How to Buy Bitcoin with PayPal in 2024

First off, understand that LocalBitcoins is not your typical bitcoin exchange. It is more of a peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace that was initially meant to help individuals find local bitcoin sellers in their commune and match them up for face-to-face transactions. The sparse number of bitcoin sellers in any one locality willing to send their coins, however, made this theorem impractical.

The speedy transaction processing times for PayPal would, also, step in to ensure that you can still send and receive bitcoins from peers across the world and fund the transaction via PayPal. Unlike the more straightforward bitcoin purchases, LocalBitcoins purchases are rather complicated and a tad expensive. Most sellers will often hike the bitcoin price by as much as 20% with the exchange platform charging an extra 1% fee for every transaction.

How to buy bitcoins using PayPal on local bitcoins:

Step 1: Create an account and search for sellers

You can only transact on LocalBitcoins with a verified trading account. Once logged onto the P2P platform’s website, you will have to click on the buy bitcoin icon that directs you to the search area. Here you will have to key in such details as the number of bitcoins you want to purchase (or the amount in USD you wish to spend), the desired country of the seller, and filter the search to only include sellers that accept PayPal payments.

*Note: LocalBitcoins was meant to link buyers and sellers originating from the same locality and, therefore, doesn’t feature a worldwide search.

Step 2: Verify the seller’s authenticity (very important)

You search result list will list all bitcoin sellers within your selected country, the limit of how much they can transact a day and their selling prices. You will want to click on as much as sellers links as possible and vet their legitimacy before contacting them to initiate the transfer. By clicking on each seller’s name, you are directed to their profile that features such details as to how many successful sales they have made, their terms of trade, such as requiring a selfie and photos of government-issued ID, and how many users have blocked them. The key here is to go with the most affordable seller with the highest number of sales, friendliest terms of trade, and minimal to no blocks by other users.

Step 3: Lock a transaction and initiate PayPal dollar transfers

If satisfied by a seller, their fees and terms of trade, you can lock a transaction and proceed to send them the PayPal funds on the given address and such other documentation as your selfie holding an ID or any of their terms of trade requirements. You will then have to wait for them to confirm the reception of payment and send over the bitcoins.

xCoins describes itself as a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency lending marketplace where you can gain access to bitcoins using PayPal. Unlike local bitcoins that adopts a direct approach to the sale of bitcoins on their platform, xCoins is rather ambiguous as it claims to offer bitcoins loans to different individuals across the world. But how does this work?

Theoretically, xCoins was designed to be a platform where bitcoin owners can ‘loan’ bitcoins to other cryptocurrency enthusiasts across the world. Getting the ‘loan’, however, demands that you deposit cash that is the equivalent value of the bitcoins you are purchasing plus the transaction processing fees as well as interests due before accessing the digital coins.

The fact that there is no contractual agreement between the lender and the ‘loanee’ or a preset return date effectively qualifies the transaction as a bitcoin sale. Charges here include the inflated bitcoin price, plus the transaction fees, and the ‘interest on the loan.’ Conservative estimates place the average bitcoin transaction cost here at 26% above the market rate.

Here is the process breakdown on how to buy bitcoins using PayPal on xCoins:

Step 1: Register and verify your account

After signing up and verifying your xCoins trading account, the bitcoin lending website will direct you to a page where you get to fill in the loan details.

Step 2: Fill the Bitcoin application form and make the payment

Here, you fill in the number of bitcoins you wish to ‘borrow’ or the amount of PayPal dollars you wish to spend. Upon hitting send, a pop u window appears breaking down the ‘details’ with such section as a security deposit that translates to the actual bitcoin cost, lenders fees, origination fees, and transaction processing fees. You then have to accept the loan agreement after which you are directed to the lender’s PayPal page. Here you are only required to key in your PayPal login details and pay the auto-generated invoice.

Paxful is a peer-to-peer exchange platform that allows for the purchase of bitcoins using PayPal balances. The platform features one of the most efficient and straightforward ways of purchasing bitcoins using the all-popular payment processing services provider. Some of its most unique features include an inbuilt escrow account that acts as a safe conduit for the exchange of bitcoins and PayPal funds between sellers and buyers.

The P2P exchange also maintains one of the most simplistic and easy to use user interfaces that make it beginner-friendly. Like in most other peer-to-peer exchanges, bitcoin prices here are inflated significantly above the market rates. Buying bitcoins on Paxful is free as the sellers have to settle the escrow fee.

How to buy bitcoins using PayPal on Paxful

Step 1: Register account and key in details about the bitcoin purchase

Purchasing bitcoins on Paxful starts with registering and verifying your account. You are then directed to a search page where you key in the specifics about your intended purchase. These include how much bitcoin you wish to acquire, your preferred currency, and payment method.

Step 2: Chose a seller from the list provided

The site will then direct you to the results page that lists different bitcoins sellers who match your criteria. Go through their profiles checking such details as the number of successful trades, time spent on the platform, and selling price. You then have to decide on the seller from whom you wish to buy bitcoins from, after which the system will automatically move their coins to an escrow account where neither of you can access the coins.

Step 3: Fund the escrow account

After initiating the transaction, you will have no more than 30 minutes to fund the escrow account. If successful, the transaction will be marked complete and the bitcoins released to your wallet. Should you fail to pay within this time, the system automatically releases the coins back to the seller’s wallet and the marketplace.

Wirex is an all-around crypto exchange platform that lets you buy and sell bitcoins or even store them securely in their cold storage wallets. The most interesting thing about this is that they don’t impose additional transaction charges on bitcoin purchases and this makes them competitively affordable. You only have to pay a small $1.50 fee per month for card management. It also presents you with one of the most secure ways of purchasing bitcoins securely using your PayPal balance.

However, purchasing bitcoins here isn’t as straightforward as it is when using such other bitcoin exchanges like xCoins. Additionally, buying the coins using PayPal isn’t as direct as payments have to be passed through a linked virtual card. You will also have to wait up to 7 days before making your first bitcoin purchase

How to buy bitcoins using PayPal on Wirexapp:

Step 1: Create an account and request a card

The process of buying bitcoin on Wirexapp starts with registering an account with the payment processor and requesting for a virtual visa card. You can also request for a plastic card to be shipped to you, but this only serves to delay the process.

Step 2: Fund the card ($3) and link it with your PayPal account

After getting the virtual card, you are then required to link (or add) it to your existing PayPal account under the “add another card” section. Before adding it here, it is advisable that you fund with at least $3 from your wirex app as this will be used by PayPal during verification. This can take up to two days.

Step 3: Withdraw PayPal funds to your Wirex card

Given that you cannot deposit funds directly into your wirex account, you will have to fund it by withdrawing from your PayPal balances and into the wirex card. The process is rather straightforward as you only have to click on withdraw on your PayPal account and select the wirex card as the funds destination.

Step 4: Use the wirex card balance to buy bitcoin

You can then log into your wirexapp and buy bitcoins using the funds deposited into the virtual card. The best thing about this is that Bitcoin transactions are free – at market rates with no markups – and you only have to pay the monthly card management fee.