Blog — Nov 3, 2025

The Ultimate Aptos Onboarding Guide


module aptos::a_new_era {

    /// Built for the next billion users.
    /// Onboard the world, one transaction at a time.
    public fun onboard_next_billion(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// Rethink value. Rebuild trust. Rewrite the rules.
    /// A new era of Aptos starts here.
    public fun enable_new_era(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// What’s next moves here.
    /// No hype. Just real progress.
    public fun launch_next_phase(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }
}

module aptos::doers {

    /// You build fast. Aptos keeps up.
    /// No downtime. No forks. Just forward momentum.
    public fun deploy_with_speed(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// Get help, not hype.
    /// Grants, tools, and support for real builders.
    public fun access_builder_support(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// Tools that work. Docs you can trust.
    /// Build with clarity and confidence.
    public fun use_production_tooling(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// Push to mainnet. Trust the infrastructure.
    /// Aptos is made for developers who ship.
    public fun push_to_mainnet(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }
}

module aptos::quietly_excellent {

    /// Quiet execution. Reliable outcomes.
    /// Aptos stays out of the way, so you can move forward.
    public fun verify_infrastructure_integrity(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// Break ground. Not trust.
    /// Built-in performance you can validate.
    public fun ensure_audit_readiness(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// Built to work. Designed to last.
    /// Engineered for stability, not spectacle.
    public fun maintain_network_stability(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }
}

module aptos::performance_first {

    /// Sub-second finality. Scales to millions of users.
    /// Designed for performance at any load.
    public fun handle_high_throughput(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// Built for scale. Maintains performance under pressure.
    /// Modular beneath. Seamless above.
    public fun scale_modularly(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// Upgrade without disruption.
    /// Keep building, even while evolving.
    public fun upgrade_without_downtime(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }
}

module aptos::ecosystem_energy {

    /// Move what matters, together.
    /// A growing network of builders and believers.
    public fun grow_with_ecosystem(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// Real support. Real partners. Shared momentum.
    /// An ecosystem that grows with you.
    public fun launch_with_partners(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }

    /// Cross-chain. Cross-border. Cross-culture.
    /// Connect across Web3, securely and simply.
    public fun connect_across_networks(): bool {
        ...
        return true;
    }
}

Ever paid $20 in gas fees just to move some tokens? Or waited 13+ minutes for a transaction to finalize on another chain? What if you could send USDT for $0.0001 and have it settle in under a second?

Welcome to Aptos: fast, affordable, and reliable—the way blockchain should be. Whether you're taking your first step into crypto, migrating from another chain, or looking for yield opportunities, this guide will help you get started.

Why Aptos?

Here's what makes Aptos different:

Speed that matters: Transactions finalize in less than a second (not minutes)
Low, predictable costs: $0.0001 per USDT transfer vs $2-4 on TRON, up to $20+ on Ethereum
Built-in safety: The Move programming language was designed from the ground up to prevent the hacks and exploits that plague other chains
Real institutional integrations: Major institutions including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Circle, WLFI, Aave, Ethena, and Tether have all integrated their assets onto Aptos.
$200M+ in 2025 ecosystem funding: Grants, hackathons, and accelerator programs for builders at every stage

This infrastructure isn’t theoretical. Aptos has processed over 22,000 transactions per second in production, with a record-breaking 326 million transactions in a single day.

The infrastructure is proven, the ecosystem is growing, and the opportunities are available now.

How to Get Started on Aptos

Whether you're a crypto newbie or a seasoned trader, getting started on Aptos is fast, intuitive, and built for everyone. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk through three different ways to get started on Aptos.

Complete Beginner

Just getting started? We’ll walk you through everything from setting up a wallet to getting the tools and tokens you’ll need to explore the network and making your first transaction. No prior knowledge required.

Cross-Chain Migrator

Already use Ethereum, Solana, or another blockchain? Learn what makes Aptos different, see the performance comparisons, and migrate your assets in minutes.

DeFi Explorer

Want to put your assets to work? Explore staking, lending, trading, and yield earning opportunities across the Aptos DeFi ecosystem.

