BSC Entry Guide | How to Connect MetaMask to the Binance Smart Chain? Top Five Platforms You Must Know

This article is co-authored by Elponcho and Jeff

Binance's Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has gained significant advantages in the current high transaction fees and slow speed of Ethereum. Developers and players who were originally involved in DeFi on Ethereum, as well as cryptocurrency investors who have never touched DeFi, have all entered the BSC ecosystem. We have also seen the AMM token exchange platform PancakeSwap on BSC achieve great success, with its 24-hour trading volume surpassing Uniswap on Ethereum.

Without further ado, how can one use BSC?

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Step 1: Prepare Your Wallet and Set Up Binance Smart Chain

If you have a browser extension wallet like MetaMask, it is currently the most widely used wallet. Of course, Binance also has its own Binance Chain Wallet. As for how to install a wallet, we won't go into details here. Taking PancakeSwap as an example, it also supports wallets from other providers:

Here we will introduce the information needed for the MetaMask wallet. Please refer to the official Binance article for the final reference.

1. Connect to BSC in Your MetaMask Wallet

• Find the circular icon in the top right corner, click on it, and select "Settings".

• Scroll down in the settings page and find the "Networks" option. Once on the page, select "Add Network".

• On the "Add Network" page, there are some information fields to fill in:

Network Name: Smart Chain
New RPC URL: https://bsc-dataseed.binance.org/
Chain ID: 56
Currency Symbol: BNB
Block Explorer URL (optional): https://bscscan.com

2. Success! Switch Between Ethereum and BSC Freely

Now you can switch between the Ethereum and BSC network wallets in the menu below. When connecting to different platforms, make sure to switch to the corresponding blockchain network!

Step 2: Using BNB for Transaction Fees and Cross-Chain Asset Conversion

To use various DeFi platforms on BSC, having BNB in your wallet is essential because, like Ethereum, each transaction on BSC requires BNB as a transaction fee.

Here are two ways to add digital assets to your BSC wallet:

1. Transfer from Binance Exchange

If you are already a Binance user, transferring your BNB or other digital assets to your BSC wallet is relatively easy. When choosing "Withdraw", you can select "BEP20" as the network type. Then, transfer the asset to the BSC wallet address. The blacked-out part in the image is where you input the details.

2. Binance Bridge

Binance Bridge allows for the use of assets from non-Binance chain blockchain wallets. For example, if you have USDT in your MetaMask Ethereum network wallet and want to use it on BSC, you can convert it through this platform. Binance Bridge supports transferring assets from Ethereum and TRON's network wallets to BSC.

However, the fees required for the transfer will still be based on the respective network.

When converting with Binance Bridge, you can also choose to convert some assets directly into BNB. This allows you to receive the desired converted assets in your BSC wallet and the BNB required for transactions in one step.

If you want to learn more about how Binance Bridge works, we recommend reading Josh's "Binance Smart Chain BSC, Decentralized Finance DeFi Wallet Setup Tutorial."

Step 3: Start Exploring BSC - Five Popular Platforms

Currently, the BSC ecosystem is gradually replicating the Ethereum DeFi ecosystem. According to Defistation's data, the top five platforms with the most locked assets are: Venus, PancakeSwap, Autofarm, ACryptoS, and PancakeBunny. These platforms resonate with the popular platforms on Ethereum.

Venus

Venus is currently the platform with the most locked assets on the BSC chain. Venus is a combination of a decentralized lending platform and a stablecoin issuance platform. It is positioned against Compound and Maker in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Users can earn interest by collateralizing idle assets in Venus's smart contracts. Additionally, whether borrowing or lending, users can receive Venus's issued token (XVS) as liquidity mining rewards. From the image, you can see that Venus not only shares the same concept with Compound but also has a similar interface.

On the other hand, assets collateralized in Venus can be used as collateral to generate a decentralized stablecoin, VAI, pegged 1:1 to the US dollar (similar to Maker's Dai), further unlocking liquidity for locked assets.

Users can use VAI to purchase tokens on decentralized exchanges or store it in Venus's vault to earn an annualized 50% yield.

PancakeSwap

PancakeSwap is the most popular automated market maker (AMM) protocol in the BSC ecosystem with deep liquidity and a large user base. It is comparable to Uniswap or SushiSwap in the Ethereum ecosystem (more similar to SushiSwap due to its product diversity and ongoing liquidity mining).

Essentially, all tokens (mining rewards) acquired on the BSC chain can be traded on PancakeSwap. Therefore, PancakeSwap can be considered one of the core components of the BSC ecosystem. Besides trading, users can also earn LP tokens by providing liquidity to pools and stake the corresponding LP tokens on PancakeSwap (earning CAKE) or other platforms for mining rewards.

Autofarm

Autofarm is a yield optimizer protocol on the BSC chain, similar to Yearn on the Ethereum chain. Even the total supply of its token (AUTO) is scarce. Users only need to collateralize assets or LP tokens in Autofarm's smart contracts, and the protocol will deploy the assets to other platforms to earn yields (e.g., depositing BNB in Autofarm's pools, which will be deployed to Venus). The vaults automatically compound the earnings and provide rewards from both platforms, resulting in substantial returns.

ACryptoS

ACryptoS, like Autofarm, is a yield optimizer protocol on the BSC chain. However, they support slightly different assets (e.g., ACryptoS has SXP pools, which Autofarm does not). Additionally, their token economics and fees for deposits and withdrawals differ:

"ACryptoS distributes earnings to ACS token holders; Autofarm uses earnings for buyback and burn AUTO."

"ACryptoS charges a 0.5% fee for withdrawals and 0.3% of earnings as a fee when claiming rewards (currently free); Autofarm charges a 0.1% fee for deposits, with other fees deducted directly from earnings."

Furthermore, the ACryptoS team has developed a Stableswap feature to compete with Curve. They have also launched a dedicated token, ACSI, with independent token economics from ACS.

PancakeBunny

PancakeBunny is also a yield optimizer protocol focused on PancakeSwap, aiming to maximize the returns for PancakeSwap liquidity providers. Users can choose to invest in corresponding pools to earn more LP tokens or Cake tokens. Exiting incurs a 0.5% fee.

Notably, PancakeBunny supports PancakeSwap's single-sided liquidity providing tool (ZAP), which streamlines the process for liquidity providers.