Understanding The Meaning And Usage Of Polygon Bridge
What is Polygon Bridge and how to use it? While there are so many existing blockchains in the world of crypto, the sharing of data and tokens among various networks has become a bit difficult. There are several projects that are dealing with this issue by establishing bridges between the networks in order to facilitate the transfers of assets. Similarly, the Polygon Bridge has been designed to enhance the interoperability between the Polygon and the Ethereum blockchains.
This allows the users to transfer tokens back and forth in an easy manner. Also, the compatible cryptocurrency wallet has been one of the most promising platforms when it comes to the transfer of tokens.
What is the Polygon Bridge?
Polygon is said to be a framework for creating Ethereum-based blockchain networks and ascending the solutions. The Polygon Bridge aims to enhance the Ethereum ecosystem by felicitating tools to establish well-performed decentralized applications (DApps) besides increasing Ethereum’s transactions with lower fees. Some of the prominent Decentralized Finance (Defi) platforms have been working on Polygon. These include Aave, Curve, and SushiSwap among others.
Thus, in order to engage with the decentralized applications and tools on Polygon, the user would have to transfer their assets to the Polygon network. This is exactly where the Polygon Bridge engages. It is said to be a cross-chain transaction channel between Polygon and Ethereum. The Polygon Bridge allows an individual to transfer the ERC tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to the Polygon sidechain with the help of smart contracts.
How does the Polygon Bridge work?
It is pertinent to mention that the Polygon Bridge uses a dual-consensus architecture in order to advance speed and decentralization besides it supports the arbitrary state transitions on side chains that are said to be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). On the other hand, cross-chain token transfers may be achieved easily without any third-party risks or restrictions related to market liquidity.
While you are bridging the tokens across the Polygon Bridge, there won’t be any change in the circulation of the token. It is pertinent to mention that the tokens that depart from the Ethereum network get locked, and the same amount of tokens are minted on the Polygon network. In the meanwhile, when you are bridging the tokens back to the Ethereum network, the pegged tokens on the Polygon network get burned, while those on the Ethereum network are unlocked during the process.
Notably, there are two types of bridges on the Polygon network for asset transfer, namely the Proof of Stake (PoS) Bridge and the Plasma Bridge. The PoS Bridge embraces the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm in an order to protect its network. A deposit on the PoS Bridge is completed immediately, however, the withdrawals may take a while to get confirmed. It is worth mentioning that the PoS Bridge assists in the transfer of ether (ETH) and ERC tokens.
Besides, the Plasma Bridge felicitates the transfer of Polygon’s native token MATIC, and some of the Ethereum tokens, such as ETH, ERC-20, and ERC-721, and uses the Ethereum Plasma to offer enhanced security.
How to bridge tokens from Ethereum to Polygon through the PoS Bridge?
In order to bridge the tokens from Ethereum to Polygon, an individual needs a compatible cryptocurrency wallet, for example, MetaMask. In case you don’t have a MetaMask wallet, you can follow the below-mentioned steps to create a MetaMask wallet. At first, you will need to download and install the MetaMask browser extension.
Step 1: Log in to the Polygon Web Wallet by choosing Polygon Bridge.
Step 2: Connect your crypto wallet. For instance, let’s use Metamask.
Step 3. Sign a message in order to connect the MetaMask wallet to the Polygon wallet. There will be no cost for signature.
Step 4: Cross-check the URL to ensure that you are on the correct website and click Sign to proceed further.
Step 5: You must be redirected to the Polygon Bridge interface and in case, you are not, then you can click Bridge on the left menu bar.
Step 6: In order to send the tokens from the Ethereum mainnet to Polygon, click on the [Deposit] tab.
Step 7: Click on the token name to select the token to bridge and enter the amount and click transfer.
Step 8: Go through the notes and click continue
Step 9: You’ll get to see the estimated gas fee for the said transaction. If you are fine with the cost of gas, then click continue to proceed.
Step 10: Review the transaction details that include the token amount and the estimated fee for the transaction. Once reviewed, click continue.
Step 11: Later, you will be asked to sign and allow the transfer in your MetaMask wallet. If the details are correct, you can click confirm.
Step 12: Wait for the tokens to reach your Polygon wallet. Click on ‘view on Etherscan’ to go through the transaction status.
How to bridge tokens from Polygon to Ethereum through the PoS Bridge?
On the other hand, you can also use the Polygon Bridge to transfer the tokens from Polygon to the Ethereum network. Similar to the bridging of tokens from Ethereum to Polygon, you’ll be required to use a compatible crypto wallet like MetaMask.
As mentioned earlier, there are two types of bridges on the Polygon network. These are the Plasma Bridge and the PoS Bridge. The withdrawal time varies on the basis of which Polygon Bridge is being used. Any withdrawal with the help of PoS Bridge takes over 45 minutes to 3 hours, while the same transaction through the Plasma Bridge may take up to 7 days.
Here’s how to bridge tokens from Polygon to Ethereum via the PoS Bridge?
Step 1: Click on ‘Withdrawal’ on the ‘Bridge’ interface and choose the tokens that you want to transfer to the Ethereum network.
Step 2: You will get to see the ‘SWITCH BRIDGE’ button next to the ‘Transfer Mode’. With this, the platform will select the compatible bridge for the transfer on the basis of the selected token.
Step 3: Upon selecting the token, you need to enter the amount that you wish to send and click ‘Transfer’.
Step 4: Go through the notes and click ‘Continue’ once you are ready.
Step 5: ‘Transfer Overview’ will pop up with the estimated gas cost for the said transaction. If you are fine with the cost of gas, you have to click ‘Continue’ to proceed.
Step 6: Review your transaction details. If you are fine with it, then click continue.
Step 7: Sign and approve the transfer.
Step 8: Review the details and click ‘Confirm’.
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