Interacting with Moonbeam Using Ledger Hardware Wallet

Introduction

Hardware wallets provide a safer way to store crypto funds because the private key (used for signing transactions) is stored offline. Ledger offers two hardware wallet solutions at the time of writing: Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X.

With the release of the Moonriver app on Ledger Live, you can now use your Ledger device to sign transactions on Moonriver without having to deal with chain configurations. If you want to use your Ledger device with one of the other Moonbeam-based networks, you can use the Ethereum app on Ledger Live by setting the chain ID.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to get started with your Ledger hardware wallet on Moonbeam. This guide only illustrates the steps for a Ledger Nano X device, but you can follow along with a Ledger Nano S as well.

Checking Prerequisites

Before you get started, update Ledger Live to the latest version available. Also, make sure you've your Ledger hardware wallet device running the latest firmware. The Ledger support website offers tutorials on how to update the firmware of both Ledger Nano S and Ledger Nano X devices.

At the time of writing, the following versions were used:

• Ledger Live 2.35.1
• Ledger Nano S firmware v2.0.0
• Ledger Nano X firmware v2.0.1

In addition, you'll need MetaMask as an intermediary between your Ledger device and Moonbeam. Make sure that your MetaMask is connected to Moonbeam.

As of MetaMask version 10.5.0, connecting your Ledger device with MetaMask on Chrome is easy again. You just need to have the latest version of MetaMask installed.

Install the Ledger Live App

If you want to connect to Moonriver, you can use the Moonriver app from the Ledger Live app catalog but first you will need to install the Ethereum app. This is because the Moonriver app is dependent on the Ethereum app. Once the Ethereum app is installed you will be able to install the Moonriver app without a problem. Otherwise, for other Moonbeam-based networks, you only need to install the Ethereum app and later on you will need to specify a chain ID. To get started, open up Ledger Live and:

1. Select Manager from the menu
2. Connect and unlock your device (this must be done before installation)
3. In the App catalog search for Ethereum (ETH) and click Install. Your Ledger device will show Processing and once the installation is complete, the app will appear on your Ledger device
4. Search for Moonriver (MOVR) in the App catalog and click Install. Again, your Ledger device will show Processing and once complete, the Moonriver app will appear on your Ledger device

In the Ledger Live app, you should now see the Ethereum and Moonriver apps under the Apps installed tab on the Manager page. After the apps have been successfully installed, you can close out of Ledger Live.

Import your Ledger Account to MetaMask

Once the Moonriver and Ethereum apps have been installed from Ledger Live, connect your Ledger device to the computer, unlock it, open the Moonriver application. If you're adpating these instructions for another Moonbeam-based network aside from Moonriver, you can go ahead and open the Ethereum app instead. Then import your Ledger account to MetaMask using the following steps:

1. Click on the top-right logo to expand the menu
2. Select Connect Hardware Wallet

In the next screen, you are prompted to select which hardware wallet you'll like to use in MetaMask. At the moment of writing, only Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets are supported. Here, take the following steps:

1. Select the Ledger logo
2. Click on Continue

If you're using Chrome or a Chrome-based browser like Brave, you'll be prompted to select your Ledger device to connect via WebHID:

1. Select your Ledger device from the pop-up
2. Click Connect

If a pop-up doesn't appear, you may need to change your MetaMask settings to enable a WebHID connection. You can check and update your MetaMask settings by following these steps:

1. Expand the top-right menu and go to Settings
2. Navigate to Advanced
3. Scroll down to Preferred Ledger Connection Type and select WebHID from the dropdown

Note

The Preferred Ledger Connection Type setting is only available on Chrome and Chrome-based browsers. This setting doesn't exist on other browsers such as Firefox.

If MetaMask was able to connect successfully to your Ledger device, you should see a list of five Moonbeam/Ethereum-styled accounts. If not, double-check that Ledger Live is closed, you've connected your Ledger device to the computer, unlocked it, and that the Moonriver app is opened. If you're adapting these instructions for another Moonbeam-based network aside from Moonriver, make sure the Ethereum app is opened on your Ledger device.

Import Accounts and View Balances

From this list of five Moonbeam accounts, take the following steps:

1. Select the accounts you would like to import from your Ledger device
2. Click on Unlock

If you've imported your Ledger account successfully, you should see your account and balance displayed in the main MetaMask screen like shown in the following image:

You can switch accounts in MetaMask at any time to view the balance of your other imported Ledger accounts.

You've now successfully imported a Moonbeam compatible account from your Ledger device and are now ready to start interacting with your Ledger device.

Receive Tokens

To get started interacting with your Ledger device, you will need to send some funds to it. Copy your address from MetaMask by clicking on your account name and address in MetaMask.

Next, you will need to obtain some MOVR or DEV tokens and using the address you just copied, send the tokens to your account. After the transaction has successfully gone through, you will see your balance update.

If you need DEV tokens for the Moonbase Alpha TestNet, you can head to the faucet to Get Tokens.

Send Tokens

Next up is sending and signing transactions on Moonbeam using your Ledger device. To get started sending a transaction, click on the Send button:

As you would in a standard transaction, set the recipient address, enter the number of tokens to send, review transaction details and confirm it. This will initiate the transaction signature wizard in your Ledger device. Here, take the following steps:

1. Click the button to proceed to the next screen. Your Ledger device is only warning you to review the transaction
2. Check the number of tokens being sent then proceed to the next screen
3. Check the recipient's address and proceed to the next screen
4. This step only applies if you're using the Ethereum app. Check the chain ID of the network. This information confirms which network MetaMask is connected to. For example, for Moonbase Alpha, the chain ID is 1287 (hex: 0x507), Moonriver 1285 (hex: 0x505), and Moonbeam 1284 (not yet live). When ready, proceed to the next screen
5. Check the max fees applicable to this transaction. This is the gas price multiplied by the gas limit you've set on MetaMask. When ready, proceed to the next screen
6. If you agree with all the transaction details, approve it. This will sign the transaction and will trigger MetaMask to send it. If not, proceed to the next screen
7. If you don't agree with all the transaction details, reject it. This will cancel the transaction, and MetaMask will mark it as failed

Right after you've approved the transaction, MetaMask sends it to the network. Once the transaction is confirmed, it will be displayed as Send on the Activity tab in MetaMask.

And that is it! You've signed a transaction and sent some tokens on Moonbeam using your Ledger hardware wallet!

Interact with Contracts Using your Ledger

By default, Ledger devices don't admit a data field in the transaction object. Consequently, users can't deploy or interact with smart contracts.

However, if you want to use your Ledger hardware wallet for transactions related to smart contracts, you need to change a configuration parameter inside the app on your device. To do so, take the following steps:

1. On your Ledger, open the Moonriver or Ethereum app
2. Navigate to Settings
3. Find the Blind signing page. It should state NOT Enabled at the bottom
4. Select/validate the option to change its value to Enabled

Note

This option is necessary to use your Ledger device to interact with ERC-20 token contracts that might live inside the Moonbeam ecosystem.