Lost a lot of time today doing things I hate...
Since I started that process of "discovering Solana without investing in it" yesterday, I thought I might as well continue it by sending the necessary SOL over there so I can perform at least one transaction.
So far I have failed...
But you're not getting away that easy, lol. It was an entire journey, and I can't keep it all for myself. 🤣
In my short research from yesterday, I found out the most popular options to move SOL from elsewhere to Solana. They are:
- using a bridge: seems like Portal Bridge is the only option everyone recommends (formerly known as Wormhole), at least I didn't find a different option without losing too much time searching for it; there is Allbridge (which I used yesterday), but that moves stablecoins. not SOL;
- using a CEX like Coinbase (and probably Binance)
Ok, I said to myself, I'll leave the CEX as the last resort. Let's go with the Portal Bridge.
So, I wrapped a little bit of LEO to Polygon, since I didn't have any liquidity there, which went smoothly. Then, using QuickSwap, I swapped LEO to MATIC and then, MATIC to SOL (which is, in fact, wrapped SOL on Polygon).
And now, let's move it to Solana using the bridge, right?
However, here's what wallets are supported for Polygon (or any EVM chain) on Portal Bridge right now:
Yep, only WalletConnect. Maybe that's enough, but I don't know how to connect WalletConnect to Metamask... yet, if that's possible.
Ok, dead end for now.
Let's try the Coinbase route. I didn't get very far there either, because Coinbase, like Binance, wants me to do another KYC to be able to use their services going forward.
Well, I guess I'm just making things harder on myself, because they already know who I am, both of them. So, as much as I hate the KYC process, I started it on Coinbase. The first utility bill I uploaded wasn't good for whatever reason because they don't say why. Looks like the AI can't figure out all the details on it, in my opinion, even if it's a pdf. Then, I thought I should upload a bank statement instead. But I saw I don't have an address on them. Maybe because I haven't updated these details in a long time, I thought. Knowing I might need a bank statement with proof of address in the future, I started the process of KYC-ing for the bank. Second time in one day? What's wrong with me? Anyway, after patiently listening to the indications of the AI taking my selfie, and apparently resisting to comply too well with instructions (lol), in the end, I was told that the process failed and that I should go to the bank to finish it. No explanation, of course! Stupid AI, can't you see it's me? 🤣 It's not a big issue, I'll probably go near the bank daily next week.
In the end, I uploaded the electricity bill on Coinbase, and that, the AI approved of. But now a person needs to see if the addresses match before going forward.
So, another day, no progress on Solana. Not that I'm anxious or anything.
I just thought that the same process, or likely harder, may be for someone trying to get HIVE into or out of Hive without knowing the right routes. Where Hive is much better is that it has no transaction fees, so you can literally start with zero HIVE/HP and use Hive. Look at me how I am sitting doing nothing on Solana until I have some SOL.
I wonder why these chains with fees don't award one free transaction per wallet (first transaction). Make it two, in case the first one fails or if the users don't know what they are doing. Would it be so costly for them? If it's one free transaction, then the free transaction would be to swap stablecoins for the respective gas fee token, in our case SOL. It's often the case when bridges allow for stablecoins to be transferred, but not volatile coins/tokens.
The crypto space is still way too disconnected apart from ecosystems with a common origin... I think it's on purpose, to avoid massive movements of liquidity and users between unrelated ecosystems.
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It's a good way to pick what interests you.
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Even though it feels like there hasn't been any 'real' progress made, I assure you that figuring out the ways that work and the ways that don't work and sharing it with others is crucial to the process. This post can be a useful guide for others. Thank you for sharing your journey and for keeping the community updated on your progress!
Thanks. Yes, there is some progress, but also some mistakes that could have been avoided if I had researched deeper before acting. Luckily, I'm doing them with very low amounts. That's why I prefer to test things out before investing.
But I think it needs more progress and upgrading
The easy way would be Hive -> Binance -> swap-> Solana. If you use CEX. Coinbase has higher fees.
Well, that's another KYC process I'd need to go through. For a few dollars, I think I'm taking my chances with Coinbase and its fees. But I guess I'll have to go through KYC on Binance too, it's too much of a pain in the ass without it, as it turns out. The "decentralized" crypto is still highly dependent on CEXes even to go from one side to another, not only for on- and off ramps. Disappointing!
Oh, I was thinking you already have Binance.
I do. But I let it "expire". I didn't want to do the KYC (a second time), so I couldn't do any operations on it anymore. I thought I'd go on like this while I can... Looks like it became too much of a hassle not to have it operational. CEX power, hurray!
Sometimes there can be ups and down but we just need to keep going no matter what. And at the end it will end in testimony
Yeah, that seems like a lot of work. I have already set up my Binance, so I will always take that route. I guess that is one of the advantages of CEX. They make these types of transactions easier.
Yeah, I have it "dormant" because I didn't want to go through KYC a second time. But I guess I need to swallow the frog and get that Binance account in working order as well.
The fact that you are writing and sharing this, and it seems filled with difficulties and convolutions sadly speaks mountains as to why crypto remains a long way from being part of everyone's financial landscape.
It's sad to think about, but there it is.
=^..^=
What's even more sad is that it seems it's the way things are desired/led to be, with a few exceptions. Why are we talking about Web 2 silos? There are plenty in Web 3. Walls that are being built instead of being demolished, and routes that always go through centralized actors and often KYC.
It sounds quite annoying. Maybe you can try to find someone who has some funds on Solana and do a swap elsewhere? I guess you can decide it's worth the trouble afterwards but then again, it would take effort that way too.
Yes, that's an option, and I thought about it. But I'll likely manage on my own, via Coinbase, where my KYC went through. I'll just swap the few dollar-worth of tokens I have there to SOL and send them their way. Many in my place would have given up way sooner, lol. And I don't even like Solana, for whatever reason.
Impatient people would've given up after the first failed attempt. It's a bit funny that AI is deployed without been fully optimised to get things right. CEXs provide an easier route between crypto ecosystems but the catch is one will first have to be ID'ed on their database.
I know. Sometimes I think this works against me. I lost a lot of time doing this. It's true, I learned a few things in the process, but I could've been more productive in different ways.
I'm not the most compliant subject either. They should test them on someone like me, but not me, lol.
Yes, I know. I hate going through these KYC processes. I even left my Binance account "dormant" because I didn't want to go through it again. But looks like I should do it again, the hassle of trying other routes is too much, when they even exist.
Right, I think the best part is learning a few things in the process, as this could be applied when exploring other crypto ecosystems.
CEXs bring convenience, and in certain situations, it's the best possible route available. At the start of my crypto journey, I was against using CEXs personally but later on I realized that this was a bit impractical, at least for now lol.
Koinos did the best job making it easy to onboard new users without requiring them to pay any fees. The DAPPs can opt to pay for the Mana cost (similar to RC on HIVE) of the users. The problems is that I have not found any killer DAPPs that I want to invest heavily into (yet).
I strongly believe there might be a little bit of progress that has been made. You might not see it but that is just the truth
Since Solana is an evm why not just ad metamask to the approved wallets list. It seems like they want to make things truly difficult. another reason why I will not use that chain.
From my understanding, Solana has somehow integrated EVM (haven't researched to see how), but they are not at the core an EVM chain. Their main programming language is Rust, while for EVM is Solidity, which makes them incompatible in many ways.
They are still backed by a corporation. Even if they do not use ethereum in some way they are tethered to centralization.