💵 What is pUSD? Polymarket's dollar token, explained

pUSD is the dollar token that Polymarket trades settle in — it wraps 1:1 with the dollar. If you trade through Polyfox you never need to handle it manually: deposits are converted to pUSD automatically, your balance simply shows in dollars, and withdrawing converts it back. This page explains what the token is, so the word on your wallet screen isn't a mystery.

Why a separate dollar token exists

Polymarket markets need one common unit that every trade, position and payout is denominated in. That unit is pUSD: a dollar token on the Polygon network that wraps 1:1 with the dollar. When a market resolves, each winning share redeems for $1.00 — and that dollar is paid in pUSD. When you see a share priced at 45¢, that is 45 pUSD-cents.

Because the wrap is 1:1, you can read every number in these docs — prices in cents, balances, minimums — as ordinary dollar amounts. There is no exchange rate to track and no separate "pUSD price" to worry about in day-to-day trading.

How you get pUSD (without thinking about it)

In Polyfox the conversion is automatic at both ends:

1. In — you deposit USDC or USDT on Polygon, OP, Base, Ethereum, BSC or Arbitrum ($10 minimum per deposit). The deposit is auto-converted to pUSD, and the bot notifies you when it's ready to trade. Polyfox charges nothing on deposits.
2. While trading — every buy, sell, and redemption settles in pUSD; your balance just shows in dollars.
3. Out — a withdrawal converts your pUSD into the asset you pick (e.g. USDC) and settles on Polygon. Polyfox adds no withdrawal fee of its own; the bridge's provider fees may reduce the received amount, and the preview tells you before you confirm.

There is no step where you manually wrap, unwrap, approve or swap anything — and no gas to pay, since a relayer covers on-chain transaction fees.

Common questions

Is my balance "in crypto" now? Your balance is held as pUSD, a dollar token on Polygon — displayed to you simply as dollars. It stays a dollar-denominated balance regardless of what happens to bitcoin or any other coin's price. (Your positions, of course, move with their markets.)

Do I need to buy pUSD somewhere before depositing? No. Send plain USDC or USDT on a supported network; the conversion to pUSD happens for you.

Can I withdraw pUSD itself? Yes — withdrawing as pUSD is a direct transfer with no conversion step. Most people withdraw as USDC instead, since exchanges commonly accept it.

Where does pUSD actually live? In your own on-chain wallet — the one whose private key you can export at any time. Anyone can verify the balance on a block explorer.

This page is informational only and is not investment advice — see Legal notes.

Next steps

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