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Creating a Web3 Wallet

squirrel_hatMar 31, 2025, 2:33:13 AM

Minds offers some token rewards options. These include Holding Rewards and Liquidity Rewards. In order to receive these rewards, you are going to need the tech that interacts with the Minds website. Namely, you will need a web3 crypto wallet.

Last updated

03/30/25

Objective

Create a wallet that can connect to Minds and receive MINDS token rewards.

Concept

A web3 wallet is a crypto wallet at its core. Just like any wallet, it can send, receive, and store cryptocurrency. But it also has additional functionality. It can connect to decentralized crypto apps and interact with them.

Is a web3 wallet absolutely necessary? Well, there are other wallets that will store your tokens. However, Minds only transfers token rewards into web3 wallets. Once you have some onchain tokens in your web3 wallet, you can send them to whatever wallet you like. However, you will need a web3 wallet to receive the tokens initially. Basically, you need a web3 wallet to claim any token rewards, so getting a web3 wallet is a virtual necessity. Luckily, web3 wallets aren’t uncommon these days. If you’ve used a crypto wallet before, it may have been a crypto wallet without you even knowing it.

Getting a web3 wallet—let’s talk about what that means. I say “get,” but you could also use the words “create” or “make.” I don’t want you to get the wrong impression, though. Creating a wallet doesn’t mean you are going to have to program some crypto tech all by yourself—quite the contrary.

Crypto wallets are basically apps or programs. They already exist; all you have to do is download and install them. What you are going to do is create your wallet. You are going to install the wallet app onto your phone or computer and make an individual wallet for yourself. When you create a wallet, it will generate unique addresses that you can send crypto to and from. You are creating the wallet that will hold your crypto. While you’ll have a wallet program that is available for everyone to download, your actual wallet will be a specific “instance” of that program just for you.

Think of a video game as an example. You can buy a Zelda game at the store. But when you get it home, you will start a New Game. Although many people have that Zelda video game, only you will have your individual playthrough.

There are several web3 wallets that work with Minds: Coinbase Wallet, MetaMask, and any wallet supported by WalletConnect.

Coinbase Wallet and MetaMask are very reasonable to use. The MetaMask wallet has a lot of prominence in the crypto community. It is also slightly “lighter weight.” MetaMask is also more upfront with its data permission requests. As for Coinbase Wallet, some people shy away from it because Coinbase itself is tied to banks and institutional money. It is also a bigger program, and less transparent about its data permissions. While people may feel motivated to boycott Coinbase Wallet for these reasons, I can attest there is no difference in performance. I use both wallets with equal satisfaction.

I will not cover WalletConnect wallets in depth here. I am not familiar with all of them, and that would make the article too big. However, I will give a shoutout to Exodus wallet. Exodus is an excellent high-end crypto wallet. It incorporates the WalletConnect protocol and it should work with Minds as well.

Once you’ve decided which wallet you want to use, there are different ways to install it. You can install it as an app on your mobile device (smart phone or tablet). Both Coinbase Wallet and MetaMask are available for iOS and Android.

Or, if you want to use your wallet from a desktop computer, you can install it as a browser extension. Coinbase Wallet is available as an extension in Chrome-based web browsers including Chrome, Brave, Edge and Opera browsers. MetaMask is available in those same browsers, as well as Firefox.

The days of Microsoft Windows programs are slightly past, as neither Coinbase Wallet nor MetaMask offer this option. But the browser extension will work just as well, allowing you to use your wallet from a desktop or laptop while not being resource intensive.

You can also use either of these wallets from a web browser directly. However, you will need to create your wallet in one of the two aforementioned ways first. You can then connect your wallet to its respective webpage and use it from there. There’s no reason to do this for our purposes, but I wanted to cover every option.

Once the app is installed, you can create your own web3 wallet and participate in the Minds Rewards programs.

Requirements

One of the following

Android mobile device or iOS mobile device
Desktop computer/laptop computer with a Chrome-based web browser

Guide for Coinbase Wallet Android Mobile App

This is a guide for Android mobile device. This can be either a smart phone or tablet running Android OS version 6.0 and up. It requires 64.95 MB of storage, which isn’t very much at all. This is a free app, so don’t worry about spending any money.

Have your device ready. It should be turned on, unlocked, and connected to the internet.

Find the Play Store app on your device. This is represented by a right-pointing triangle icon of blue, green, red, and yellow. If it’s not immediately visible on your device for some reason, you can find it among of your device’s page of apps. Your apps will be listed in alphabetical order, so scroll to the ‘P’ apps.

Open the Play Store. Go to the Search page. It will be the middle tab along the bottom of the app. Enter “coinbase wallet” into the search form at the top of the page and tap the magnifying glass on your keyboard to search.

