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Create an Astar Wallet

Astar Accounts​

Address Format​

The address format used in Substrate-based chains like Astar is SS58. SS58 is a modification of Base-58-check from Bitcoin with some minor modifications. Notably, the format contains an address type prefix that identifies an address as belonging to a specific network. Astar Network is special in the Polkadot ecosystem because it's the only parachain that supports EVM as WASM smart contract. With the use of two different virtual machines comes two different kinds of addresses.

  • An Astar Native address or SS58 address
  • An Astar EVM address or H160 address which starts with 0x
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You will interact with our Astar native address when using WASM dApps are ready or our dApps Staking page. Using this address requires another extension than MetaMask. We recommend using the Polkadot JS extension if you are new to the ecosystem.

Astar Portal​

The Astar Portal is the place to be for doing anything in our ecosystem. The Astar developers created a one-stop-place for everyone who wants to interact in our ecosystem.

Through our portal, you can connect to different networks in the Astar ecosystem.

  • Astar Network: parachain on Polkadot.
  • Shiden Network: parachain on Kusama.
  • Shibuya: parachain testnet
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Recommend: Polkadot{.js} Browser Plugin​

The Polkadot{.js} plugin provides a reasonable balance of security and usability. It provides a separate local mechanism to generate your address and interact with the Astar portal. We recommend users who are new to our ecosystem and want to create an Astar native address use this wallet. If you don't have the Polkadot JS extension you will receive a popup in our portal when you try to connect your wallet.

Install the Browser Plugin​

The browser plugin is available for both Google Chrome (and Chromium-based browsers like Brave) and Firefox. After installing the plugin, you should see the orange and white Polkadot{.js} logo in your browser menu bar.

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Create Account​

Open the Polkadot{.js} browser extension by clicking the logo on the top bar of your browser. You will see a browser popup.

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Click the big plus button - "Create new account". The Polkadot{.js} plugin will then use system randomness to make a new seed for you and display it to you in the form of twelve words.

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You should back up these words. Please, store the seed somewhere safe, secret, and secure. If you cannot access your account via Polkadot{.js} for some reason, you can re-enter your seed through the "Add account menu" by selecting "Import account from pre-existing seed".

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Best to create an account that is allowed on any chain in the Polkadot ecosystem. This account can then be used for Polkadot and Kusama. Your account will automatically change format when connected to a chain.

A descriptive name is arbitrary and for your use only. It is not stored on the blockchain and will not be visible to other users who look at your address via a block explorer. If you're juggling multiple accounts, it helps to make this as descriptive and detailed as needed.

The password will be used to encrypt this account's information. You will need to re-enter it when using the account for any kind of outgoing transaction or when using it to cryptographically sign a message.

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Note that this password does NOT protect your seed phrase. If someone knows the twelve words in your mnemonic seed, they still have control over your account even if they do not know the password.

After clicking on "Add the account with the generated seed", your account is created. We recommend also saving your account as json file somewhere safe.

Connect your wallet to Astar Portal​

Return to Astar Portal and refresh the page. You will get a popup that Polkadot JS needs to be authorized to be used on our portal. Give the extension permission to do so!

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When you have given the extension permission, let's connect the wallet. A popup will show with all possible extensions. We just create a new account with Polkadot JS, so let's select this extension.

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Once you have clicked on Polkadot JS, you can select your newly created account. Select your account and press confirm.

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You have now successfully connected an Astar wallet to our portal. Note that you can use this wallet on all parachains in the Dotsama ecosystem.

Support​

In case you have any problems. Join our community and our Ambassadors will support you. Please remember that we will never DM you first! If you get approached by someone pretending to be part of the team, do not trust them.