly DO NOT GIVE YOUR PRIVATE KEY since this is the one that gives access to your capital if you give it is to give all your funds to that person.
Thank you very much and hopefully serve them all!