Track a Polygon PoS Bridge Withdrawal by Transaction Stage

Track a Polygon PoS withdrawal by following its Polygon burn transaction through checkpoint inclusion and the Ethereum exit transaction. These are separate on-chain events: the first destroys the bridged token on Polygon, while the final one releases the corresponding asset on Ethereum. A pending screen can help locate the transfer, but the transaction hashes and their receipts show which stage has actually completed.

Keep the hash of the withdrawal transaction submitted on Polygon. It is the reference for the burn, not the hash of the later Ethereum claim. The Polygon Bridge’s burn-and-claim sequence explains how those stages fit into the broader lock-and-mint model. For tracking, the key distinction is that a confirmed burn can still be waiting for its block to be included in an Ethereum checkpoint.

Which transaction hash should you track?

Start with the Polygon transaction that initiated the withdrawal. Open its transaction receipt on a Polygon block explorer and confirm that it succeeded. A failed transaction has no completed withdrawal to track, even if a wallet or bridge page still displays a pending item.

Inspect the receipt’s logs and token movement. For an ERC-20 withdrawal, the bridge’s child token contract burns the Polygon representation; the receipt records the relevant contract activity and transfer events. The transaction may include other calls or logs, so use the token contract and amount shown in the bridge flow to identify the withdrawal. Do not treat a wallet’s outgoing transfer to an ordinary address as proof that the bridge burn occurred.

Save the Polygon hash separately from any Ethereum transaction hash that appears later. The two hashes refer to different chains and different actions. The Polygon hash proves the withdrawal was initiated; the Ethereum hash proves the exit call was submitted. If you later need support or have to resume the claim, giving the wrong hash can make the transfer appear missing.

How do you tell whether the burn reached a checkpoint?

A withdrawal becomes claimable on Ethereum after the Polygon block containing its burn is committed in a checkpoint on Ethereum. A checkpoint is a commitment to Polygon block data that allows the bridge to verify the burn’s inclusion. The bridge needs that commitment before it can accept the proof for the release.

Check the withdrawal’s status in the Polygon Portal transaction history, then compare it with the Polygon transaction receipt and Ethereum activity. Portal history is useful for following the bridge’s indexed view, but the chain records are the evidence: the burn must be in a successful Polygon block, and a checkpoint covering that block must have been submitted on Ethereum. A recent burn may be confirmed on Polygon while still awaiting checkpoint inclusion.

Do not infer completion from elapsed time alone. Checkpoint production and the bridge interface’s indexing can lag, and a displayed status may update after the underlying event. If the burn is confirmed but no checkpoint covers its block, the withdrawal has not reached the claim stage. If the relevant checkpoint exists but the interface has not updated, recheck the hash and give the indexer time to catch up.

What confirms that the withdrawal is complete?

The withdrawal completes when a successful Ethereum transaction exits the bridge with the proof for the Polygon burn. The claim call verifies that the burn is included in a checkpoint and causes the Ethereum-side bridge contracts to release the corresponding token. The transaction receipt on Ethereum is the final status check.

After the exit transaction succeeds, check the recipient address’s Ethereum token balance and the token contract involved in the transfer. The destination may differ from the connected wallet if a different recipient was selected when the bridge transfer began. A successful transaction sent to that recipient can therefore complete correctly without increasing the balance of the wallet currently open in the interface.

Use the stages below to diagnose a stalled transfer:

• No successful Polygon receipt: The withdrawal did not complete on Polygon. Check whether the transaction failed, was replaced, or is still pending in the wallet.
• Successful burn, no covering checkpoint: The withdrawal is waiting for checkpoint inclusion. There is no Ethereum exit to confirm yet.
• Checkpoint available, no successful exit: The claim still needs an Ethereum transaction. Check the wallet’s pending or replaced transactions and the Ethereum receipt.
• Successful Ethereum exit, balance appears absent: Verify the recipient address and token contract, then inspect the Ethereum receipt’s token transfers.

Submitting the Ethereum exit costs Ethereum gas, and a low fee or a queued wallet transaction can delay that final step even after the checkpoint is ready. A dropped or replaced claim does not undo the Polygon burn; it means the exit transaction must be completed separately. Keep both hashes and check each receipt on its own chain. That gives users a precise status and lets operators distinguish bridge progress from wallet, fee, or indexing delays.