Ethereum Sidechains Beginner’s Guide

by wojtek15

Many complain about high cost of Ethereum transaction, especially swap cost. I believe best solution currently are sidechains. It is very easy to use them, so you should definitely give it a go.

All you need to do:

• Configure sidechain in MetaMask (Custom RPC feature)
• Use bridge to move tokens to sidechain (remember you will need main sidechain token which is used as gas)
• Trade on swap exchange on sidechain (remember you must switch to correct network in MetaMask)
• Use swap exchange stats page to check which tokens are available and their liquidity

I will give you everything you need to get started. If you have any questions, please ask.

Matic/Polygon

Matic is currently my favourite, it has decent liquidity for few tokens, and liquidity seems to be growing rapidly. Token you need for gas is MATIC.

• Custom RPC config:

Network Name: Matic Mainnet

New RPC URL: https://rpc-mainnet.matic.network

Chain ID: 137

Symbol: MATIC

Block Explorer URL: https://explorer.matic.network/

• Bridge: https://wallet.matic.network/bridge/
• Swap exchange: https://quickswap.exchange/#/swap
• Swap exchange stats: https://info.quickswap.exchange/home

Binance Smart Chain

This one has best liquidity and many tokens but as name suggest it may be more centralised than other alternatives. Token you need for gas is BNB.

• Custom RPC config:

Network Name: Smart Chain

New RPC URL: https://bsc-dataseed.binance.org/

Chain ID: 56

Symbol: BNB

Block Explorer URL: https://bscscan.com

• Bridge: https://www.binance.org/en/bridge
• Swap exchange: https://exchange.pancakeswap.finance/#/swap
• Swap exchange stats: https://pancakeswap.info/home

xDai

Liquidity is lower than others, but I like how main token is stable coin. Other reason why you may like it is because it is home of r/CryptoCurrency MOONs. Token you need for gas is DAI.

• Custom RPC config:

Network Name: xDai

New RPC URL: https://rpc.xdaichain.com/

Chain ID: 100

Symbol: xDai

Block Explorer URL: https://blockscout.com/poa/xdai

• Bridge:

https://bridge.xdaichain.com/ (for DAI)

https://xdai-omnibridge.web.app/ (for other tokens)

• Swap exchange: https://app.honeyswap.org/#/swap
• Swap exchange stats: https://info.honeyswap.org/home

Loopring

Not really side chain, but worth mentioning as good alternative to all above. Bridging and L2 management directly on swap website or dedicated wallet, no special MetaMask config required.

• Swap exchange: https://exchange.loopring.io/swap
• Swap exchange stats: https://exchange.loopring.io/info/pairs