[Guide] How to deposit cross-chain Polkadot (xcDOT) to Beamswap Yield Farm
Recently, we’ve added the xcDOT Yield Farm to Beamswap, which lets you earn handsome APR rewards for staking your cross-chain DOT. In this guide, you will learn how to deposit xcDOT to Moonbeam and add it to MetaMask, and from there, how to use it in the Beamswap Yield Farm.
What are cross-chain assets and what is xcDOT?
To enable transfers of crypto assets between the parachain and the Polkadot relay chain or other parachains, Moonbeam has introduced a new type of cross-chain assets, the xc-20s.
ERC-20-compatible in nature, the xc-20s allow users to interact with them the same way as with any other ERC-20 or fungible token, and are available on EVM-compatible networks.
What does this mean in practice?
Tokens of non-EVM-compatible networks, such as Polkadot’s DOTs, are not supported by MetaMask (or other similar wallets) and to handle them, you would need to resort to other means and wallets. However, Polkadot’s xc-20 version, xcDOT, can indeed interact with and be represented by MetaMask. This gives you an array of opportunities to use crypto assets of other, non-EVM chains in various ways, including for DeFi purposes, like funding liquidity pools.
To learn more about xc-20 assets, read this article or check out Moonbeam documentation.
In this tutorial, we will work with xcDOT, the ERC-20-compatible cross-chain DOT token, as it is the latest cross-chain asset added to the Beamswap Yield Farm.
Let’s dive right in.
What will you need to transfer Polkadot (xcDOT) to Beamswap?
Before you start, make sure you have the following things set up and readily available:
- A Polkadot wallet with some DOT balance.
One of the recommended wallets is the Polkadot Browser Extension. - Your MetaMask wallet.
- Polkadot.js wallet extension.
You can find and download it here: https://polkadot.js.org/extension/.
Step 1: Moonbeam Dashboard
First, go to Moonbeam Dashboard. Click here or copy/paste the following URL in your browser: apps.moonbeam.network/moonbeam.
On the Dashboard, you can connect your wallet either via MetaMask or WalletConnect. For this guide, we will go with MetaMask.
In the MetaMask extension pop-up, confirm sign-in, select the account you want to connect to, and accept permissions.
Next, make sure your MetaMask address is connected to the Moonbeam network in the extension pop-up. If you haven’t set up the Moonbeam network on your MetaMask yet or if you have trouble connecting to it, check out this guide.
Once connected, the Moonbeam Dashboard will show details about your account balance and other information. Your main focus would be the Cross Chain Assets section that, true to its name, lists cross-chain assets (xc-20s) on Moonbeam, including Polkadot’s xcDOT.
At your first use, the balance of your cross-chain assets is empty. To change that and to add xcDOT to your account, follow the steps below.
Step 2: Deposit xcDOT to Moonbeam account
In the Cross Chain Assets list shown above, navigate to the Polkadot DOT section, and on the right to its balance, click deposit.
At this point, the Moonbeam Dashboard should be connected to your Polkadot.js wallet extension in your browser. If you haven’t set up your Polkadot.js yet, you can download it here: https://polkadot.js.org/extension/.
In the pop-up window, click the Polkadot.js icon to proceed.
In the Polkadot.js pop-up window, authorize access of the Moonbeam Dashboard to the extension. Always double-check the URL and refrain from confirming the connection if it looks suspicious.
If this is your first interaction with the Polkadot.js extension, your balance is most likely 0. So first, you should add some DOT (xcDOT) tokens to your Polkadot account.
❗️ Note: The Polkadot.js extension is just a way for your browser to interact with your account, and it’s not a Polkadot wallet on its own. To establish a Polkadot wallet and account to hold DOT funds, check out 👉 this article.
If you do already have DOT (xcDOT) funds in your Polkadot account and if they are recognized by the Polkadot.js extension, you can go and deposit them directly to Moonbeam.
❗️ Note: Transaction fees will be charged on the destination chain, in this case, Moonbeam, and deducted in xcDOT from the total amount transferred.
In the pop-up window, set the origin chain to Polkadot, and choose your address from the drop-down menu. Enter the amount you’d like to deposit or go with MAX for your full xcDOT balance, and click Send.
Next, your Polkadot.js extension will pop up. Authorize the transaction by entering the password you’ve set for this account and click Sign the transaction.
Your xcDOT will be transferred, and transaction fees will be deducted from the final amount.
Step 3: Add xcDOT to MetaMask
You should now see your new xcDOT balance on the Moonbeam Dashboard. To add assets to your MetaMask, simply click add to MetaMask in the Polkadot DOT section.
In the MetaMask pop-up window, confirm the above by clicking the Add token button.
Now, you should see your xcDOT balance in your MetaMask, under the Moonbeam network.
That’s it! Your DOT tokens, in this case, the cross-chain xcDOTs have been sent to Moonbeam and are yours to use with MetaMask, the same way as any other ERC-20 token.
Lastly, let those xcDOTs work for you. 🚜
Step 4: Farm xcDOT yields on Beamswap
To farm yields on the Beamswap DeFi hub, go to https://app.beamswap.io/farm and make sure you’re connected to the site with your MetaMask account (check the button in the upper right corner).
On the list of farm assets, find the xcDOT — GLMR token pair.
❗️ Note: In order to farm rewards in the Beamswap farms, you should also have some GLMR tokens in your wallet.
Next, click the Stake button to determine the amount of your assets staked. Once you’re done with staking, simply Unstake and Harvest your rewards.
At the time of writing, the xcDOT — GLMR Farm on Beamswap brings up to 141% APR rewards, and 4.46% LP APR.
Now that you’ve learned how to deposit xcDOT on Beamswap, make the most of it. 🚜
Happy staking on the Beamswap xcDOT — GLMR farm!
About Beamswap
Beamswap is a DeFi Hub built on the Moonbeam Network featuring a decentralized exchange (DEX) and an automated market maker (AMM). It gives users the freedom of adding liquidity, performing peer-to-peer transactions, swapping fungible tokens, and earning passive income from staking and yield farming. Beamswap will support the growth of Moonbeam’s ecosystem and act as a launchpad for new projects developing on the network. Our team’s mission is to aid in the multichain vision to serve as a host for projects on the Moonbeam & Polkadot Ecosystem while working alongside projects with existing infrastructure looking to bridge into the multichain universe.
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