What is Polygon?

Polygon consists of two major components. Polygon Framework and Polygon Protocol. The polygon framework allows developers to spin up their own blockchain network that offers the same developer experience and security as Ethereum while also providing the scalability and flexibility of stand-alone blockchains. The Polygon Protocol provides the method of connecting two different Polygon Chains and the Ethereum Main Chain.

Polygon lowers entry barriers by reducing the transaction costs to an absolute minimum by taking a multi-prong approach to scaling. Protocols like Curve, Aave, Balancer, and Sushiswap have already launched on Polygon. The low transaction costs and fast transaction speeds have encouraged game developers to launch on Polygon. Zed.Run and Aavegotchi are two such games.

Setting up a Custom Wallet RPC

• Open the Metamask extension on your browser and select the dropdown at the top where it says “Ethereum Mainnet.”

• Select the “Custom RPC” option, and you’ll see this form.

• Enter the following information in the respective fields

  • Network Name: Polygon
  • New RPC URL: https://rpc-mainnet.matic.network/
  • Chain ID: 137
  • Currency Symbol: MATIC
  • Block Explorer URL: https://polygonscan.com/

• Click “Save”

The Matic Network Documentation linked here contains a list of other RPCs that you can use.

Bridging Funds from the Ethereum Mainnet to Polygon (Using Zapper.fi)

• Go to https://zapper.fi/ and connect your MetaMask wallet.
  Once connected, select ‘Bridge’ from the sidebar.

• Switch your MetaMask network back to Ethereum Mainnet if it isn’t already by selecting ‘Ethereum Mainnet’ from the network dropdown (the list where you found ‘Custom RPC’ above).
• Select the token you would like to transfer to Polygon and the token you would like to receive in exchange on Polygon from the dropdown menus. Then, enter the amount you would like to transfer.

• Click ‘Confirm’ and approve the transaction in MetaMask.
• Approximately 5-10 minutes following confirmation on Ethereum, your assets will arrive on Polygon.
• You can check this by switching back to the Polygon network in MetaMask and verifying the tokens are in your wallet (note: if you don’t see your assets, try adding the token to MetaMask).

You can follow this tutorial to bridge assets using the Matic Web Wallet.

Congratulations! You have now moved funds into the Polygon Network from the Ethereum Mainnet. Enjoy cheaper and faster transactions!