Making Your First Transaction

What you will do in this lesson

By the end of this lesson, you will have:

Installed MetaMask (a browser wallet)
Switched to a test network (no real money needed)
Got free test ETH from a faucet
Sent your first transaction
Viewed it on a block explorer

Use testnet ETH for this exercise. Faucet access and confirmation times vary, and some faucets impose eligibility checks or rate limits.

Step 1: Install MetaMask

MetaMask is the most popular Ethereum wallet. It runs as a browser extension.

Go to metamask.io (make sure it is the real site - check the URL)
Click "Download" and install the browser extension
Click "Create a new wallet"
Set a password (this locks MetaMask on your device)
Write down your seed phrase on paper - MetaMask will show you 12 words
Confirm the seed phrase by selecting the words in order

You now have a wallet. Your public address will look something like 0x71C7656EC7ab88b098defB751B7401B5f6d8976F.

Step 2: Switch to a test network

By default, MetaMask connects to Ethereum mainnet (where real money lives). For practice, switch to a testnet.

To switch to Sepolia testnet in MetaMask:

Click the network dropdown at the top of MetaMask (it says "Ethereum Mainnet")
Toggle "Show test networks" on
Select "Sepolia"

Step 3: Get free test ETH

A faucet is a website that gives away free testnet ETH. Since test ETH has no value, it exists purely for practice.

Go to a Sepolia faucet (search "Sepolia faucet" - several are available)
Paste your wallet address
Click "Send me ETH"
Wait about 30 seconds

You should see test ETH appear in your MetaMask balance. If one faucet is empty, try another - they refill periodically.

Step 4: Send your first transaction

Now send some test ETH to another address:

In MetaMask, click "Send"
Paste a destination address (you can use another wallet you control, or any valid Ethereum address)
Enter an amount (try 0.01 ETH)
Review the gas fee (on testnet, this is free)
Click "Confirm"

The wallet will show the transaction as pending until it is included or otherwise resolved. Inclusion time depends on network conditions and the transaction's fee settings.

Step 5: View it on Etherscan

Every transaction on Ethereum is public. You can view any transaction on a block explorer - a website that reads the blockchain.

After your transaction confirms, click on it in MetaMask
Click "View on block explorer" (or go to sepolia.etherscan.io)
You will see:

Field	What it means
Transaction Hash	A unique ID for this transaction
From	Your wallet address
To	The address you sent to
Value	How much ETH you sent
Gas Fee	How much the transaction cost
Block	Which block included your transaction
Status	Success or Failed

The explorer presents the transaction's public on-chain data. Compare its network and transaction hash with the wallet's record.

What just happened, technically

When you clicked "Confirm" in MetaMask, this happened behind the scenes:

MetaMask used your private key to sign the transaction (proving it came from you)
The signed transaction was broadcast to the Ethereum network
A validator included it in the next block (~12 seconds)
Every node on the network verified it was valid
Your balance decreased, the recipient's balance increased
The transaction was recorded permanently on the blockchain

The network checked the signature and execution rules. The wallet and its RPC provider handled signing and submission, so those parts of the process have their own dependencies.

Key takeaways

Use a testnet to practice without risking real money
A faucet gives you free testnet tokens for experimenting
Every transaction requires gas (paid in ETH) to process
Block explorers (Etherscan) let anyone view any transaction on the blockchain
Always send a small test transaction before sending large amounts