SmartBCH is a side-chain running on top of Bitcoin Cash. With EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) compatibility, it creates a whole new world of opportunity for the Bitcoin Cash Ecosystem.
It enables smart contracts and creates a secure environment for
the creation of tokens running on SmartBCH
DeFi, NFTs, DEXs and Dapps.
attracts Ethereum developers to use BCH as fees instead of ETH gas
SmartBCH with Ethereum interoperability and the extremely low miner fees of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain provides an extremely useful tool for developers to create without any concern on fees.
I’ve written previously how to connect our Metamask browser wallet, but there are a couple more details, as swapping BCH to tokenized BCH in SmartBCH format and adding tokens in our Metamask wallet.
For beginners in crypto, or those that have limited experience with Metamask, I suggest reading my Metamask Tutorial from this link:
How to Set Up Metamask and Add Networks: Binance (BSC), Polygon (Matic), OKEx, SmartBCH - Tutorial
With the mentioned article I explain all the steps required, and even someone without any knowledge can create an Ethereum wallet and use it with various sidechains and networks as SmartBCH, BSC, and more.
Using your ETH wallet with SmartBCH
First, it is important remember to expand the view of your Metamask if you are on desktop browser, so you will be able to copy-paste the specs.
SmartBCH specifications:
Network Name: SmartBCH
New RPC URL: https://smartbch.fountainhead.cash/mainnet
ChainID: 10000
Symbol: BCH
Block Explorer URL: https://www.smartscan.cash
Source: noise.cash (official noise.cash account)
I've written about the steps we have to take in order to connect with different networks using Metamask, and you can you can find the full tutorial here.
[EDIT: August 03, 2022]
*The part of the guide regarding funding your smartBCH address is outdated, since CoinFLEX has withdrawals blocked.
Currently the BlockNG Bolivar Bridge works for this reason. A guide is found here:
"I tried Using BlockNG Bolivar cross chain bridge in SmartBCH"
Coinflex [outdated - Do Not Transfer BCH to CoinFLEX]
After adding SmartBCH on Metamask, we will also need some SEP20 BCH tokens that SmartBCH uses as gas for fees.
This is the tricky part. For the time being, the only way I know of is through a centralized exchange called Coinflex (coinflex.com).
It gives a $10k limit for transactions without KYC, so it fits some of those that want to use SmartBCH, but not all. Anyone more serious would require to pass KYC at Coinflex.
After signing up on Coinflex, we can then deposit BCH. I don’t know the process Coinflex uses exactly. From what I’ve found out, though, it takes 1 confirmation for the BCH funds to become available.
In my case, it took over 30 minutes for the BCH to appear, but I also got some error message of network disconnection, so this could have been the reason.
Moving on. We now have the BCH in our Coinflex wallet and what we want to do is Swap them, and this is performed automatically when we withdraw.
Remember to select SEP20 when withdrawing, which is the token protocol of SmartBCH.
At this point if you haven’t done so yet, you will be also prompted to set up 2-factor-authentication, which is a requirement for withdrawals from the website.
For test purposes only, I’ve withdrawn a portion of BCH and it was successfully deposited in my Metamask wallet within seconds.
It is a simple process and probably some might get stuck, but remember on Metamask to switch to SmartBCH network, and of course, always double-check the receiving address.
As you can see, in this wallet I have now 0.0154BCH and also 100,000 KTH tokens, which is the token Knuth is working on and had these tokens airdropped to me and others.
For the time being, I couldn’t find another way of sending BCH to our SmartBCH wallet. I will, however, update and include more services when they become available.
Centralized and Decentralized Services
I think it is important to explain to beginners the difference between centralized and decentralized exchange. Coinflex is a centralized one and it seems to have automated most of its services, so withdrawals don’t require a manual audit, which is good for a CEX (Centralized Exchange).
Centralized exchanges are custodial services, meaning; you don’t have control of the funds. They don't give access to private keys. Meaning the funds are not actually yours, but you put trust in the exchange that your funds will be available upon request.
DEX’s (Decentralized Exchanges) on the other hand, give absolute control of the funds to the user. You can use a DEX with Web 3.0 apps like Metamask, and trade, swap, sell or use DeFi options, while always in control of the private key.
This is the reason DEXs and DeFi are powerful. There is nobody that can freeze your funds, and no one can control or freeze your account. DEXs don’t require an account, but the wallet signature instead.
Adding SmartBCH tokens on Metamask
Maybe you have received an airdrop or bought tokens from a DEX and they are not displayed on your MetaMask wallet.
You will have to add the tokens manually then, by pressing the Add Token option.
This process is similar to other networks (ETH, BSC, etc.), if the token is not visible on your Metamask, it requires you to add it using this feature.
What you need is usually the contract address. Each token is created within a smart contract and it has a unique contract address (a 0x... address), similar to each of the public addresses we use.
Usually, this will be enough, since Metamask should automatically find the other two settings required.
In this example, I used the contract from token Cool Cats, which has recently gained much publicity within the BCH community.
In case Metamask doesn’t automatically fill the other two boxes, request this information from the developer (perhaps it will be available on telegram, Twitter, website of the project).
Token Symbol and decimals, and you are all done. The token you have bought, or received, will be now visible to your MetaMask wallet.
Transaction Error (due to 0 gas fees)
(*Edited 9/9/2021)
While testing Metamask with SmartBCH I noticed that some transactions I was creating were receiving an error.
After looking more into this I found on SmartBCH telegram the solution.
The transactions are initially set to go through with 0 gas price. While some may do, most of them will probably don't.
To avoid any kind of errors it is highly recommended to set gas price at 1.05.
Where to Trade?
I've used all the above functions and I am now ready to trade. But, at this point, you will have to conduct due diligence. We should always be aware of scams or possible rug pulls.
There is a DEX (benswap.cash) available where SmartBCH tokens can be traded, however, for all the above reasons, I'm not going to recommend it, yet.
[Update Dec 28th,2021]: Currently there are 6 DEXs available on smartBCH (MistSwap, BenSwap, BCH101, TangoSwap, MuesliSwap & Tropical.Finance)]
Some of these SEP20 tokens seem to have been created by experienced devs that probably managed ERC20 projects during and after the 2017 ICO craze.
Conclusion
This guide serves to understand the process required to begin using SmartBCH. For beginners that need more information I've also created previously this tutorial (link).
Concerning cryptocurrency projects, there are always signs of the actual motives of the founders, although, sometimes it may take time for them to become clear. DEX or not, it still requires due diligence.
The tokens mentioned in this article, are only given as an example and not a recommendation. If I will review any of these later, it will be after thorough research on fundamentals.
It is great for marketing to have something to provide, and better for the public to know they are not just investing randomly but to something of potential. A project needs to have a scope, a utility. A problem that it solves.
It is good to see action though, and it could be a required motive for developers to implement their ideas and tokenize them within the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem.
Hopefully, more and better markets or DEXs will join and we will see some organic growth with real projects and proper business plans, roadmaps, whitepapers.
I’m certain SmartBCH offers the route to hundreds of projects that have problems with Ethereum or other blockchain fees and can support further development using its services.
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email: pantera9999@protonmail.com
Just checking in here that all of this has remained the same for adding a network on metamask? This was so helpful and just want to make sure that I've got the right thing, because I saw this when googling but remembered I'd saved your article. https://decentralizedcreator.com/add-smart-bitcoin-cash-to-metamask/ Under number 4 some things are different.