Why Does Polygon Bridge Reject My ETH Deposit?
A native ETH deposit through Polygon bridge can be rejected even when the estimated fee looks affordable, because your Ethereum balance must cover both the deposit value and the transaction’s maximum gas liability. This calculation applies to a standard Ethereum transaction using EIP-1559 fees. The fee shown as an estimate is not necessarily the amount the transaction must be able to cover before it is submitted.
When you are comparing that upfront reserve with the eventual charge, why Polygon bridge fees can be lower is the related question: the fee cap sets the maximum reserve, while execution determines the final fee. A lower eventual charge does not make a transaction affordable if your balance cannot cover its maximum liability at submission.
Why the estimated fee can be too low
Ethereum checks the ETH value being sent as well as the gas limit multiplied by the maximum fee per gas. The gas limit is the most units of computation the transaction may use; the fee cap is the most ETH per unit you have agreed to pay. Together, they determine the maximum gas liability, even though the transaction may use less gas or pay a lower effective price.
For example, if the fee cap is entered in gwei, convert the resulting gas cost into ETH before comparing it with your balance. The affordability condition is: required ETH balance ≥ deposit value + gas limit × maximum fee per gas. This is a ceiling for submission, not a prediction of the final fee. Lowering the gas limit arbitrarily can make the transaction run out of gas and revert; it does not safely fix an insufficient balance.
What should I do before submitting again?
If your native ETH deposit reports insufficient funds, first establish whether a transaction was submitted and completed. Follow this sequence:
- Look for a transaction hash and receipt in your wallet or Ethereum activity. A rejection before broadcast has no successful deposit receipt. If a transaction is pending, wait for its result before trying again; if it has a successful receipt, the deposit completed and should not be repeated.
- If there is a receipt with a reverted status, the transaction was mined but the deposit did not complete. It still consumed gas, so account for the reduced balance before calculating another attempt.
- Compare your current Ethereum ETH balance with the deposit value plus the proposed gas limit times maximum fee per gas. Make sure the fee units are consistent, especially when the fee cap is in gwei.
- If the balance falls short, reduce the deposit amount or add ETH to the account. Keep a suitable gas limit for the deposit rather than cutting it arbitrarily; changing the deposit value, balance, gas limit, or fee cap changes the amount the account can support.
- Review the refreshed transaction details before submitting the adjusted deposit. Proceed when the balance covers the deposit value and the proposed maximum gas liability.
This check lets you distinguish a transaction that never completed from one that already succeeded, while leaving enough ETH available for the transaction’s maximum gas cost.
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