Paxful Review

Paxful is a lot similar to LocalBitcoins, which is the largest user-manned Bitcoin exchange in the world. Like LBC, it accepts users from all over the world. That’s a sharp contrast to the banking-styled exchanges like Coinbase which only serve users in select countries.

Traditional banking-style cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinmama and Coinbase require you to upload personal information like your identification documents and bank statements. In addition, many of these exchanges also track the things you do with the Bitcoins you purchase. Send it somewhere that Coinbase, for example, deems suspicious and your account will likely get banned.

The anonymity that Bitcoin provides is one of the main reasons why it has become increasingly popular in recent years. That means those who want to continue buying and selling Bitcoins without having to give up their important personal information have to go to the lesser-regulated exchanges like Paxful.

Purchasing Bitcoins on Paxful

Think of Paxful as the eBay for strictly Bitcoins. Users from all over the world put up listings to buy and sell BTC. The website simply provides a platform for buyers and sellers to interact with one another. There are literally hundreds of payment methods accepted on Paxful. Like LocalBitcoins, Paxful also utilizes a system that makes it easy for users to add new disbursement methods. Popular ways to purchase Bitcoins on Paxful include:

• Credit cards
• PayPal
• Gift cards
• Western Union
• WCash Deposits
• Pre-paid debit cards

Purchasing Bitcoins on Paxful is extremely easy. For starters, pretty much any payment method you can think of is accepted by some seller there, and, if it isn’t, you can always create a new listing for it. The entire process only takes a couple of minutes.

To make a purchase, you click on the payment method you want to use. You will then be taken to a page where all the sellers who accept payments are listed. The page also contains lots of other information like the seller’s reputation, past feedback, and when last the person was online.

The sellers with the lowest margins are typically listed on the top of the page.

The prices you will find on Paxful are generally higher than what you will find on exchanges like Coinbase. Selling Bitcoins to individuals can be a risky business since Bitcoin transactions are irreversible, while payment methods like PayPal and credit card payments are reversible. That means the seller can easily end up with no money and no BTC if the buyer decides to reverse the payment. The extra margin is added to make up for the risks that come with selling Bitcoins on a user-operated exchange like Paxful.

Some sellers might require you to verify your information when purchasing coins if you’re using a high-risk method like credit cards and you are yet to establish a positive reputation on the site. You’re better off using non-reversible payment options like cash deposits if you’re not open to giving up your personal information.

Make sure you read the terms and conditions a seller has prior to opening a trade. Once a trade is opened, wait for the seller to respond before sending a payment. Always follow all the instructions provided by the seller.

The amount of Bitcoins you’re trying to buy is automatically taken from the seller’s wallet and placed in an escrow when you open a trade, so there’s no way the seller can take your money and run.

Once you have sent the payment, click the “Payment Sent” tab. That will notify the seller that you’ve paid. The seller then verifies the payment and releases the Bitcoins to you.

In the rare case of a dispute, Paxful’s moderators will investigate the trade to verify if you sent the payment or not. If you have proof you’ve sent the payment, the moderators will release the coins to you.