Polymarket guides
Last updated · how we verify
Four guides, in the order you will need them: wallet setup, funding with USDC on Polygon, fixing a stuck withdrawal, and challenging a resolution. If you only read one, read the funding guide — depositing on the wrong network is the most common way people lose money here.
If you are starting from zero
Do these in order. The whole path takes under half an hour, and the third step is where most people lose money, so do not skip it.
- Set up a wallet — install it, secure the recovery phrase, and understand what self-custody actually commits you to.
- Get USDC onto Polygon — every funding route with real costs, and the network mistake that strands funds permanently.
- Learn to read the prices — a 63¢ contract is a 63% implied probability, and understanding that changes how you size.
- Understand what a trade costs — the fee depends on category and price, and makers pay nothing.
When something goes wrong
Withdrawal stuck
Almost always one of three causes: not enough POL for gas, the wrong network, or a pending transaction blocking the queue.
Resolution you disagree with
How the UMA Optimistic Oracle escalation works, and the far more effective habit of reading resolution criteria before you enter.
Getting money to your bank
The full route from a settled position to fiat, and where the days actually go.
Worried about safety
What non-custodial protects you from, and what it exposes you to.
Reference
Fee schedule
Every category, both venues, worked examples.
Minimum deposit
$3 on low-fee networks.
Legality by state
All 50 states plus DC.
Gamma API
Public market data, no authentication.
Gas on Polygon PoS is paid in POL. POL replaced MATIC as the native Polygon PoS gas token in September 2024. The MATIC→POL migration was reported 99% complete on 3 September 2025. Holdings on Polygon PoS converted automatically 1:1; MATIC on other chains migrates 1:1 via Polygon Portal. Any tutorial elsewhere telling you to buy MATIC predates the rename and should be treated as out of date.
Availability varies by jurisdiction. 18+. Event contracts carry risk of loss.
You appear to be in the US. Polymarket’s international exchange blocks US IP addresses — use Polymarket US, the CFTC-regulated exchange, instead. See what’s available in your state.
All figures on this page verified 17 August 2026 against primary sources where reachable. Unconfirmed values are marked.