How to Buy Bitcoin with PayPal

Honestly, it’s not so easy to learn how to buy bitcoin with PayPal because PayPal prohibits direct BTC purchase. Thankfully, this BTC guide will teach you how to buy bitcoin with PayPal, so keep reading!

Apart from credit/debit card and bank transfers, you could also purchase bitcoins with PayPal account. The Internet-based fund account provides comfort and speed compared to other methods of purchase, as well as the needed privacy.

Even though PayPal itself remained relatively silent concerning cryptocurrencies, the official policy currently in place is set against selling bitcoins through PayPal as the transaction could be viewed as currency exchange.

To buy bitcoin with PayPal, on the other hand, is done without any difficulties, especially in exchanges that require a deposit into their escrow system. Additionally, the PayPal has recently integrated its operations with another money platform called Braintree, effectively allowing merchants to accept payments in bitcoins.

This article will show you how to purchase bitcoins with PayPal instantly and safely while listing exchanges that accept the PayPal purchases. These brokers shall be evaluated in terms of speed of the purchase process, the rate of the transaction fees and security they provide for their customers.

Bitcoin Exchanges List

In this guide, we have compiled a list of bitcoin exchange brokers that accept PayPal payments while presenting their fees, limitations, pros, and contras. The listed exchanges are VirWox, E-Coin (Wirex), LocalBitcoins, Coinbase, Paxful, and Cryptonit.

VirWox

The interesting fact about VirWox is that the exchange is not deemed as bitcoin exchange but rather as a cryptocurrency exchange. Broker deals with both bitcoins and Second Life Lindens (SLLs) equally, with later being the main income of the exchange. The SLLs are used in a virtual world called Second Life, while in the case of VirWox, they are used to buying bitcoins.

The transactions are operated without verification and with no ID, making this exchange one of the most popular for bitcoin trade with PayPal. As a trader, you would start with a daily limit of $90 and monthly $270 that would eventually grow with time. The transaction fees stand at around 10% as you cannot buy bitcoins directly, making you pay a fee twice, once for SLLs and then for BTCs.

Pros

• no verification needed;
• purchase limitations grow with time.

Cons

• high 10% transaction fee;
• indirect and complex bitcoin purchase.

Wirex (ex-ECoin)

Being bitcoin exchanger, Wirex offers bitcoin purchases with bank cards, transfers, and PayPal. Currently, the broker allows PayPal purchases from 33 countries as of yet. In addition to PayPal account, you would be required to order Wirex cards as well and to fund these cards with your PayPal account.

The verification process is divided into two sections, one being unverified and other verified. The unverified status is reserved for those traders who would only verify their email and PayPal account. The status would grant you limitations of $2,000, which is both daily and lifetime limit. Full verification covers a copy of your ID and proof of address, granting you limits of $10,000 daily and unlimited amounts in a lifetime.

Wirex itself does not charge any purchasing fees, though PayPal fees would need to be taken into account, depending on your location.

Pros

• no verification needed for starters;
• no purchasing fees.

Cons

• full verification needed for higher limits;
• limited regional coverage.

LocalBitcoins

Being peer-to-peer (P2P) platform, the exchange offers a wide variety of purchase options that include PayPal as well. Bitcoins are traded by investors between themselves and they are the ones that put required payment options based on their needs. All you have to do is to find a person that is willing to trade BTC with PayPal and engage in the transaction.

The purchase amount is limited by the traders as well, as they offer an exact volume of BTC that they wish to sell. The only fee that you would pay in this platform is the transaction fee of 1%.

You should take great care with whom you work as there have been numerous frauds reported, mostly done by unverified accounts.

Pros

• a large amount of BTC offer;
• possible to purchase BTC anonymously.

Cons

• a lot of scamming offers;
• usually, a small amount of BTC is available.

Coinbase

One of the most famous bitcoin exchangers, Coinbases’ services are available in EU countries, the USA, Canada, Europe, Singapore, and Australia. PayPal purchases are instant for a fee of 3.99% for all countries, while limitations on purchase volumes depend on your location and verification process. The more you verify the larger limits you will have.

