Getting started with Polymarket
Orientation for new Polymarket users — eligibility, wallet/collateral flow, security basics, and how to connect EdgeLedger.
·7 min read·Compliance reviewed
This guide is an orientation for new Polymarket users. It walks through what to have ready, how the major pieces fit together — eligibility, account, wallet, collateral, security — and how to track your activity in EdgeLedger once you're set up.
For the click-by-click signup flow, follow Polymarket's own help docs at docs.polymarket.com. UI changes; their docs are the canonical source. This guide focuses on the parts that don't change: the shape of the experience and the decisions you'll make along the way.
Before you start
You'll move faster if you have these ready:
- A modern browser (Chrome, Brave, Firefox, or Safari) on a device you trust. Avoid public/shared devices for wallet flows.
- An email address you can receive sign-in links at.
- A funding source supported by the current Polymarket flow. Current docs describe pUSD as the trading collateral token, backed by USDC on Polygon.
- Optional: a small POL/MATIC gas buffer if you move assets directly outside Polymarket's gas-sponsored flows. Polymarket's relayer can sponsor gas for supported operations, but third-party transfers and bridges may still need network gas.
- Optional: a hardware wallet (Ledger, Trezor) if you expect to hold larger balances. Hot wallets are convenient, but they have a larger browser and extension attack surface.
What to expect
Polymarket's signup ties three things together: an account, a wallet, and collateral on Polygon. New users sometimes think these are separate apps; they're really one experience with three layers.
Create an account
Polymarket asks for an email and signs you in with a magic link. The email becomes the identity for the account; password recovery and notifications all flow through it. Use an address you control long-term — not a shared inbox.
Get a wallet
Polymarket provisions an embedded wallet on Polygon for new accounts. You can also link an existing browser wallet (MetaMask, Rabby, etc.) if you'd rather hold the keys yourself. Either way, the wallet's public address is what EdgeLedger will track.
Fund the account with supported collateral
Follow Polymarket's current deposit flow and confirm the exact asset, network, and address before sending funds. Current documentation describes pUSD as the trading collateral token, with USDC backing on Polygon.
Complete KYC if and when prompted
Identity checks, market access, withdrawal permissions, and account limits can vary by entity, jurisdiction, and product. If a verification prompt appears, follow Polymarket's official flow and review the terms that apply.
Funding Polymarket collateral
The exact funding flow can change as Polymarket updates wallets, deposit addresses, collateral wrappers, and regional products. Treat Polymarket's current deposit screen and docs as canonical. At a high level, funds usually move from a payment provider, exchange, bridge, or existing Polygon wallet into the balance the platform uses for trading.
A few practical notes:
- Match the asset, network, and address. When a flow asks for a Polygon asset, do not send the same ticker on Ethereum, BSC, or another network unless the destination explicitly supports it. Wrong-network sends may be unrecoverable.
- Understand pUSD vs. USDC variants. Current Polymarket docs describe pUSD as the trading collateral token, backed by USDC. Older docs and some bridge paths may reference native USDC or USDC.e. Do not assume every USDC variant is interchangeable.
- Test transfers. For your first deposit from any source, send a small test amount (e.g. $1–5) and confirm it lands before sending the full balance.
- Gas sponsorship is flow-specific. Polymarket's relayer can sponsor gas for supported operations, but direct wallet transfers, external bridges, or unsupported tools may require POL/MATIC in the wallet.
Security basics
Predictive markets are a cash venue: the wallet you use is your money. A few habits keep you out of the worst trouble:
- Treat your seed phrase like a password to a bank vault. Write it down on paper or steel, store it offline, and never paste it into a website. Polymarket will never ask for it.
- Bookmark the official URL. Phishing pages with the Polymarket brand show up in search ads regularly. Visit from your bookmark, not search results.
- Hardware wallets reduce browser-key exposure. Browser wallets are convenient but live in a noisy environment. Hardware wallets move signing keys out of the browser-extension layer.
- Check token approvals periodically. Revoke approvals you no longer need with a tool like revoke.cash. Polymarket contracts may need pUSD, USDC, or outcome-token approvals depending on the flow. Anything else with broad approvals is worth a second look.
- Two-factor your email. Your Polymarket account recovery flows through email. If your email is weak, your account is weak.
What to expect the first time
Even with everything set up, the first session has some quirks. None of these are bugs — they're just artefacts of how on-chain venues work.
- The first deposit feels slow. Once a withdrawal leaves the CEX, you're waiting on Polygon block confirmations. A few minutes is normal; an hour or more usually means the CEX hasn't broadcast yet.
- Your collateral balance briefly looks wrong. Some wallets show $0 until the relevant token is added to the assets list. Polymarket's own balance view may be a better source for the platform-specific trading balance than a generic wallet token list.
- Spreads can be wider than expected. Even popular markets often have a few cents of spread. The first time you model a larger order, the fill price will be worse than the top-of-book quote — that's the cost of taking liquidity. See the Liquidity & slippage guide for how to think about it.
- Resolution may take longer than the event. Even after the underlying event happens, the optimistic-oracle resolution window typically runs a few hours; ambiguous markets can take days. Trade history won't show realized P&L until resolution finalizes.
Connect to EdgeLedger
Once your Polymarket wallet is funded and you've placed a position or two, EdgeLedger can mirror everything in one dashboard.
Copy your wallet address
On Polymarket, open your profile and copy the public 0x address. EdgeLedger only needs the address — never a seed phrase, private key, or signature.
Paste it into EdgeLedger
On the EdgeLedger dashboard, click Paste address in the top bar and paste the address. It's tracked in read-only mode.
(Optional) Save the wallet to your account
If you're signed into EdgeLedger, click Save wallet to keep the address linked so it's there next visit. You can save more than one if you trade across multiple wallets.
Where to go next
- How Polymarket works — order types, fees, settlement, and quirks worth knowing once you're trading.
- Expected value — the math frame for comparing price, probability, and fees.
- Glossary — plain-language definitions for the terms you'll see across the platform and EdgeLedger.