The Universal Essentials

No matter which path you choose, everyone needs the basics. Here are the four universal steps you should take when onboarding into the Aptos ecosystem.

1. Set Up Your Self-Custodial Wallet

A self-custodial wallet is your gateway to Aptos. It helps you store your tokens and lets you interact with apps on the network.

Recommended for beginners:

Petra Wallet - Built specifically for Aptos, easy to use, works as a browser extension or mobile app
Pro Tip: Create a wallet with your Gmail or Apple login using Petra Web.

Other popular options:

Backpack - Multi-chain wallet and CEX platform with Aptos support
OKX Wallet - Multi-chain wallet with Aptos support

Setting up a wallet is free and typically takes about 2 minutes. You'll create a password and receive a "recovery phrase" (12-24 words). Write down this phrase and keep it somewhere safe. It's the only way to recover your wallet if you lose access.

2. To Access the Network, Get APT

APT is the native token of Aptos. You will need a small amount to pay for transactions on Aptos (which typically $0.001 or less) and to explore the ecosystem.

Where to buy APT:

🇺🇸 US: Coinbase (APT, USDC)
🇰🇷 Korea: Upbit (APT, USDT)
🌍 Global: Binance (APT, USDT, USDC)
🌍 Global: Bybit (APT, USDT, USDC, USD1)
🌍 Global: OKX (APT, USDT, USDC)
🌍 Global: Bitget (APT, USDT, USDC)

Simple process:

Create an account on the exchange of your choosing
Complete verification (required by most exchanges)
Deposit funds (via bank transfer, card, etc.)
In order to access the network, buy APT, which is used for transaction fees and to access the network
Withdraw to your Aptos wallet address

How much do you need?

Even a small amount of APT is enough to cover transaction fees for months and try out various DeFi protocols. You can choose to purchase APT right away or wait until you’re ready to withdraw to your external self-custodial wallet.

3. Bridge Assets (If You're Coming from Another Chain)

If you already have crypto on Ethereum, Solana, or another network, you can easily bridge it to Aptos using one of the following paths.

Bridge	Best For
Stargate (LayerZero)	Fast transfers, 39+ networks
Circle CCTP	Native USDC (safest option)
Wormhole	Major tokens, 30+ networks
Chainlink CCIP	USD1, uniBTC

Other bridge interfaces:

Panora: Cross-chain bridge aggregator
Stableflow: Stablecoin intent bridge for USDT, USDC, and USD1
Interport: Cross-chain bridge interface for Chainlink CCIP
Portal: Cross-chain bridge interface for Wormhole and CCTP

Pro tip: If you're bridging USDC, consider using Circle's CCTP. It's free and gives you native USDC on Aptos (not a wrapped version).

4. Understand the Costs

One of Aptos's biggest advantages is low network transaction costs. Here's what you can expect:

Simple transfer: ~$0.0001 network gas fee (a fraction of a cent)
Token swap on DEX: ~$0.001-0.005 network gas fee (less than a penny)
Complex DeFi transactions: ~$0.01-0.05 network gas fee (still negligible)

Compare that to other chains:

Ethereum: $2-50+ depending on network congestion
Solana: $0.002-0.12
TRON: $2-4 for stablecoin transfers

See the full cost comparison

How to Get Started on Aptos as a Crypto Newbie

New to crypto? Start your journey here. We’ll walk you through everything from setting up a wallet to getting the tools and tokens you’ll need to explore the network and making your first transaction. No prior knowledge required.

Step 0: To access the network and pay for network gas fees you’ll need APT—see Universal Essentials above.

Step 1: Set Up A Wallet (Petra/Backpack/OKX)

Install a wallet app: Go to petra.app, backpack.app, or web3.okx.com to download the browser extension or mobile app.
Create a new wallet (it’s free). Set a strong password that you’ll remember. If you’re using Petra, you can also sign up with your Google or Apple account instead of generating a recovery phrase.
Secure your recovery phrase. Write it down on paper and store it somewhere safe (never save it on your computer or phone).