A list of available apps will appear. Find the one titled Coinbase Wallet. Be aware that the first app in the list may be an advertised promotion that isn’t the Coinbase Wallet. Also, the Coinbase app proper (the exchange site) may be listed as well. This isn’t the one we are looking for, so don’t get them confused.

You are free to tap on the Coinbase Wallet entry if you want to view its specs and reviews. Tap the “Install” button when you are satisfied. A circular progress bar will appear, and your app will quickly download and install.

You can follow the flowchart below, or even just click the links to go to that step directly. If anything becomes unclear, refer back to the instructions above.

Play Store→search page→search form “coinbase wallet”→Coinbase Wallet app→“Install” button

Once it’s finished, you can open the app directly from here by tapping the “Open” button. In the future, you can open the app by tapping on the Coinbase Wallet icon among your list of apps. It is a blue circle surrounding a blue square.

Open the app and tap the “Create new wallet” button.

The app will prompt you to create a passcode. This is just a numerical password. Enter a passcode, and then enter it again to verify it.

The app will then ask if you want to create a username. I have not considered the pros or cons of this, so use your own discretion. This guide will follow the “Maybe later” option.

Tap “Maybe later,” and your app will complete the process of making a new wallet. You now have your own web3 wallet to use with Minds.

Backing up/Securing your wallet

Unlike with other wallet programs, the Android app does not automatically require you to secure your wallet. You’ll want to back up your wallet so you can re-create it in case you ever lose access to the app. Here are the instructions to do that.

At the top right of the wallet page, you will see a gear icon. There should be a red dot on it. This indicates that you have not secured your wallet yet. Tap the gear and you will be taken to the Settings page. Find the Security option below. It will also have a red dot, leading the way.

Tap it to go to the Security page. You will see that Wallet 1 has not been backed up, again indicated by red. Tap Wallet 1.

The wallet will prompt you to put in your passcode. Input it and a pop-up will appear notifying you that you are making a recovery phrase request. Tap “Allow.”

You will be taken to a page with your blurred out recovery phrase/passphrase. Tapping it will reveal your passphrase. The wallet will also warn you about being scammed. This is just a reminder to never give your passphrase to anyone else. Tap “No, I’m safe” to proceed.

Write down or save your passphrase. I recommend writing it down and keeping it in a hidden place. The wallet will offer the option to “Back up with Google Drive” but I do NOT recommend that. After you have your passphrase, tap “Back up manually.”

The wallet will ask if you’ve saved all 12 words. The app will not test you to ensure that you have saved your passphrase accurately. Make sure you’ve written down the words in the order they appear. Check the box to indicate you’ve saved them, and tap “Complete backup.” Your 12 word passphrase will allow you to get your wallet back in case you ever lose your wallet app.

Guide for Metamask Android Mobile App

This is a guide for Android mobile device. This can be either a smart phone or tablet running Android OS version 6.0 and up. It requires 32.11 MB of storage, half as much as the Coinbase Wallet app. This is a free app, so don’t worry about spending any money. This guide will not feature any screenshots because the MetaMask app does not allow any screenshots. That is actually a security consideration so users can’t unintentionally send their passphrase to someone else.

Have your device ready. It should be turned on, unlocked, and connected to the internet.

Find the Play Store app on your device. This is represented by a right-pointing triangle icon of blue, green, red, and yellow. If it’s not immediately visible on your device for some reason, you can find it among of your device’s list of apps. Your apps will be listed in alphabetical order, so scroll to the ‘P’ apps.

Open the Play Store. Go to the Search page. It will be the middle tab along the bottom of the app. Enter “metamask” into the search form at the top of the page and tap the magnifying glass on your keyboard to search.

A list of available apps will appear. Find the one titled MetaMask. Be aware that the first app in the list may be an advertised promotion that isn’t the MetaMask app.

You are free to tap on the MetaMask entry if you want to view its specs and reviews. Tap the “Install” button when you are satisfied. A circular progress bar will appear, and your app will quickly download and install.

You can follow the flowchart below, or even just click the links to go to that step directly. If anything becomes unclear, refer back to the instructions above.

Play Store→search page→search form “metamask”→MetaMask app→“Install” button

Once it’s finished, you can open the app directly from here by tapping the “Open” button. In the future, you can open the app by tapping on the MetaMask icon among your list of apps. It is an orange fox.

Open the app. You will be greeted with a welcome page. Tap the “Get started” button. Then tap the “Create new wallet” button.

The next page will request some data permissions in your new wallet. Note that you do NOT need to allow these permissions in order to use the wallet. You can leave the checkbox blank and you can even hit the “No thanks” button to reject all permissions. I cannot offer a security risk analysis of allowing these data permissions. It’s probably fine. However, many people reject these permissions merely on the principle of privacy. You’ll have to decide for yourself if you want to allow the permissions, but it won’t make a difference to the wallet performance either way.