Coinbase also offers the Vault option should clients wish to have a bitcoin wallet located on the platform for easier purchase and selling processes. With low fees when compared to other competitors, Coinbase is also considered as one of the most liquid exchanges in terms of bitcoin purchase and sales.

Pros

• high liquidity;
• low PayPal fees.

Cons

• limited regional coverage;
• heavy verification needed for higher purchase limitations.

Paxful

Another P2P platform, Paxful also provides a single marketplace for traders to buy and sell bitcoins to each other. The transaction fees stand at 1% for a seller only, while buyers do not have any fees. The purchase duration depends on the trader that you work with. Similar to LocalBitcoins, the limitations and privacy of the bitcoin purchasing depend on the trader, though the more verified you are, the more eligible sellers would be willing to work with you.

Lastly, you should keep an eye on the scammers and frauds, same as in LocalBitcoins. One major difference, when compared to other P2P platforms, is the kiosk programs. The Paxful offers divisional support to those investors that wish to open a bitcoin kiosk, provided they have substantial BTC and cash funds.

Pros

• a wide variety of purchase options;
• kiosk programs;
• no fee for bitcoin buyers.

Cons

• high number of scams;
• usually, a small amount of BTC is available.

Cryptonit

Cryptonit is a bitcoin exchanger that accepts deposits from PayPal accounts. The deposit fee stands at 9.8% while the trading fees are free, though the deposit fees could be viewed as high in regard to other bitcoin providers.

Verification should be completed fully in order to purchase and withdraw bitcoins from the site. The verification documents Consist of scanned copy of ID, address verification document and a selfie of you holding both documents as a proof of identity.

The broker is based in the UK and its services are available global wide.

Pros

• globally available;
• instant purchase and withdrawal of BTC.

Cons

• full verification needed;
• high 9.8% deposit fee by using PayPal.

Buy Bitcoins with PayPal via VirWox

Before You Get Started

Before we delve into the processes that would get you bitcoins from VirWox, it is important to mention several important facts. VirWox is primarily trading SLLs for a virtual world called Second Life and the only way to buy bitcoins is through SLLs. The transaction fees stand at around 4% for each purchase, so you would effectively pay up to 10% by using PayPal on this platform.

Go to VirWox

To start the purchasing process, go to their web page and look for an option to register yourself within the platform.

Open Your Account

Locate the button called “not registered yet”, click on it and proceed towards the next step of this tutorial.

Fill in Your Personal Details

In this page, you will be required to fill out details about your username, email and personal details. The avatar is optional and can be left blank in case you do not have a profile in Second Life.

Activate an Account

The email will be sent to you for verification once you have provided all personal details. Note that only email is needed for verification apart from PayPal account.

Don’t Forget to Change Password!

After email verification, you will receive a random password that you should change in order to avoid hacking attempts in the future.

Fill Up the Account Through PayPal

Now you can deposit your funds into the VirWox from your PayPal account by clicking the button “Deposit” located to the left of the page.

Login to PayPal

While you are preparing your VirWox account for the deposit, log in your PayPal account to prepare the amount you have stated in the last step.

Check Out an Account Balance

The deposit should be carried out instantly so you should check your account balance to see if the amount wanted is already located in your VirWox account.

Trade USD for SLL

Next step would be to trade your USD funds that you have just deposited with SLLs by clicking on the “USD/SLL” button and then button “next” once you have acknowledged that you can buy SLL amount as you have planned from the beginning.

Buy BTC with SLL

As a last purchase step, now you would need to convert SLLs with bitcoins by clicking “BTC/SLL”.

Withdraw Bitcoins

Since you are done with the purchase process, you can now take the bought bitcoins from the VirWox account and withdraw them to you bitcoin wallet by clicking the button “withdraw” in the “My Account” section.

Does This Method Really Work?

As you can see, the site is legit when it comes to bitcoin purchasing and withdrawing activities. You will get both SLLs and bitcoins at the end of the day, though the costs are quite high compared to other ways of PayPal purchases of BTC.

How Much Fees Takes VirWox?

For each transaction, VirWox takes around 3% of the transaction’s value, which means that you pay 3% when you are depositing funds from PayPal, 3% when purchasing SLLs and 3% when exchanging SLLs with bitcoins, bringing the transaction fee for the whole process to be around 10%.