Step 2: Transfer APT to Your Wallet

Open Petra Wallet or the Aptos self-custodial wallet of your choice and copy your public address (it starts with 0x...). ⚠️
1. Make sure you copy the public address from the main page, not your private key (found in settings).
2. Example:
  0xfa4b7e2d13d31fbd5ac0f0adc7c117c514ce513989a82cc3facb7706d6c345ff
On your exchange, go to the Withdraw section.
1. Select APT.
2. Choose the Aptos network (not a bridged version on another chain).
Paste your wallet address and enter the amount you want to withdraw. Pro tip: consider leaving some amount of APT on the exchange in case you need it for future network gas transfers.
Confirm the withdrawal. Your APT should arrive in your self-custodial Wallet within 1–2 minutes.

Pro Tip: If you only hold stablecoins and don’t own any APT, you can head to Panora (Step 4) to swap for APT. Panora offers gasless swaps for users executing their first trade but do not own sufficient APT to pay for gas.

Step 4: Make Your First Swap

It’s time to try out a decentralized exchange (DEX) and swap one token for another:

Go to Panora, a DEX aggregator on Aptos.
Connect your Wallet by clicking “Connect Wallet.”
Choose what to swap (e.g., APT → USDC or any other token of your choice).
Enter an amount—consider starting small for your first swap.
Review the details: check the exchange rate and the small network gas fee.
Confirm the transaction in both the DEX and your self-custodial wallet.
Wait a moment—your swap should complete in under 2 seconds.

Congratulations! You just entered the world of decentralized finance (DeFi).

Step 5 (Optional): Try Staking

Want to help secure the Aptos network and earn rewards? You have two options:

Option A: Native Staking

Delegate your APT directly to a validator on the Aptos network.
Earn staking rewards (typically 5–8% annually).
Your tokens are locked during the staking period but directly strengthen network security.

Option B: Liquid Staking with Amnis

Go to Amnis, Thala, or Kofi
Connect your Petra Wallet.
Follow the prompts to stake your APT.
Receive stAPT (Amnis), sthAPT (Thala), or stkAPT (Kofi) — tokens that represent your staked APT. These tokens automatically earn staking rewards, typically in the 5–8% annual range.

The beauty of liquid staking: your “liquid-staked” APT (stAPT, sthAPT, or stkAPT) keeps receiving rewards, but you can still use it in other DeFi protocols. This increases the velocity of money on the network and adds opportunities for further composability across protocols.

How to Get Started on Aptos from Another Chain

Already familiar with Ethereum, Solana, Base, or other chains? Welcome. This guide provides the essential information on the Aptos network, along with a secure, quick path to migrate your assets and begin exploring.

How Aptos Compares to Other Chains

Speed Comparison:

Aptos: <1 second finality
Ethereum: ~12-15 minutes
Base: ~13 minutes
Solana: ~2-5 seconds (but with occasional outages)

Cost Comparison (USDT Transfer):

Aptos: $0.0001
Polygon: $0.0003 (3x more)
BNB Chain: $0.0026 (26x more)
Ethereum: $0.0277-20+ (277-200,000x more)
TRON: $2-4 (20,000-40,000x more)

See full performance benchmarks

Reliability:

Aptos: 99.99% uptime since mainnet launch in October 2022
Record: 326 million transactions in 24 hours
Record throughput: 22,000+ TPS on Mainnet, theoretically can get to 250,000 TPS

Move Programming Language

If you're coming from Ethereum, you know Solidity. If you're from Solana, you know Rust. Aptos uses Move, a language originally developed by Meta/Facebook for secure smart contracts.

Resources over references: Assets can't be accidentally copied or lost
Formal verification: Mathematically prove your contract works as intended
No reentrancy attacks: The language design prevents this common exploit class
Better developer experience: Clearer errors, easier testing

Coming from EVM or SVM? Check these guides:

Parallel Execution

While most blockchains process transactions sequentially, Aptos uses Block-STM to execute multiple transactions in parallel, similar to modern CPUs. This is why Aptos can sustainably handle 20,000+ TPS.

