Polygon Wallet Guide: POL Gas, USDC and Bridging Safely

Your Polygon address and the MATIC to POL change

Your Polygon address is the 0x address Keylo shares across all EVM chains, built from the first account on the Ethereum path m/44'/60'/0'/0/0. That makes it easy to receive, but it also means the network you choose decides where funds land. Keylo labels each entry with its network, so POL on Polygon appears under Polygon and never mixes with your Ethereum balance.

If you held MATIC on Polygon PoS before the switch, your balance became POL automatically, because POL took over as the native gas token. MATIC held as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum is different: it stays MATIC until it is migrated to POL through Polygon's official migration route or an exchange that handles it. Keylo shows such tokens under Ethereum but does not perform the migration.

Polygon is also the name of a broader family of networks, and some older ones, such as Polygon zkEVM, are separate chains. In Keylo, Polygon means Polygon PoS, chain ID 137. If an app, exchange or friend mentions a different Polygon network, confirm the chain ID before sending anything, because tokens on another Polygon chain will not appear under Keylo's Polygon entry.

How to create a Polygon wallet with Keylo

Coming from MetaMask or another EVM wallet? Import the 12- or 24-word phrase and the first 0x account will match, along with its POL and token balances on Polygon. Keylo never sees the phrase, so it cannot recover it if both your password and backup are lost.

1. 1

   Open Keylo sign-up in any modern browser; it works the same on mobile and desktop.

2. 2

   Fill in your name, email, phone and a strong password, then confirm the email Keylo sends.

3. 3

   A 12-word recovery phrase is generated and encrypted in your browser with a key derived from your password. Keylo receives only the encrypted copy.

4. 4

   Select Polygon in your asset list to see the 0x address with its network label.

5. 5

   Reveal the phrase in Settings after re-entering your password and write it down offline.

How to receive POL and tokens on Polygon

If an exchange still lists the network as MATIC, it usually means Polygon PoS; check the details or the chain ID before withdrawing. Choosing Ethereum by mistake sends the asset to the same 0x address on Ethereum instead, where it appears under Ethereum and costs far more gas to move.

1. 1

   Open POL, or the token you expect, and tap Receive.

2. 2

   Copy the 0x address or show its QR code.

3. 3

   Ask the sender to withdraw on the Polygon network, often labelled Polygon, Polygon PoS or MATIC on older exchange pages.

4. 4

   Watch Activity, where deposits usually appear within seconds and link to PolygonScan.

How to send POL

Polygon blocks arrive every couple of seconds, so most sends confirm almost immediately. During a sudden spike in activity, a low-priority transaction can sit pending; Keylo's speed-up option resubmits it with a higher fee. After the transaction is finalized, it cannot be undone. Since 2025 finality on Polygon arrives within seconds, so you no longer need to wait minutes for a payment to be considered safe, as was common in the network's early years.

1. 1

   Choose POL or a Polygon token and tap Send.

2. 2

   Paste the recipient's 0x address or scan a QR code. Keylo checks the checksum and warns you if the address is a contract.

3. 3

   Enter the amount, or tap Max. For POL, Max keeps enough for gas.

4. 4

   Pick slow, normal or fast.

5. 5

   Review the recipient, exact amount and gas fee in POL, then confirm to sign in your browser.

Polygon gas fees explained

Polygon uses EIP-1559 fees like Ethereum, priced in POL. A base fee set by the protocol rises and falls with demand and is burned, and a priority tip goes to the block producer. A plain POL transfer uses 21,000 gas and token transfers somewhat more. Because gas prices on Polygon are much lower in POL terms than on Ethereum, everyday transactions cost a small fraction of a POL.

Polygon enforces a minimum priority tip, so its gas prices in gwei look high next to Ethereum's even though the cost in POL is small. Do not be alarmed by the gwei number; the summary in Keylo shows the actual fee in POL before you sign, and Keylo charges nothing extra on normal sends.

USDC and other tokens: native vs bridged

Polygon has two kinds of USDC. Native USDC is issued by Circle directly on Polygon. USDC.e is an older version bridged from Ethereum through Polygon's PoS bridge. They are separate tokens with separate contract addresses, and many exchanges and apps accept only native USDC. Keylo lists the tokens your address holds; check which version you have on PolygonScan before depositing it anywhere.

The same caution applies to every token. Anyone can deploy a contract with any name, and Polygon's low fees make spam airdrops cheap to send. Trust only contract addresses you have verified with the issuer or a reputable explorer, and ignore tokens that turn up uninvited. If a token's name includes a website address or an instruction to claim something, that is a phishing lure, not a gift.

Swap and bridge to and from Polygon

Keylo offers in-wallet swaps and bridges on Polygon through LI.FI, which aggregates decentralized exchanges on Polygon and audited bridges to Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, BNB Smart Chain and more. You can swap POL for USDC or move stablecoins between networks in one step. Before you approve, the quote breaks down which DEX or bridge will be used, what you should receive, the worst-case minimum and each fee, Keylo's small service fee included if there is one. More on swap and bridge.

Polygon's own PoS bridge is slower in one direction: deposits from Ethereum arrive after a short wait, but withdrawals back to Ethereum must wait for a checkpoint and then need a second transaction on Ethereum. Routes through third-party bridges are usually faster. Bridges can be followed in Keylo until the funds arrive, and a route that cannot finish is refunded by the bridge protocol to the wallet that sent it.

Practise on Polygon Amoy

Turn on Testnet mode in Settings to add Polygon Amoy, the test network that replaced Mumbai. Free test POL from the official faucet lets you practise sends, gas settings and speed-up without real money. The 0x address is the same as on mainnet, so check the network label in Keylo before sharing it, and never pay anyone for test tokens.

Polygon safety tips

• Ignore unknown tokens and NFTs airdropped to your address. Low fees make Polygon a favourite for spam and phishing bait.
• Check whether you hold native USDC or USDC.e before depositing to an exchange.
• Copy recipient addresses from the source, not from your history, to avoid address poisoning.
• Keep a little POL for gas so you can always move your tokens.
• Protect your login with two-factor codes from an authenticator app and an anti-phishing code in every Keylo email; see Keylo security.
• Keylo support never asks for your password or recovery phrase; anyone who does is an impostor.

Frequently asked questions