Want to use Lisk but can’t find it in your MetaMask network list? You’re not alone. MetaMask only ships with a handful of networks preinstalled, so newer Layer 2s like Lisk have to be added by hand — and if you type the wrong chain ID or paste a dodgy RPC address from a random forum post, you’ll end up on the wrong network or, worse, connected to a server controlled by a stranger.
In this guide you’ll learn what Lisk is, the exact network settings you need, and two safe ways to add it to MetaMask — the one-click method and the manual method — plus how to verify it worked and which mistakes to avoid so your funds stay exactly where you put them.
id=”what-is-lisk”>What Is Lisk?
Lisk is an Ethereum Layer 2 network — a blockchain that runs on top of Ethereum and borrows its security while offering cheaper and faster transactions. It is built with Optimism’s open-source OP Stack, the same toolkit behind networks like Optimism and Base, so it uses optimistic rollup technology to bundle many transactions together and settle them on Ethereum mainnet.
The project’s history is a little unusual, and worth knowing because it explains some of the outdated information you’ll find online. Lisk started life years ago as a standalone Layer 1 blockchain with its own consensus mechanism and its own LSK token. In 2023–2024 the team migrated the project onto the OP Stack, relaunching it as an Ethereum Layer 2. That move means today’s Lisk looks and behaves like other EVM-compatible rollups: your Ethereum address works on it, your existing tooling works on it, and gas fees are paid in ETH rather than a separate token.
That last point trips people up, so let’s be explicit. On the current Lisk mainnet, the currency symbol MetaMask expects is ETH — gas fees are paid in ETH bridged to the Lisk network, not in LSK. Old guides or third-party directories listing LSK date from the pre-migration era and are outdated. As of this guide’s writing, Lisk’s official documentation lists the network name as “Lisk”, the chain ID as 1135, the RPC endpoint as https://rpc.api.lisk.com, and the block explorer as https://blockscout.lisk.com. We’ll walk through entering each of these below, and you should always cross-check them against Lisk’s official documentation before you save — type the address yourself rather than clicking links in search results, a habit that will serve you well throughout this guide.
Lisk also runs a Sepolia-based testnet for developers, with chain ID 4202 and the RPC endpoint https://rpc.sepolia-api.lisk.com. Unless you are deliberately testing a dapp, you want the mainnet settings, not the testnet ones — mixing the two up is one of the most common beginner mistakes, and we’ll cover how to avoid it.
Why Add Lisk to MetaMask?
MetaMask is the most widely supported wallet in the EVM world, and Lisk is fully EVM-compatible — but MetaMask doesn’t add every new network automatically. Adding Lisk yourself unlocks a few genuinely useful things, and it’s worth understanding what they are (and what they aren’t) before you bother.
First, you get access to Lisk-native applications. The network hosts its own ecosystem of DeFi apps, NFT projects, and onchain games, and some of them only exist on Lisk. If you want to interact with any of them, your wallet needs to be on the right network — there’s no way around that.
Second, you get cheaper transactions. Like other Layer 2s, Lisk batches transactions off Ethereum mainnet, so a swap or transfer that might cost several dollars in gas on Ethereum mainnet typically costs a small fraction of that on Lisk. For small trades, frequent interactions, or just experimenting with new apps, that difference adds up quickly.
Third, your existing setup carries over. Because Lisk is EVM-compatible, your Ethereum address is your Lisk address — the same 0x address works on both networks, so you need no new wallet or seed phrase. Your tokens don’t carry over automatically, though: holding USDC on Ethereum does not mean you hold USDC on Lisk. Assets have to be bridged across, a separate process with its own risks. If you’re new to bridging, start with our guide on how to switch networks in MetaMask safely before moving real funds anywhere.
What adding Lisk does not do: it doesn’t give you free tokens, it doesn’t migrate your existing balances, and it doesn’t change your seed phrase or account security in any way. If any website promises you airdropped tokens in exchange for adding a network, treat it as a scam — which brings us neatly to the safety side of this guide.
