Problems on the Polygon zkEVM network: MetaMask does not read wallet balances, several users get stuck with their money

Over the past few days, many users in the crypto community have reported problems on the layer-2 Polygon zkEVM network, unable to see their token balances on the MetaMask wallet and unable to spend or trade them.

The decentralised network team announced on Discord that the problem would be fixed soon, but days later we are still seeing anomalies.

In reality, the problem lies with MetaMask’s RPCs, which are out of sync with Polygon’s zkEVM. 

If you have money stuck in the chain, the solution is to change RPCs and use one of those provided by Chainlist, Drpc or Alchemy.

Full details below.

Synchronisation issue on Polygon zkEVM: MetaMask RPC fails to read token balances on wallet

Polygon’s well-known layer-2 network zkEVM, which uses “zk-rollup”  technology, is experiencing a synchronisation problem with MetaMask’s RPCs, which is preventing users from viewing and spending their wallet balances.

For those who don’t know, RPC stands for “Remote Procedure Call”, which is a set of protocols that allow decentralised wallets to make contact with a blockchain. 

It can be thought of as an ‘intermediary’ that connects wallets and blockchains to allow communication between the parties.

For each decentralised network, there are several RPCs that can be used: MetaMask generally provides its own RPCs by default, which are automatically loaded the first time a user uses a new chain.

In the last few days, several users have reported problems with MetaMask itself not being able to correctly display wallet balances on the Polygon zkEVM network.

The result is that with a balance of 0, operations remain blocked since it is impossible to transfer assets unless you have a tiny fraction of ETH to pay gas fees.

As the days passed after the real problem was discovered, many became nervous as the Polygon team promised to fix the problem in a short period of time.

In fact, while the problem is not solely dependent on Polygon’s infrastructure, it is clear that the matter needed to be resolved quickly by the decentralized network insiders, given the reputational damage and inconvenience it was causing.

If mass adoption in Web3 is to be achieved, it is necessary that all the various Ethereum chains and Layer-2s adapt to provide the best possible user experience.

Incidents like this risk alienating those who have recently approached this world, scaring them away by the difficulty of using certain products in an already complex environment.

A bad break for Sandeep Naiwal and his latest version of Polygon 2.0, which aims to become “the value layer of the Internet”.

The Solution to the Polygon zkEVM Problem: Using an RPC Other than the Standard MetaMask RPC

Although it may seem complex to the uninitiated, the solution to the Polygon zkEVM synchronization problem with MetaMask RPCs is actually simpler than expected.

Since it is actually an internal bug in the wallet’s remote calls, all you need to do is switch providers to have your balances displayed correctly while still being able to use the funds freely.

There are many RPCs other than the standard MetaMask ones that you can easily connect to your decentralized wallet.

Among the most popular are those of Ankr, Alchemy and Drpc.

The ChainList platform summarizes all existing RPCs for each chain and provides a quick and easy connection without having to manually enter all the fields.

1. In detail, the steps to follow are as follows
2. Go to Chainlist.org;
3. under “Search networks” enter Polygon zkEVM; click on the small arrow located below the “add to MetaMask” option and select the RPC you prefer (it is advisable to select the ones shown in the following figure);

4. Finally, connect the wallet and add the network to the wallet.