Tap either “No thanks” or “I agree” and you will be taken to the Terms of Use page. Scroll to the bottom, check the box to agree to the terms, and tap the “Accept” button. You will then be taken to a password creation page. Create and confirm a password. Check the box to acknowledge the risk of losing your password. Tap “Create password.” The app will then create your wallet.

The app will now give you the option to secure/back up your wallet at this time. Although you don’t have any crypto in your wallet to lose yet, you will have to secure your wallet eventually. You might as well do it now. Tap “Start.”

The MetaMask app will only give you the option to secure your wallet manually. That consists of writing down your 12 word passphrase. Tap “Start” on this page as well.

Enter your password to continue. Tap “View” and your passphrase will be revealed. Write it down, taking care to write the words in order. Then tap “Continue.” You will then be given a test to confirm you passphrase. Enter the words. If you’ve placed them in their proper order, the app will declare a success and you can proceed. Tap “Complete Backup.”

The app will congratulate you for finishing. Tap “Done.” Your wallet has been created.

The wallet will now ask if you want to automatically check for security updates. I cannot offer the pros and cons for this option. Use your discretion and make your own choice. Choose either “Enable automatic security checks” or “No thanks” to proceed. You can now use your new wallet with Minds.

Guide for Chrome-based Browser Extensions

A browser extension is a small add-on that provides your web browser with additional functionality. In this case, we are going to install a crypto wallet inside the web browser. This guide is for Chrome-based browsers on desktop/laptop computers, including Chrome, Brave, Edge and Opera. This is a free extension, so don’t worry about spending any money.

First, open your web browser. Open the browser customization options. You can find this at the top right of the browser window represented by three dots or lines stacked vertically.

Mouse over the Extensions option about halfway through the drop-down menu. This is represented by a puzzle piece icon. Click the option to open web store. The Chrome web store will open up where you can find the browser extensions.

Coinbase Wallet

Click the search form, input “coinbase wallet,” and hit Enter. Select the Coinbase Wallet extension, which should be the first choice given. This will take you to the Coinbase Wallet extension page. Click the button on the right that will add it to your browser.

The window that pops up may caution you, but we can disregard that since we trust this extension. Click “Add extension.”

A download indicator will appear at the top right of your browser window represented by a small down arrow symbol with a circular progress bar. The extension is small, and it will download and install quickly.

You will now have a new extension puzzle symbol on the top right of your browser. You can click it to find your Coinbase Wallet extension, represented by the Coinbase icon of a blue circle surrounding a blue square. I recommend pinning the wallet to your browser so it’s always visible. Just click the pin symbol to the right of the extension.

You can follow the flowchart below, or even just click the links to go to that step directly. If you have any trouble, refer back to the directions above.

Web browser→customization options→Extensions→web store→search form “coinbase wallet”→Coinbase Wallet extension→“Add” button→“Add extension” button

Now that you have installed the extension, you can create your wallet. Open the Coinbase Wallet extension from your web browser and click the “Create new wallet” button.

The extension will immediately prompt you to secure your wallet. Click the blurred out passphrase to reveal it, and write it down. Click the checkbox acknowledging you understand the risk, and then click the “Continue” button. To ensure you wrote down your passphrase, the extension will give you a short test. Click the words of your phrase that it asks for and hit the “Submit” button.

Finally, the extension will prompt you to create and confirm a password for your wallet. Create and confirm your password, agree with the terms and privacy policy, and click the “Submit” button.

The wallet extension will then ask if you want to create your own domain name/username. I have not considered the pros and cons of this, but the wallet will work just as well with or without a domain name. You can return to this option from the wallet menu if you want to decide later.

You now have a wallet you can use with Minds. You can open it by clicking on the Coinbase icon in your browser extensions.

MetaMask

Click the search form, input “metamask,” and hit Enter. Select the MetaMask extension, which should be the first choice given. This will take you to the MetaMask extension page. Click the button on the right that will add it to your browser.

The window that pops up may caution you, but we can disregard that since we trust this extension. Click “Add extension.”

You can follow the flowchart below, or even just click the links to go to that step directly. If you have any trouble, refer back to the directions above.

Web browser→customization options→Extensions→web store→search form “metamask”→MetaMask extension→“Add” button→“Add extension” button

You will now have a new extension puzzle symbol on the top right of your browser if you did not have one before.

Your browser will take you to a “Let’s get started” MetaMask page. Check the box to agree to MetaMask’s Terms of use and click the “Create a new wallet” button.

Hit either “No thanks” or “I agree” and you will be taken to a password creation page. Create and confirm a password. Check the box to acknowledge the risk of losing your password. Finally, click the “Create a new wallet” button.

You will then be taken to a “Secure your wallet” page. You do not NEED to secure your wallet at this time, you can always do it from the wallet extension itself later. None of your crypto will be at risk until you transfer crypto into the wallet. But you will need to secure your wallet eventually, so you might as well do it now.

