In view of the AstroSwap DEX launch, we are releasing a guide so that everyone can familiarize themselves with the various options to get started right away!

The ultimate aim for the DEX is to run on Cardano when the KEVM — the next Cardano update becomes available. However, for now, the AstroSwap development team came up with a smart solution without compromising on transaction speed. The solution is to run the DEX on the Velas network, and when the blockchain is available upgrade to Cardano. For this, we built a bridge to enable users to transact from Cardano to the Velas network — a bridge solution such that everyone can take advantage of the DEX from day one.

There are three main coins users will need to have in order to interact with the DEX:

1. ASTRO — the native token of AstroSwap providing the DEX;
2. ADA — the native token powering the Cardano ecosystem;
3. BUSD — the stable coin that unifies Velas to MetaMask.

Below we are providing a guide highlighting the steps to first acquire the tokens, and then transfer them onto the Velas chain — the network on which the DEX is built. Once these tokens are on the Velas chain users will be able to bridge their ADA (and later on more Cardano based coins) all through the ease of MetaMask. A feature only possible with the multi-chain Cardano-Velas bridge proprietor to AstroSwap.

Before we start, please ensure you have MetaMask installed in your browser.

We will assume that you already have the BSC network installed.

To add the Velas chain to your MetaMask wallet, you can follow these simple steps.

Visit https://tokenmagic.app/#/ and click on the ‘Add’ button as shown below. This will prompt you to add the chain details to your MetaMask directly.

Now that you have MetaMask with BSC and Velas chains, we’re ready to dive into the tutorial guide.

How to get $ASTRO on Velas?

Step 1: Buy $ASTRO from either Gate or PancakeSwap. Please note: these tokens should be on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC).

Step 2: Transfer $ASTRO (on BSC) to Velas. There are two options for this.

Option a) Swapz bridge

• Connect Wallet: Visit https://cross.swapz.app/ and click on the connect to wallet button as shown, then select your wallet.

Select Networks: To make the selection, click on the ‘from’ and ‘to’ buttons and choose BSC and Velas. Then from the drop-down menu select ASTRO.

Swap ASTRO: Type in the amount of ASTRO to swap (this amount must be lower or equal to the amount available in your wallet), and hit the ‘Swap’ button. Please note, for this you need to have BNB in your wallet to pay for the small transaction fee.

If required, adjust the amount of ASTRO. When ready, click on the ‘Allow To Swap’ button and confirm it in your wallet. After a few minutes the amount of swapped ASTRO should show in your wallet on the Velas chain.

Option b) VelasPad bridge

• Connect Wallet: Visit https://bridge.velaspad.io/ and click on the connect to wallet button as shown. Please note, the only wallet option is MetaMask.

Select Networks: To make the selection, click on the ‘from’ and ‘to’ buttons and choose BSC and Velas. Then from the drop-down menu select ASTRO.

Swap ASTRO: Type in the amount of ASTRO to swap (this amount must be lower or equal to the amount available in your wallet), or hit the ‘Max’ button. When ready hit the ‘Swap’ button. Please note, for this you need to have BNB in your wallet to pay for the small transaction fee.

A confirmation window will appear confirming the amount of ASTRO to bridge. Click ‘Confirm’, confirm the transaction in your wallet. After a few minutes your swapped ASTRO will appear on the Velas chain, in MetaMask.

How to get $ADA on Velas?

Step 1: Buy $ADA from your preferred centralized exchange such as Binance or Coinbase.

Step 2: Transfer $ADA to Nami wallet — the browser wallet extension for Cardano.

To install the Nami wallet, visit its main page: https://namiwallet.io/ (always ensure that this is the correct page). Select the browser you want to add the Nami wallet extension to, and follow the on-screen instructions to install it.

Please note: do not share the 24-word seed phrase with anybody. Instead, write it down on a piece of paper and keep it in a safe place. Anyone with access to the seed will have access to all your assets stored in the wallet.

Once the Nami wallet is installed you can send the ADA bought in step 1 above to the Nami wallet. To do this, open your Nami wallet, click on the ‘Receive’ button. This will open a new window with the address in two formats, a QR-code and as a typical Cardano blockchain address. You can either copy and paste the address into the address field you’re sending the ADA from or use the QR-code.

