Use Ledger to be safe on MetaMask and Horizen EON
Introduction to the Tutorial for Securing Your EVM Address on MetaMask
When you own cryptocurrencies, they are entirely yours. This means that if you lose your funds, they are generally lost for good. Therefore, it’s crucial to protect yourself as much as possible.
For this tutorial, we’ll assume you already have a Ledger device and a MetaMask wallet.
Please note that it is one of your Ethereum addresses that will be connected to MetaMask, not an existing MetaMask address that will be protected by the Ledger. You will need to transfer the funds you want to secure to the address you connect to the Ledger.
Ensure that Ledger Live is up to date, and an Ethereum address has been created on your Ledger.
This method works for all EVMs, so the same tutorial applies if you want to secure your OP, ARB, POL, ZEN, BNB, etc.
Connecting a Ledger Ethereum Address to MetaMask
First, you will need to connect your Ledger Ethereum address to MetaMask.
To do this, plug your Ledger into your PC, open Ledger Live, and log in.
Connect your Ledger to your Ethereum address. You should see the message “Application is ready.”. Connect also MetaMask on the Ethereum mainnet network
Click on “Account”. Then click on “Add account or hardware wallet”. And click on “Add hardware Wallet”
Click on “Ledger” then on “Continue”
A message will appear in your browser. Please note that during my tests, this did not work on Firefox, so I had to use Chrome. Select your Ledger and click on “Connect.”
You can select multiple addresses; they will all have the “Ledger” tag.
You can see on MetaMask that your Ledger is here.
Connecting an EVM Address: Example with Horizen EON
With Horizen EON, you’ll first need to connect the network manually.
To do this, click on “Add Network” and then select “Add Manually.”
Enter this information, available on Horizen docs
Here are the data ready to be copy-pasted
Network name: Horizen EON
New RPC URL: https://eon-rpc.horizenlabs.io/ethv1
Chain ID: 7332
Currency symbol: ZEN
Block Explorer: https://eon-explorer.horizenlabs.io/
Click on “Approve” and then on “Switch”
Your Horizen EON is there, you don’t need extra steps
How does it work then?
To send ZEN, click on “Send”
Then, enter the address you want to send ZEN to, and click on “Continue”
MetaMask will guide you through the process: you’ll need to monitor your Ledger to validate the information and confirm the transaction. Ensure that your Ledger is properly connected to your Ethereum address (not Horizen), click on “Confirm,” and also confirm on your Ledger.
And there you go, your transaction is confirmed!
This will be the same process for any transaction made through this address.
Security Reminder
If you frequently use DeFi services, your Ledger will often be connected to your computer, which always presents a risk when your Ledger is connected.
This is when your address and your funds are most vulnerable.
It is highly recommended not to use the same Ledger for DeFi as the one you use for long-term holding or medium-term trading.
The best practice is to have multiple hardware wallets, for example:
- One or several hardware wallets for DeFi: Depending on the frequency and the number of different services you use—this is up to your judgment.
- One or several hardware wallets for long-term holding: Depending on the amount you wish to store, the holding period, and your personal assessment.
- One or several hardware wallets for short- to medium-term trading: Since it is strongly advised not to keep your funds on exchange platforms.
With all these precautions, you won’t be 100% protected—you never will be (even in a centralized world, not even your bank can protect your funds completely)—but it will still give you much better protection than a typical user who leaves large sums on their browser wallet and jumps on every airdrop announcement they see.
Wishing you the best in your DeFi journey, and above all, stay protected.