Polkastarter IDO: a Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Prepare your wallet

First and foremost, kindly note that Polkastarter works best with the desktop version of Metamask . Therefore, we highly recommend using Metamask desktop for a flawless experience. Other desktop wallets may work, but might not provide same user experience during sale.

Start off by checking which network the IDO is on (e.g., Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, or other) and make sure that you have enough of the corresponding tokens to cover volatility and network fees. While fees on BSC and Polygon range from a few cents to a couple of dollars, these can be painfully high on Ethereum in particular.

Volatility: Cryptocurrencies change in value fast. We recommend having at least a 10-20% buffer of what you need to participate. For example, let's say the allocation is $200, have $210-230 of ETH, BNB, or MATIC in your wallet.

Network Fees: We recommend having at least $5-10 dollars worth just for network fees on Polygon and BNB chain and up to a 100-150% buffer on Ethereum. You’re unlikely to need them, but to be safe, it's best to keep that much.

All in all, here is what we recommend:

• Ethereum: keep a 120-150% buffer minimum
• BNB Chain/Polygon/other: 20-25% buffer minimum

You can see the wallet on the Projects page. Every project has a little icon showing which network the sale is on. Some projects might have sales on multiple chains, so be sure to check which one you were allowlisted for exactly!

Don’t know how to get funds on BNB Smart Chain or Polygon? There are several bridges you can utilize. Note that after bridging, you still need to exchange whatever asset you bridged. For example, ETH to BNB on BSC.

• Official Binance Bridge 2.0 (for ETH <> BSC)
• Official Polygon Bridge (for ETH <> Polygon)
• Connext Bridge (general all-purpose bridge)

Step 2: Verify your allowlist status

You can easily do that through our new Dashboard on the website. Once you’ve selected that from the menu up top, you’ll be able to see the status of all the allowlist applications you’ve applied to. You can also simply click on the individual project from the “Projects” menu and confirm your allowlist status from there.

As soon as you see that you are allowlisted on the Polkastarter Dashboard or Projects Page, you can be sure that you will be able to participate in the sale once the countdown reaches zero.

Step 3: Prepare for the Token Sale

On the day of the IDO, head over to the official page of the project you were allowlisted for. You can find it on our website, where all IDOs are hosted and you can find all the up-to-date information about upcoming IDOs, too!

You are likely to be greeted by a Captcha test and that’s entirely normal. We advise you to be on the website a good 5-10 minutes prior to the start of an IDO (you can see that in the top right corner on the image below) - to prep your wallet and ensure access. It is very common for some IDOs to last only a few minutes so be there or be square!

Make sure to connect your MetaMask wallet and double-check the network your wallet is set on while waiting. You should be on the appropriate network for the sale you participate in. It might be Ethereum (ETH), BNB Chain (BNB), or Polygon (MATIC).

Step 4: Join the Sale

When the countdown hits 0, the page automatically refreshes. A “Join” button will appear if you are allowlisted, and clicking it leads you to another page where you can make your actual contribution through MetaMask.

Mind you that you always have to accept a disclaimer before you can participate. After accepting, you can enter the amount you would like to contribute. You can also utilize the MAX button.

⚠️ Important reminder ⚠️

Gas fees, particularly on Ethereum, can sometimes be painfully high. You can use a tool such as etherscan.io/gastracker or similar ones to know how much gwei is currently needed to ensure your transaction goes through and is not stuck at “pending”. You can then adjust the gwei settings right within MetaMask to match the info from the tool you’re using.

Once the transaction is confirmed on the blockchain, you have successfully secured your tokens and are now the happy owner of whatever project you choose to support.

Step 5: Enjoy your new tokens!

After a minute or two of the confirmation, the Portfolio page updates to show your successful participation in the sale. You should see something like this:

From here, once the sale is finished and the tokens are distributed, you can claim your tokens, and you are all set! Make sure to also follow the IDO project on their social media to stay up to date with their development and continue supporting them along the way.

Remember, with Polkastarter you get early access to the ideas of tomorrow.

And that’s all - as easy as pie. Now go grab some allowlists yourself!