Modular Account Model

Aptos accounts are more flexible than EVM accounts:

Built-in multi-sig support
Account abstraction (gasless transactions, session keys)
Easier key rotation and recovery

Migration Guide: 3 Steps

Step 1: Set Up Your Aptos Wallet

We recommend Petra Wallet for Aptos natives, but if you're using multi-chain wallets, OKX Wallet or Backpack also support Aptos.

Install Petra Wallet
Create new wallet and save your recovery phrase
Fund with small amount of APT for gas (see Get APT section)

Step 2: Bridge Your Assets

Choose your bridge based on what you're moving:

For USDC (Recommended):

Use Circle CCTP for native USDC (0% fees, 10-20 min)

For other tokens:

Use Panora bridge aggregator for all available assets on Aptos
Use Stableflow for USDT bridging
Use Interport for USD1 bridging
Use Stargate/LayerZero for fast bridging (1-5 min, ~0.06% fee)
Use Wormhole for maximum network coverage (5-15 min, ~0.1% fee)

For Bitcoin:

Use Echo Protocol for aBTC (largest BTC asset on Aptos)

Full bridging guide on X

Step 3: Try Familiar Protocols

Aptos has versions of protocols you might already be familiar with. Try this: Do the same transaction you'd normally do on Ethereum, but on Aptos. Notice the speed difference and check your wallet, the fees are typically a fraction of a penny.

You're Used To	Try On Aptos
1inch / Jupiter	Panora
Aave	Aave, Aries, Echelon
Lido, Jito	Amnis, Thala, Kofi
Uniswap	Thala, Hyperion, Tapp
PancakeSwap	PancakeSwap on Aptos
SushiSwap	SushiSwap on Aptos
Hyperliquid / GMX	Merkle Trade, Ekiden (Testnet), Decibel (Devnet)
Pump Fun	Booster Fun
Strategy Vaults	Moar, Goblin

Pro Tips

Start small: Bridge a test amount first to get comfortable with the UX
Save on fees: Use Circle CCTP for USDC (free!) instead of paying bridge fees
Explore Aptos-native protocols: Don't just stick to familiar EVM names, protocols like Thala and Merkle Trade offer unique features and great UX
Track your portfolio: Use Lighthouse or on-aptos.com/tools/portfolio to monitor everything in one place
Join the community: Aptos Discord is active and helpful for questions

How to Get Started on Aptos as a DeFi User

Want to put your assets to work? Explore staking, lending, trading, and yield earning opportunities across the Aptos DeFi ecosystem.

Before diving in, check the live data:

DeFi Protocols Overview - All protocols with TVL metrics
Yield Opportunities - Live APY tracking
Stablecoins - $1.1B+ in stablecoin liquidity

Liquid Staking

You have the ability to stake APT in a liquid staking protocol to help secure the network and receive staking rewards of 5-8% annually while keeping assets liquid.

Amnis: Largest and most liquid Aptos liquid staking protocol (amAPT / stAPT)
Thala: Multi-use protocol offering liquid staking (thAPT / sthAPT) alongside stablecoin features (MOD - Move Dollar)
Kofi: Liquid staking protocol with kAPT (backed 1:1 by staked APT) and stkAPT (yield-bearing, boosted by MEV revenue)

Trading & Liquidity

DEXes for swapping:

Panora - Aggregator (finds best prices)
Thala - Great UX, stablecoin pairs
Hyperion - deep liquidity for stablecoins and BTC
Tapp - Modular DEX with in-built hooks
Booster - Bonding curve launchpad

Provide liquidity (LP): Earn trading fees + rewards

Stablecoin pairs: up to 5-15% annually (can be lower risk)
Major pairs (APT/USDC): up to 10-30% annually
Watch for impermanent loss on volatile pairs

Lending & Borrowing

Lend assets to have the opportunity to earn interest or borrow against collateral.

