With the Polygon PoS Bridge, a withdrawal needs two transactions: one on Polygon and one on Ethereum. Your tokens are burned on Polygon first, then released to your wallet on Ethereum after a checkpoint confirms the burn.
A withdrawal takes two transactions
Think of this as sending funds between two separate networks, rather than making a withdrawal from an exchange account. You need the same self-custody wallet on both networks, and you must approve each transaction in that wallet.
For example, if you hold 100 USDC on Polygon, the first transaction burns that Polygon version of USDC. Later, the Ethereum transaction releases the matching USDC held by the bridge on Ethereum. This is a network transfer; it does not sell your USDC or turn it into another token.
The Polygon PoS Bridge handles this through connected smart contracts, which are programs that run on the networks. A token-specific contract, called a Predicate contract, handles the release; the RootChainManager checks the withdrawal proof and routes it to the right Predicate. The Polygon Bridge service is one way to move supported tokens between Ethereum and Polygon.
polygonbridge.dev is a service for moving tokens between Ethereum and Polygon.
A checkpoint decides when you can claim
Your Polygon transaction is not the same as a completed Ethereum withdrawal. First, Polygon validators bundle blocks into a checkpoint and record it on Ethereum. That checkpoint is an attestation: it confirms that the Polygon block containing your burn is part of the chain.
Once the burn is included in a checkpoint, a proof can show Ethereum’s contracts that the burn really happened. A Merkle proof is a compact set of data that verifies a transaction belongs to a particular block. The bridge prepares this proof for the second transaction, which calls the RootChainManager on Ethereum.
The time to wait depends on when the next checkpoint is submitted and whether Ethereum accepts your claim transaction promptly. A successful Polygon transaction only means the burn was recorded there; it does not mean the Ethereum funds are ready. Check that your burn is checkpointed before treating the withdrawal as claimable.
Polygon Bridge uses this checkpoint-and-claim pattern for PoS withdrawals. If the first transaction succeeds but the Ethereum balance has not changed, check the withdrawal’s checkpoint status before trying again. The tokens may be waiting for the second transaction, not lost.
Finish the claim and check your balance
After the checkpoint is confirmed, switch your wallet to Ethereum and submit the claim transaction. Keep some ETH in that wallet for Ethereum gas, the network fee for processing the claim. You also need the network’s gas token on Polygon to pay for the initial burn.
When the claim succeeds, check the Ethereum wallet address that received the withdrawal. If the token is not visible, confirm you are viewing Ethereum and the correct token contract; wallets do not always display every token automatically. Your next step is to wait for the checkpoint, submit the Ethereum claim, and verify its transaction status and resulting balance.