Both of these options will lead to the same result. After a few minutes you should be able to see the updated balance in your Nami wallet with the amount sent, minus the transaction fee. Now that ADA is in the Nami wallet, you can bridge it over to Velas.

Step 3: Transfer $ADA from the Nami wallet to Velas on MetaMask via the Cardano-Velas bridge.

Connect Wallet: Start by visiting the official Cardano-Velas bridge page, connect to the Nami wallet. Ensure that the ‘From’ and ‘To’ networks are Cardano and Velas.

Please note: If the Nami wallet pop-up doesn’t appear on the screen do not worry, proceed as normal by typing the amount of ADA you’d like to bridge and press ‘Swap’. This would then initiate the transaction in the Nami wallet.

Type the amount of ADA to transfer from Nami over to Velas on MetaMask. When ready hit the ‘Swap’ button.

This will prompt you to confirm the transaction in the Nami wallet. Once you sign in and type your password, hit the ‘Swap’ button again. Please note that you will need some ADA to pay for the transaction fee.

The finality may take several minutes. Once this is complete, you will have the swapped ADA tokens transferred over to the Velas chain. Please note, every time a swap is made via this bridge 1 FREE Velas token (VLX) is automatically added as long as the overall balance in your MetaMask wallet is under 0.5 VLX.

To view the ADA tokens you first need to switch MetaMask to the Velas chain (for details about how to add the Velas chain to MetaMask see instructions above), and then import the token to the wallet. For details on how to import a token in MetaMask, please see below.

Start by opening the MetaMask wallet, scroll to the bottom and click on the ‘Import tokens’ button.

Next, add the ADA address in the contract field: (ADA: 0x3611Fbfb06ffBcEf9Afb210f6Ace86742e6c14a4), the token symbol should appear automatically, then hit ‘Add Custom Token’.

Now, you should be able to view ADA with the transferred balance in your MetaMask wallet.

Please note: while a guide with screenshots has been provided for Cardano-Velas swaps, the bridge can also be used in the opposite direction as Velas-Cardano in a similar manner. Note, for this swap due to transaction batch sizes the minimum amount is set at 100 ADA.

How to get $BUSD on Velas?

Step 1: Buy $BUSD from your preferred centralized exchange like Binance or a decentralized exchange like PancakeSwap.

Please ensure that the BUSD is in your MetaMask wallet. To view it for the first time, you may need to add it directly via the ‘Import tokens’ similar to the way ADA was added above. The only difference being the token contract address (BUSD: 0xe9e7cea3dedca5984780bafc599bd69add087d56).

Step 2: Transfer $BUSD (on BSC) to Velas. There are two options for this.

Option a) Swapz bridge

Connect Wallet: Visit https://cross.swapz.app/ and click on the connect to wallet button as shown, then select your wallet.

Select Networks: To make the selection, click on the ‘from’ and ‘to’ buttons and choose BSC and Velas. Then from the drop-down menu select BUSD.

Swap BUSD: Type in the amount of BUSD to swap (this amount must be lower or equal to the amount available in your wallet), and hit the ‘Swap’ button. Please note, for this you need to have BNB in your wallet to pay for the small transaction fee.

If required, adjust the amount of BUSD to swap. When ready, click on the ‘Allow To Swap’ button and confirm it in your wallet. After a few minutes the amount of swapped BUSD should show in your wallet and on the Velas chain.

Option b) Velas-BSC bridge

Connect Wallet: To do this, visit https://velas-busd-bsc.multichain.to/. This will automatically open up your MetaMask asking for permission to connect. Approve and connect.

Select Network: Once connected to your wallet, from the drop-down menu (with only two options BSC and Velas) in the right-hand corner select Binance Smart Chain (BSC) as we want to transfer BUSD from BSC to Velas.

Then type the amount of BUSD that you want to transfer, and hit the ‘Transfer’ button. A window will then appear asking you to confirm the amounts.

Swap BUSD: When ready press ‘Continue’. This will open the transaction in your wallet which you need to confirm.

After a few block confirmations (typically takes 1–2 minutes), you will get a new window informing you that the transaction was successful. The transferred BUSD amount should appear on the Velas chain shown in your MetaMask wallet.

That’s it. After following the steps outlined above you’ll be on track to make the most of the DEX with its exciting features such as astronomical APYs for ASTRO staking, as well as farm pairs. Enjoy!

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