Click the “Secure my wallet” button and you will be taken to a page with your Secret Recovery Phrase. Reveal your phrase and write it down. Click the “Next” button, and you will then be prompted to confirm your phrase by filling in the blank words. Fill them in from the phrase you wrote down and hit “Confirm.” The page will tell you that your wallet is ready to use. Hit “Done.”

The next page will then recommend that you pin MetaMask in your browser. Just click the pin symbol to the right of the extension in the Extensions option. Hit “Next” and “Done” to bypass this page.

Finally, you will be taken to your wallet webpage. Note that you will typically use your extension as a smaller pop-up window within your browser. You do not need to be on this page to use your wallet, and in fact, you can close this page if you want. However, if you like using the page, you can always open it again from within the extension pop-up. From the options within the pop-up, just click “Expand view” to bring back this wallet page.

You now have a wallet you can use with Minds. Just click the orange fox icon in your browser extensions to open it.

Other Web3 Wallets and Installation Platforms

You can also install Coinbase Wallet and MetaMask as an app for iOS mobile devices.

You can also install MetaMask as an extension in Firefox web browser.

You can install Exodus wallet on the following platforms:
iOS Android Chrome browser extension Mac (Intel) Mac (Apple Silicon) Windows (64-bit) Linux (.deb)

If you prefer another crypto wallet, please check with its webpage or developers to see if it incorporates WalletConnect functionality.

Additional Information

Backing up your wallet

This consists of writing down a twelve word recovery phrase/passphrase. I will cover the technicalities of crypto security in another article. The most important thing to remember is to not leave the passphrase available for anyone to see. If someone else gets your wallet passphrase, your wallet is compromised and all the crypto in that wallet is at risk.

The wallet may inform you that if you lose your passphrase, you will lose all of your crypto. That is not quite accurate. If you lose your wallet and you do not have the passphrase to back it up, then you will not be able to recover the crypto in that wallet. You can only lose the crypto you’ve placed in that wallet, and only if you’ve lost both the passphrase AND the wallet. As long as you still have the wallet, you can still access your passphrase if you need to write it down again.

Password vs Passphrase

While it may seem redundant, a password is different from your passphrase. You can consider the passphrase the “identity” of your wallet. With your passphrase, you can import your wallet into any other computer or mobile device. Your passphrase basically IS your wallet.

The password, however, is just a lock on the wallet on your current device. Even if you did import your wallet into another device, that other device would require its own password. Just know that your passphrase is much more important than your password. If you lose your password, you can always re-create your wallet with your passphrase. But if you lose your passphrase (and your wallet), your password isn’t going to help you get your crypto back.

Recovering a lost wallet/Importing a wallet

I’m not going to create an in-depth guide for this because it would be a lot of redundant information. But here’s the gist of it:

If you lose your wallet app/program for some reason, you can still get your wallet back with your passphrase. Just install the wallet app/program again on the platform of your choosing. If you had a MetaMask wallet before, you have to install MetaMask again. It does not have to be on the same platform, though. If you had MetaMask on Android app before, you can install it this time on iOS or Chrome-based extension this time. You can still install the Android app again, of course. As long as it’s the same named wallet, it will work.

When opening the program, instead of creating a new wallet, you will choose the second option. This will say something to the effect of “importing a previous wallet” or “recover wallet.” The program will then prompt you to input your 12 word passphrase. Once you input your passphrase, the program will recreate the wallet you lost. It will come back with all of your crypto balances and transactions you ever made. You won’t have to worry about any of your cryptocurrency being lost during the import.

It will take several moments to update to the latest ledger copies, though. Don’t fret if you see inaccurate balances right after recovering your wallet. Wait ten minutes, and check again. If it still isn’t up-to-date, just continue waiting and it will eventually “catch up” to your true balances.

Note that you may be able to initiate a transaction at this time, even if the wallet is inaccurately reading your balances. The worst that can happen is that it won’t go through, and you’ll just have to wait until it’s finished.

One final thing that not everyone wants you to know. You don’t need to lose your wallet in order to import it into another wallet app/program. This would give your two copies of the same wallet that would essentially mirror each other. If you make a transaction in one program, it would be reflected in any other program with your imported wallet. It wouldn’t “double” your transactions. You still have one wallet, but its transactions would be shown in two different areas.

You could effectively create a working backup of your wallet while still using your main wallet app/program. However, it’s generally not a good idea to import your wallet to various multiple devices, as that increases the chance of theft of any given device. Writing down and hiding your passphrase is a better measure for backing up your wallet. Contrariwise, you could use this trick to use your wallet from either your smart phone or your desktop computer, depending on where you are working.

Links

Banner artwork by @grover_tasman_russel

Holding Rewards→

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