How to add custom
token to Metamask & PancakeSwap?

Within this article, we will learn how to add a custom token to the Metamask or PancakeSwap and also show how you can add Binance Smart Chain as custom network to MetaMask. We will use as examples MetaMask, it’s my favorite DeFi wallet, and PancakeSwap because in my opinion, it’s the most trustworthy DEX from Binance Smart Chain.

MetaMask in short, so what is it?

MetaMask was made in 2016 for the need of secure and usable Ethereum-based websites. But since then the crypto world has changed a lot so nowadays there are multiple networks that you can add such as Binance Smart Chain, which we will get back later on. MetaMask can be used purely as a wallet but most of its users use it for account management, decentralized exchanges, and dapps.

For years it was only supported as a browser extension but since 2020 it can be also downloaded to iOS and Android devices.

Installing MetaMask to your browser

If you don’t have MetaMask yet installed and want to try to add custom tokens with it, download from metamask.io.  I prefer the browser extension version but if you prefer mobile much you can go with the app version. If you are already using MetaMask or want to use a different wallet, feel free to skip this section.

You should ALWAYS download MetaMask through their official site to be sure that you are indeed downloading the official version, as there have been countless fakes around that will try to scam your funds.

After you have installed the extension accept the terms and services and make a new wallet.

Create password for login

You need to create a password for yourself what you will remember, if you forgot your password or you are changing your device, you will get a seed phrase that will let you reset your password or you can use it to import new devices.

Can’t emphasize this too much but NEVER give your seed phrase in any circumstances. This is the key to your funds so don’t lose it. Any legit site or support person will never ask your seed, so keep in mind if someone asks for this it is 100% SCAM!

Save your seed phrase somewhere safe

After you have input the password it’s time to get your seed phrase. In picture below you can see warnings and tips for your seed phrase.

If you want to go straight to the wallet and click “Remind me later” you can download your seed phrase from settings.

You can download Secret Backup Phrase from blue text to hard drive or just click next where you can test your phrase. Keep in mind it needs to be in correct order so copy paste your phrase from this window or download it to your computer.

After you have input the words in right order you are ready to use MetaMask!

Binance Smart Chain overview

After Ethereum network have been overloaded for ages, and I tested BSC it was love in first sight because of the fast transfers and fractions of costs compared to ETH. So what is then Binance Smart Chain?

Binance describes it as a blockchain that runs in parallel to the Binance Chain. It boasts smart contract functionality and compatibility with Ethereum Virtual Machine. This means you can use ERC-20 based tokens within their ecosystem but they need to be bridged as BEP-20 tokens.

WARNING: do not send ERC-20 tokens straight BSC address or your funds might be lost forever.

How to connect MetaMask to Binance Smart Chain (BSC)

Adding custom network to MetaMask is super simple..

Once you have logged in just click Ethereum Mainnet dropdown from the top of the app. Then click Custom RPC field from the bottom.

Add mainnet info correspondingly to MetaMask

1. Network Name: Smart Chain
2. New RPC URL: https://bsc-dataseed.binance.org/
3. ChainID: 56
4. Symbol: BNB
5. Block Explorer URL: https://bscscan.com

Set and done! Smart Chain network should be chosed automatically but if it is not just click the dropown from top and select Smart Chain.

How to add custom token to MetaMask?

Adding custom tokens to metamask is fairly simple process. You just need to press button “add token” from the bottom and then choose either:

1. search token
2. Custom token

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There are plenty of tokens that you can just add to your MetaMask using the search function. However, there are also loads of coins that you need to manually import using smart contract addresses.

In this example, we use bscscan as we will add a custom token to PancakeSwap also. If you want to add ERC-20 token the process is totally the same but instead you need to use etherscan.io.

Search for the token you want to add

First, just type the token name you want to add to the blockchain explorer search bar.

We will use Yieldwatch as an example as I want to try their DeFi dashboard platform later.

All you need to do is just pick 3 things from overview and profile summary:

1. Token contract address
2. Token symbol
3. Decimals of presicion

Then just add them to MetaMask and voilà.

In some cases (like with this example) we don’t actually need even fill anything else than the smart contract address!

How to add tokens to PancakeSwap

Adding tokens to PancakeSwap is quite easy as well, this is not rocket science but you need to be careful and check that you are importing the right address as anyone can create bep-20 token..

All you have to do is go back to bscscan.com to get the contract address you want to add.

Click info and then token

from side menu find info dropdown and from there click tokens.

Search for the contract address

Just like with MetaMask, you have to copy-paste the smart contract address to the search bar.

Now your token should be visible from the search, just click it and you will see information like volume, pairs, liquidity, etc. about the token you want to import.

Click trade from the right side and you will be redirected to pancakeswap.finance again where you will see the following message:

Now you only have to click I understand and continue, after that, you have imported token for PancakeSwap and can start trading or providing liquidity. But as the message above say you need to be sure you have imported the right token. If you don’t understand just take your time as you don’t want to be careless because it might be costly..