Protocols:

Echelon - Competitive rates, isolated pools
Aries - Isolated pools

Typical yields: 3-8% annually on stables, 2-5% on APT, 2-3% on BTC

Advanced DeFi Strategies: Leverage & Perps

Only for experienced users who understand the risks:

Moar Finance - Leveraged yield farming (20-100%+ annually)
Merkle Trade - Perpetuals (up to 100x leverage)
Ekiden - Perpetual CLOB (Testnet)
Decibel - Fully onchain Perpetual CLOB (Devnet)

Risk Management

Start small - Test with amounts you're comfortable losing
Diversify - Don't put everything in one protocol
Do your research (DYOR) - Check audits, TVL, and community sentiment
Monitor positions - Especially if using leverage or LP
Keep reserves - Don't deploy 100% of your capital

Track Your Portfolio

Lighthouse - Portfolio tracking
DefiLlama - TVL and yield data
Aptos Explorer - Transaction history
OnAptos - Live metrics across protocols

The Aptos Ecosystem: Assets & Data

Aptos has 30+ active DeFi protocols. For the complete list with live TVL, APYs, and metrics:

Aptos DeFi Protocols - Complete directory with live data
Yield Opportunities - APY tracking across all strategies

Stablecoins on Aptos

Aptos has over $1.1 billion in stablecoin supply, making it a viable chain for payments, trading, and DeFi.

USDT (Native): Tether native issuance on Aptos
USDC (Native): Circle native issuance, CCTP enabled
USD1 (Native): Move-native stablecoin built on Aptos
USDe (Synthetic): Ethena’s synthetic dollar (bridged via LayerZero)

Deep stablecoin liquidity can mean:

Low slippage for large trades
Viable for payments and remittances
Strong foundation for DeFi growth
Institutional confidence (native USDT/USDC issuance is a big deal)

Track stablecoin metrics in real-time

Bitcoin on Aptos

Want to learn about the possibility of receiving yield on your Bitcoin? Aptos supports multiple BTC-backed assets:

aBTC (Echo Protocol): Largest BTC asset on Aptos, liquid staking enabled
xBTC (OKX Bridge): Backed by OKX with Proof-of-Reserves
UniBTC (Bedrock): Multiple asset liquid BTC restaking protocol
WBTC (LayerZero): Wrapped Bitcoin via LayerZero protocol
FiaBTC (Fiamma Labs): BitVM2-secured tokenized Bitcoin

Use case: Bridge BTC → deposit BTC into Aptos DeFi protocol → Bridge back. All without selling your BTC exposure.

Explore Bitcoin assets on Aptos

Real-World Assets (RWAs)

Aptos is becoming a hub for tokenized real-world assets, with major TradFi players bringing funds on-chain:

BlackRock: BUIDL (USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund)
Franklin Templeton: BENJI (OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund)
Libre Capital: UMA, BHMA, HLSPCA (money market instruments)
Ondo Finance: USDY (U.S. Dollar Yield token)
Apollo: ACRED (Diversified Credit Securitize Fund)
Berkeley Square: Multiple portfolio tokens (EM, NPA, CAD, etc.)

Why this matters: RWAs bridge traditional finance and DeFi, bringing:

Stable yields backed by RWAs
Institutional capital flows
Regulatory-compliant on-chain products
Diversification beyond crypto-native yields

Track RWA adoption on Aptos

Community & Support

Get help:

Discord - Most active, best for quick questions
Aptos Forum - Technical discussions
Developer Docs - Comprehensive guides

Regional communities:

Poland · India · Indonesia · Japan · China · France · Russia · Turkey · Africa

Builder Resources

Learn Move:

Dev Docs - Start here
Aptos Learn - Interactive courses
Move Spiders - Community challenges
GitHub - Code examples
Aptos Foundation Grants - and other funding opps

Welcome, we’re glad you’re here.

Aptos isn't just another L1. It's infrastructure that actually delivers on the promises of blockchain: fast, affordable, secure, and scalable. Whether you're here to use DeFi, build applications, or explore new tech, you're joining an ecosystem backed by real innovation and real adoption.

The blockchain is proven. The ecosystem is thriving. The opportunities are here.

Welcome to Aptos. Let's build where we're going.

Experiment.
Launch.
Scale.

