How to Pre-register for the Moonbeam Crowdloan

Introduction

DOT holders have two ways to participate in the Moonbeam crowdloan. They’ll be able to contribute to the crowdloan via the Moonbeam Foundation application (which will be available once the crowdloan starts) or through participating exchanges. Users who plan to participate in the crowdloan via the Moonbeam Foundation web-based application have the option to pre-register, which allows them to agree to the Terms and Conditions with their DOT address before the crowdloan starts.

For users who wish to pre-register, they can do so via a web-based application hosted by the Moonbeam Foundation, where they need to review the Moonbeam Crowdloan Terms and Conditions. Pre-registration can save time when the crowdloan officially opens, although it is not mandatory to do in advance. However, prior to participating in the crowdloan, users must agree to the Moonbeam Crowdloan Terms and Conditions.

When you pre-register for the crowdloan, you’ll submit a transaction to the relay chain that will store a hash (a unique identifier) on-chain. The hash represents the agreed Terms and Conditions, account’s address, and some other data. This is stored on-chain so that it is immutable, but easily accessible, benefiting from blockchain technology. Please note that signing this transaction will be subject to transaction fees of around 0.0411 DOT. This process needs to be completed for each account that will participate in the upcoming Moonbeam crowdloan.

Once the auctions start and the Moonbeam crowdloan officially opens, the Moonbeam Foundation will enable the second part of the process in which only users who have pre-registered can participate.

This tutorial will guide you through how you can pre-register for the Moonbeam crowdloan using the Moonbeam Foundation application. Once completed, you will be given the option to continue to the Moonbeam Foundation crowdloan application.

The steps described in this guide are not necessary if you are participating in the Moonbeam crowdloan via an exchange, as you will use their interface.

How to Agree to the Terms and Conditions

First, make sure you have an account imported into the Polkadot.js extension. This account must have enough funds to pay for the transaction fees (around 0.0411 DOT).

Next, visit the crowdloan site via this link: https://crowdloan.moonbeam.foundation/ – Please verify that you are at the correct link.

The link will take you to the Moonbeam crowdloan pre-registration website. On the welcome page, take the following steps:

1. Review the information.
2. Once reviewed, click the “Start” button.

The next page shows the Moonbeam Crowdloan Terms and Conditions. Here, take the following steps:

1. Review the Terms and Conditions
2. Once reviewed, check the “agree to the terms and conditions” box
3. Click the “Agree” button

 

Once you’ve agreed to the terms and conditions, the next page takes you through the steps of importing your Polkadot.js extension accounts. To do so, take the following steps:

1. Click on the “Connect to Polkadot{.js}” button. The extension will show a pop-up window asking you to authorize the application
2. Verify the URL of the application you are granting access to the Polkadot.js extension. It must be from the domain https://crowdloan.moonbeam.foundation/ — if this is not the case, please report the URL to the Moonbeam Foundation team at crowdloan@moonbeam.foundation
3. Once you’ve verified the URL, click on “Yes, allow this application access” – This allows the application to fetch your account information, and also use the Polkadot.js extension to sign transactions

The application will load all accounts in the Polkadot.js extension that are configured to work with Polkadot. If your account is not loading, make sure you’ve set it up with the “Allow use on any chain” or “Polkadot Relay Chain” option. Also, make sure the account isn’t hidden. Click the eye icon next to your desired address in the extension to enable the account if it is hidden. If the popup is not showing up, take the following steps:

1. Click on the “Gear” icon to open the extension settings.
2. Select the “Manage Website Access” option.
3. Allow https://crowdloan.moonbeam.foundation/ – Double check the website URL before allowing it

Before proceeding, it is highly recommended that you update your Polkadot JS Extension with the latest metadata. To do so, navigate to Polkadot JS Apps and follow these steps:

1. Click on the Settings Tab.
2. Navigate to Metadata.
3. Click on Update Metadata.
4. Confirm the Metadata update in the Polkadot JS extension.

Once your account has loaded, read the page instructions and take the following steps:

1. Select the account with which you want to participate in the crowdloan. This will be used to accept the terms and conditions and to pay the transaction fee of around 0.0411 DOT. For this process, you don’t need to commit how much you are contributing to the crowdloan, and the account only needs to have enough to cover the transaction fee. If you want to participate with another account in the future, you’ll have to repeat this process. The account can be a proxy account.
2. Once you have connected the desired account, click on the “Sign and send” button.
3. (Optional) If the account you want to participate with is not showing up, check your Polkadot.js extension for a valid Polkadot account and ensure it has enough funds to cover the transaction fee. Once it is displayed correctly there, click on “Reload accounts.

After sending the transaction, the following page will retrieve the necessary information and calculate the hash stored on-chain. When the transaction is ready to be signed, a Polkadot.js pop-up will appear. Here, take the following steps:

1. Verify the URL of the application from which the transaction is being requested. It must be exactly https://crowdloan.moonbeam.foundation/ — if this is not the case, please contact the Moonbeam Foundation team at crowdloan@moonbeam.foundation
2. Enter your password
3. Once you’ve reviewed all the information, click on “Sign the transaction”

The transaction might take a minute to process. Once the transaction is successful, a screen will outline the hash of your pre-registration transaction.

And that is it! You’ve agreed to the Moonbeam Crowdloan Terms and Conditions and are one step closer to participating in the crowdloan! Once the crowdloan opens, you will be able to make your contribution to the Moonbeam crowdloan.

If you click on the extrinsic hash, you’ll be taken to the Polkadot Subscan block explorer, where details of your transaction will be displayed.

Once the crowdloan starts, you can participate using the same address used to sign the terms and conditions. You’ll need to fund that Polkadot address with the DOT tokens you’ll be contributing to the crowdloan. Furthermore, you’ll also need a Moonbeam address as well, which is an Ethereum-style address for which you hold the private keys.