Before You Start: Prerequisites
You’ll need three things, and gathering them now will make the whole process take about two minutes.
1. MetaMask installed and unlocked. The steps in this guide work on the MetaMask browser extension (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave) and the MetaMask mobile app. The menus look slightly different on mobile, but the fields are identical. Make sure you’re on a version released recently — very old versions handle custom networks differently.
2. The correct network details, verified by you. As of this guide’s writing, the official Lisk mainnet settings are: network name “Lisk”, RPC URL https://rpc.api.lisk.com, chain ID 1135, currency symbol ETH, and block explorer https://blockscout.lisk.com. Don’t copy these from a random blog, video description, or chat message. Open Lisk’s official documentation yourself — typed into your browser, not clicked from a link someone sent you — and confirm each value before you save.
3. A small amount of ETH for gas — on Lisk, not on Ethereum. You’ll only need gas if you plan to actually transact. Remember that ETH on Ethereum mainnet is a different balance from ETH on Lisk. Bridging ETH to Lisk is a separate step; for now, just adding the network costs nothing and requires no funds at all.
One more thing: never, at any point in this process, type your seed phrase or private key into any website. Adding a network is a wallet-side operation. Legitimate tools — MetaMask itself, Lisk’s official portal, reputable chain directories — will never ask for your recovery phrase.
Method 1: Add Lisk with One Click
The fastest and least error-prone way to add Lisk is the one-click method, which prefills every field for you. You still need to check the values before confirming — convenience is not a substitute for verification — but it removes the risk of typos.
Step 1: Go to Lisk’s official portal. Type the portal address into your browser yourself. (As a rule of thumb for this entire guide: if a link to a crypto site arrives via DM, email, or an ad, assume it’s fake until proven otherwise.) Once you’re on the genuine portal, look for a Connect Wallet button.
Step 2: Connect MetaMask and approve the network prompt. Clicking Connect Wallet opens your MetaMask extension with the Lisk network details prefilled. Read every field in the approval dialog and compare it against the official values you verified earlier. If anything differs, even slightly, reject the request and leave the site.
Step 3: Switch to Lisk. After you approve, MetaMask asks whether you want to switch to the new network. Say yes, and you’re done. You can always switch back using the network dropdown at the top of the extension.
This method is the one we recommend for most readers, especially if you’ve never added a custom network before. It takes under a minute and removes the single biggest source of errors: mistyped chain IDs and RPC URLs.
Method 2: Add Lisk Manually
Adding the network by hand takes a little longer, but it’s worth learning — the same skill applies to every EVM network you’ll ever add, from Polygon to Soneium, and it teaches you what each field actually means.
Step 1: Open the network menu. Click the network dropdown at the top of the MetaMask extension (it probably says “Ethereum Mainnet” right now), then click Add network.
Step 2: Choose manual entry. MetaMask shows a list of popular networks you can add with one click. Lisk may or may not appear there depending on your version. Either way, click Add a network manually at the bottom to enter the details yourself.
Step 3: Fill in the fields. Enter the following, exactly as shown. These are Lisk’s official mainnet values as of this guide’s writing — but verify them against Lisk’s own documentation before you save, because they can change:
| Field | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Network name | Lisk | The label MetaMask shows in your network list |
| New RPC URL | https://rpc.api.lisk.com | The server MetaMask talks to for Lisk data |
| Chain ID | 1135 | Lisk’s unique network identifier — the most important field |
| Currency symbol | ETH | The token used for gas fees on Lisk |
| Block explorer URL | https://blockscout.lisk.com | Where you can look up transactions (optional but recommended) |
Step 4: Save and switch. Click Save. MetaMask adds Lisk to your network list and offers to switch to it. Accept, and the dropdown at the top of your wallet should now read “Lisk”.
A quick note on the chain ID: MetaMask accepts it as a plain number (1135). Some technical documentation writes it in hexadecimal as 0x46F — that’s the same value, just a different notation. If a guide gives you a hex value, you can enter the decimal equivalent; MetaMask handles the conversion.