Get Started

public fun ignite_chain_reaction(): bool {
    // Spark innovation
    // Fuel momentum
    // Chain it with Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun deploy_with_confidence(): bool {
    // Test it
    // Ship it
    // Trust Aptos to scale it
    return true;
}


public fun empower_creators_on_aptos(): bool {
    // Tools for builders
    // Freedom for creators
    // Power by Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun redefine_possibilities(): bool {
    // Break limits
    // Build freely
    // Launch globally on Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun grow_without_limits(): bool {
    // No ceilings
    // No bottlenecks
    // Just Aptos performance
    return true;
}


public fun connect_across_chains(): bool {
    // Interoperability
    // Security
    // Aptos at the core
    return true;
}


public fun code_scale_repeat(): bool {
    // Code smart
    // Scale fast
    // Repeat with Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun onboard_the_next_billion(): bool {
    // Real users
    // Real speed
    // Onboard the world with Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun ignite_chain_reaction(): bool {
    // Spark innovation
    // Fuel momentum
    // Chain it with Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun deploy_with_confidence(): bool {
    // Test it
    // Ship it
    // Trust Aptos to scale it
    return true;
}


public fun empower_creators_on_aptos(): bool {
    // Tools for builders
    // Freedom for creators
    // Power by Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun redefine_possibilities(): bool {
    // Break limits
    // Build freely
    // Launch globally on Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun grow_without_limits(): bool {
    // No ceilings
    // No bottlenecks
    // Just Aptos performance
    return true;
}


public fun connect_across_chains(): bool {
    // Interoperability
    // Security
    // Aptos at the core
    return true;
}

public fun ignite_chain_reaction(): bool {
    // Spark innovation
    // Fuel momentum
    // Chain it with Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun deploy_with_confidence(): bool {
    // Test it
    // Ship it
    // Trust Aptos to scale it
    return true;
}


public fun empower_creators_on_aptos(): bool {
    // Tools for builders
    // Freedom for creators
    // Power by Aptos
    return true;
}

public fun ignite_chain_reaction(): bool {
    // Spark innovation
    // Fuel momentum
    // Chain it with Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun deploy_with_confidence(): bool {
    // Test it
    // Ship it
    // Trust Aptos to scale it
    return true;
}


public fun empower_creators_on_aptos(): bool {
    // Tools for builders
    // Freedom for creators
    // Power by Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun redefine_possibilities(): bool {
    // Break limits
    // Build freely
    // Launch globally on Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun grow_without_limits(): bool {
    // No ceilings
    // No bottlenecks
    // Just Aptos performance
    return true;
}


public fun connect_across_chains(): bool {
    // Interoperability
    // Security
    // Aptos at the core
    return true;
}


public fun code_scale_repeat(): bool {
    // Code smart
    // Scale fast
    // Repeat with Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun onboard_the_next_billion(): bool {
    // Real users
    // Real speed
    // Onboard the world with Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun ignite_chain_reaction(): bool {
    // Spark innovation
    // Fuel momentum
    // Chain it with Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun deploy_with_confidence(): bool {
    // Test it
    // Ship it
    // Trust Aptos to scale it
    return true;
}


public fun empower_creators_on_aptos(): bool {
    // Tools for builders
    // Freedom for creators
    // Power by Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun redefine_possibilities(): bool {
    // Break limits
    // Build freely
    // Launch globally on Aptos
    return true;
}


public fun grow_without_limits(): bool {
    // No ceilings
    // No bottlenecks
    // Just Aptos performance
    return true;
}


public fun connect_across_chains(): bool {
    // Interoperability
    // Security
    // Aptos at the core
    return true;
}

The Ultimate Aptos Onboarding Guide

Related Articles.

USDG0 launches on Aptos

The New Era of Aptos

CTRL+Move: The Aptos Hackathon for What’s Next in DeFi

Aptos Assembly: From Prototype to Product in Four Weeks

Ecosystem Spotlight: KGeN — Building the Future of VeriFi

Welcoming the Fall 2025 Cohort of the Aptos Collective

Ecosystem Spotlight: Thala – Building DeFi Primitives on Aptos

Aptos: The Chain of Choice for Stablecoins

Experiment. Launch. Scale.

Experiment.
Launch.
Scale.