At first, the world of crypto can be confusing and complicated. Especially because you have to learn to take custody of your own cryptocurrency. One of the first things you need to do is find a good crypto wallet and learn how to use it. Inevitably, there’s one question everyone faces starting out in crypto: “What’s the best cryptocurrency wallet for me?” The answer will depend on what you need out of your crypto wallet. In this post we’ll look at two of the heavy weights – MetaMask vs Trust Wallet – so we can help clear up confusion about which one is best!
What is Metamask?
Metamask is an open source cryptocurrency wallet created by a group of developers who aim to ‘extend the decentralized web to everyone.’
It’s a software wallet, otherwise known as a hot wallet, because it’s connected to the internet.
Metamask has browser extension and mobile version of the same hot wallet. You can synchronize both of these to make them operate in tandem.
What is Metamask used for?
Connect to DeFi products and services
The main advantage of using a Metamask crypto wallet is to transact your cryptocurrency across the cryptoverse. Why would you want to move your coins? In a nutshell, DeFi.
Aave, Curve, and Yearn Finance are some examples of decentralised finance protocols. Metamask allows you to seamlessly connect to these protocols. Once you do, you can use their services to generate passive income on your cryptocurrency – for example by lending, staking, and yield farming.
There are a few technical requirements you’ll need to know and perform in order to use Metamask with DeFI. Check out our post on how to set up Metamask for non-technical users. If you take these steps first, it will save you a lot of confusion and worry later.
Metamask has security integrations with the best hardware wallets on the market – Ledger and Trezor – which means you can interact with DeFi easily and securely. You just have to connect your Ledger or Trezor hardware wallet from the Metamask menu and then off you go!
Metamask really opens up the world of Decentralised Finance to crypto users. And this is the main reason that every crypto holder should have MetaMask crypto wallet in their crypto tool kit.
Buy Ethereum
You can pretty quickly use Metamask to buy Ethereum (ETH) via the bank services directly in the wallet. Payment is through Apple Pay, bank transfer or debit card. You’ll pay network fees to do this and fees on the Ethereum network are notoriously high.
This is not the most cost-effective way to get coins, but it’s an easy approach to begin with some cryptocurrencies and Decentralized Finance solutions if you’re a novice.
Once you have the ETH in your wallet you then use the wallet swap function (see below) to swap that ETH into a bunch of other coins or tokens.
Swap crypto
As we mentioned above you can also swap between cryptocurrencies using Metamask, for example Ethereum or the Binance Smart Chain. A service fee of 0.875% is automatically factored into each swap quote – the price you pay for convenience! Metamask supports swaps between a long list of coins and tokens, making it a useful feature if need a quick transaction
You may also swap cryptocurrencies using other dApps that Metamask connects to, such as QuickSwap on the Matic Mainnet or SushiSwap on the Ethereum Mainnet. The fees can be lower doing this so we don’t use the swap function within Metamask wallet.
Send and receive crypto
You can send and receive crypto into and out of Metamask, although for security reasons (as for any hot wallet) it’s not advised to store your coins in the wallet.
Metamask wallet – pros and cons
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Ubiquitous – just about every app, bridge and protocol we have come across has a Metamask integration. Metamask is you virtual transport around the crypto ecosystem, regardless of what blockchain network you need to operate from. | Clunky and not very user friendly – you have to learn how to use it and manually add the blockchains you want to transact on. The silver lining is, once you learn Metamask you can do most other things you need to do in crypto. |
| Supports multiple blockchains – your DeFi options are endless. You just have to learn how to manually input each new network you want to use. | Syncing – doesn’t always go smoothly between the web browser and the mobile app and you need to have two different access passwords for each of these, which is a pain. |
| Integrates with most new DeFI protocols and dApps – which is where the (risky) money can be made in DeFi! | No real native capabilities – It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of other apps. No native decentralised apps, no in-wallet staking or farming. It’s a transactional wallet only. |
| Security integrations – with the two best hardware wallets on the market, Ledger and Trezor. Once you link your Metamask to one of these hardware wallets, Metamask has the security of a cold storage wallet with the convenience of a hot wallet. | |
| Control over fees – It allows you to set network fees and slippage, which means you can control your transaction costs (somewhat) while using it. |
What is Trust Wallet?
The Binance wallet is a mobile cryptocurrency wallet run by the Binance crypto exchange. It supports the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem since it is the official mobile cryptocurrency wallet of Binance as well as Ethereum mainnet.
This is a plus, because you can bridge Binance coin (like BNB) over to the Binance Smart Chain within the wallet. By using the Binance Smart Chain, you avoid the very high transaction fees associated with ERC-20 tokens transacted on the Ethereum mainnet.
What is Trust Wallet used for?
DeFi
Like Metamask, you can use Trust Wallet to connect to a range of DeFi protocols, mostly through the ‘Wallet Connect’ integration. We use Trust Wallet to connect into PancakeSwap where we earn double digit APY staking our CAKE. That’s just an example.
Limited native staking
Trust Wallet has a few unique features that other wallets lack, owing to its Binance connections. For example you can use it for Staking directly inside the wallet for a handful of coins including BNB, Kava and Cosmos. Native staking gives you the option to chose exactly which node validator you’re going to stake your coins with. It shows the APY for a list of different validators, which means you can chose the best one.
There are also native links to popular DeFi protocols from the “Discover” screen. SushiSwap, Curve, yearn.finance, Aave and 1inch.exchange can all be linked straight from the wallet.
Exchange
Trust wallet has an exchange function where you can trade BNB for a long list of other coins and tokens. There are no price charts, but you can see limited order books per trade.
Buy, send, swap
Trust wallet also offers the standard functions that other wallet offer. You can send and receive coins from the wallet and swap between cryptocurrencies. You can also buy a limited range of large cap cryptos. The payment provider is Moonpay, which does charge pretty heft fees.
Trust Wallet – pros and cons
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Supports Binance Smart Chain as well as Ethereum Mainnet – cheaper transactions for BNB and BNB swaps / exchanges Some direct DeFi protocol links within the wallet and some native staking. | DeFI integrations – not as many newer protocols and platforms as Metamask. |
| Wallet Connect integration – allows you to connect to quite a few DeFi protocols and dApps. | Buggy – We’ve had loads of problems with the PancakeSwap / Trust Wallet connection in the past. |
| Limited to Eth network for most DeFi transactions – meaning you’re going to pay top dollar network fees to use Trust Wallet for DeFi. |
The verdict
Metamask is our choice in the Metamask vs Trust Wallet battle. You just have to look at the long list of ‘Pros’ to understand why.
You can use Trust Wallet and just stick to the Ethereum network and it’s ecosystem of DeFi products and services. If you do this, Trust Wallet is a sound option to go with. BUT…Metamask is used everywhere! And it will allow you to transact on cheaper blockchain networks (Solana, Avalache, Polygon) that are exploding with new dApps and DeFI protocols.
These other blockchain networks are building strong DeFi ecosystems where you can make a great return with your crypto after connecting with your Metamask.
The Metamask ecosystem integrations are so great you don’t really miss or need any native capabilities in the wallet itself beyond what is already there. You just have to work with the clunky nature of the wallet and traverse a bit of a learning curve first. Once you do, the world of DeFi is your oyster!
