How to add a network to your crypto wallet: MetaMask, Trust Wallet and Phantom

Adding a network moves nothing

A wallet’s balance on a network is not stored in the wallet; it is recorded on that network. Adding the network only lets the wallet look there. That is why the first question in BNB Chain’s troubleshooting for a missing token is whether the wallet is on the network the token was sent on: a token sent on BNB Smart Chain does not show up under Ethereum Mainnet (BNB Chain). If funds seem to be missing, the network is the first thing to check — and adding a network you do not need changes nothing at all.

Three wallets, three rules

MetaMask supports a list of networks itself. Some are switched on already; others sit under “Additional networks” in the network selector and are added with one click. MetaMask asks you to check whether a network is already supported before adding one by hand, and when you do add one manually, to make sure the details are accurate (MetaMask Help Center). Networks that are not Ethereum-style work differently: MetaMask generates a separate address for them inside the same account, as it now does for TRON and Solana (MetaMask, MetaMask Help Center).

Trust Wallet lets you add a custom network by entering its name, symbol, RPC URL and chain ID, with a block explorer as an option. Its guide is explicit about where those come from: use RPC addresses from reputable sources or the project’s official website, and add only a trusted RPC node (Trust Wallet).

Phantom does not allow it. It supports a fixed set of networks — Solana, Ethereum, Base, Polygon, Robinhood Chain, Bitcoin and HyperEVM at the time of checking — and states that you cannot add new or custom networks manually (Phantom Help). It names BSC, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche and Linea among the networks it does not support (Phantom Help). Lists like these change, so check the wallet’s own page before relying on one.

Where network details should come from

When a wallet does ask for details, the ones that matter are the chain ID and the RPC address. Take them from the network’s own documentation — for Arbitrum, its public chains page — rather than from a forum post or a site you found through an ad. The RPC node is the detail that deserves the care both MetaMask and Trust Wallet ask for: the wallet talks to the network through it.

Both wallets also mention Chainlist, a public directory of network details. MetaMask notes that it does not maintain the information listed there and that the details are yours to check (MetaMask Help Center), and Trust Wallet points to it alongside official project websites — so treat it as a starting point to compare against the network’s own documentation, not as the source itself.

A network is not a token

Adding a network and adding a token are separate steps. A token such as USDT appears once the wallet detects it or you add its contract address. Trust Wallet has you select the network that matches the token’s blockchain first, then enter the contract address, name, symbol and decimals, and it asks you to verify contract addresses and token details from reliable sources (Trust Wallet). That check is the one that protects you, and the name is not part of it: whoever deploys a contract chooses its name, so a fake can call itself Tether USD. Compare the address with the one the issuer publishes. Tether publishes its USD₮ contracts for Ethereum, TRON and Solana (Tether); for BNB Smart Chain and Polygon that page, as we read it, lists no USD₮ address, so there is no issuer reference to check against. How to tell a fake USDT is in fake USDT.

When the wallet does not support the network

If a wallet cannot show a network, sending funds to it on that network leaves them where the wallet cannot see them. Phantom’s guidance for that case is that tokens sent on an unsupported network can be recovered using an EVM-compatible wallet (Phantom Help). Better still is to match the network before sending: if the funds are on a network your wallet does not support, moving them to one it does is a job for a bridge or an exchange.