One-click vs manual: which should you use?
| One-click method | Manual method | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Under a minute | A few minutes |
| Typo risk | Very low — fields are prefilled | Higher — you’re typing values yourself |
| What you learn | Little | What each network field means |
| Works for | Networks with official one-click support | Any EVM network, always |
| Verification needed | Yes — still check the prefilled values | Yes — check against official docs |
| Best for | Beginners adding Lisk for the first time | Anyone who wants full control or adds networks often |
How to Verify It Worked
Adding the network takes a minute; confirming it’s actually working takes another minute, and it’s worth doing before you move any funds.
Check 1: The network dropdown. Click the network selector at the top of MetaMask. You should see “Lisk” in the list, and selecting it should change the dropdown label. If Lisk doesn’t appear, the save didn’t complete — go back through the manual steps.
Check 2: The block explorer is alive. Open the block explorer URL you saved (https://blockscout.lisk.com — type it yourself) and confirm it’s showing recent blocks being produced. Recent blocks confirm the network is live and your RPC endpoint is pointing at the real chain. If the explorer loads but shows no recent activity, you may have added the Sepolia testnet (chain ID 4202) instead of mainnet (chain ID 1135).
Check 3: Your address resolves. Paste your wallet address into the explorer’s search bar. You should see your address page — probably with a zero balance, which is expected if you haven’t bridged anything yet. What matters is that the explorer recognizes the address format and the page loads without errors.
Check 4: A tiny test transaction. Before bridging any meaningful amount, send the smallest transaction you can — even a zero-value or dust transaction to yourself — and confirm it appears on the explorer. This proves end-to-end that your wallet, the RPC endpoint, and the network are all talking to each other correctly. Only then should you consider bridging funds over.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake 1: Using the testnet settings on mainnet (or vice versa). Lisk Sepolia (chain ID 4202) is for developers testing applications; its tokens have no value. If you add the testnet thinking it’s mainnet, you’ll wonder why your bridged funds never arrive. Label the network clearly when you save it — “Lisk” for mainnet, “Lisk Sepolia Testnet” for the testnet — so the dropdown never confuses you.
Mistake 2: Setting the currency symbol to LSK. Outdated guides from Lisk’s pre-migration era list LSK as the currency. On the current OP Stack-based mainnet, gas is paid in ETH, and the official documentation lists the currency symbol as ETH. Entering LSK won’t break anything catastrophic — MetaMask will still connect — but your gas balance will display incorrectly and confuse every transaction estimate. Use ETH.
Mistake 3: Copying RPC details from untrusted sources. Forum posts, video descriptions, and chat messages are where stale or malicious network details live. A wrong RPC URL usually just fails to connect (annoying but harmless); a malicious one can feed you false data. Always verify against Lisk’s official documentation, typed into your browser by hand.
Mistake 4: Expecting your Ethereum balances to appear. Your address is the same on every EVM network, but balances are per-network. Seeing 0 ETH on Lisk when you hold ETH on Ethereum mainnet is normal — the funds haven’t gone anywhere; they’re simply on a different chain until you bridge them across.
Mistake 5: Entering your seed phrase anywhere during setup. This one deserves repeating because it’s the mistake with the worst consequences. Adding a network never requires your recovery phrase. If any site, popup, or “support agent” asks for it while you’re setting up Lisk, you’re looking at a scam. Close the tab, and never share those words with anyone or anything.
FAQs
The Bottom Line
Adding Lisk to MetaMask is a two-minute job with a one-minute verification step that most people skip and shouldn’t. Use the one-click method from Lisk’s official portal if you’re new, or enter the settings manually — chain ID 1135, RPC https://rpc.api.lisk.com, currency ETH — if you want full control. Either way, verify every value against official documentation before you approve, confirm the network is live on the block explorer, and never type your seed phrase into any website during the process. Do that, and Lisk’s cheaper Layer 2 transactions are safely within reach.
This guide is for education only — not financial advice.