Are There Other Ways to Buy Bitcoin with PayPal?

Apart from VirWox, there are other exchanges that would allow you to purchase bitcoins with PayPal. The P2P platforms that accept PayPal as a method of payment are LocalBitcoins and Paxful, while exchange brokers are ECoin (Wirex), Coinbase and Cryptonit.

Purchase Bitcoins with PayPal on Wirex (EСoin)

The first step would be to check if your location is supported for Wirex trading activities, as only a few countries could actually get the virtual card from the broker and use PayPal to purchase bitcoins. You can check that information on the Wirex’s blog page “How to Buy bitcoins with PayPal”.

If your region is eligible, register yourself in Wirex and order the virtual card.

Get a Physical or Virtual Debit Card from Wirex

Once registered, you can now order your virtual card from the Wirex by clicking on the option “Order Card”. Take note that different regions take different duration to receive a card, which could take between 7 to 40 days.

Connect and Verify that Debit Card with Your PayPal Account

Once you have received your VCC, you need to activate it by clicking “Activate Card” in your account page. Next step would be to connect the card with your PayPal account by logging in the PayPal and clicking “Add card”.

Fill the details of your card as well as your personal details.

You will then verify your VCC by depositing a small amount from VCC ($3) into your PayPal account. Once received, the PayPal will ask you for the transaction code that you have received on your phone.

Enter the code into the PayPal verification page and complete the process.

Transfer Funds from PayPal to Your Wirex Account

Once you have verified your VCC, you can now transfer funds from PayPal to your VCC by clicking the option “withdraw money” in your PayPal account page. After that, click “withdraw funds to your card” and enter the amount you wish to transfer. The process could take up to 5 to 7 business days.

Buy BTC with Your Wirex Debit Card

Once you have received funds from PayPal account, you can now purchase bitcoins with your Wirex card by selecting “exchange currencies” option.

Select the amount you wish to purchase and click “Exchange” button once you are satisfied with the trading amount of bitcoin.

At the review page, you will check the numbers again and then click “Confirm exchange” if all data is correct, finalizing the purchase process.

Buying Bitcoins with PayPal at LocalBitcoins

To start buying bitcoins in LocalBitcoins, you need to register your account. Fill out your details and see what kind of verification level you wish to achieve.

Enter Payment Parameters

Now, click “Buy bitcoins” and enter the payment parameters, as well as local traders that are near you.

Note that many other countries also use PayPal, so the US is not the only option to find traders that are willing to work with you.

Let’s Choose Seller

Once you have the list, find a seller with a long history of bitcoin trade and with positive reviews. An additional plus would be if the trader would allow you to purchase bitcoins with unverified PayPal.

Complete the Transaction

You should directly communicate with the trader to agree on all transaction terms and once ready, put the amount of BTC you wish to buy and finalize the purchase process.

Purchase Bitcoins with PayPal at Coinbase

To start buying BTCs from Coinbase, you would be required to first register your account. Update from July 2017: digital currency can be sold into PayPal account only, buying bitcoin with PayPal at Coinbase is not available anymore.

Next step would be to find your account settings and add your PayPal account as a payment method.

Now click PayPal account on the next page.

Click “Verify now with PayPal” and you will be redirected to your PayPal account. There you would need to authorize Coinbase to use your PayPal funds by providing account details and using your PayPal login information.

Once you have verified your PayPal account, you can go to the sell page and out a number of bitcoins you wish to sell.

Buy BTC with PayPal Through Paxful

To buy bitcoins through Paxful, you would first need to create an account. Fill out the details and verify your email to register your account in Paxful.

Then, in the buy bitcoin section, currency and PayPal as a payment method to find offers.

You will get a list of sellers that you can choose from who to buy bitcoins with PayPal.

Select the seller by clicking button «Buy» and choose the amount you wish to get from the transaction. The online chat will be initiated in which transaction terms need to be defined. Then, simply click “buy now” and wait for about an hour for the transaction to take place.

Get Bitcoin with PayPal via Cryptonit

In the process of registering your account, you would be asked to verify your ID, address and send a picture of you holding these documents.

Now go to the “Finances” tab and choose Deposit USD.

Then put the amount you wish to buy and select PayPal.

The transaction will start once you click “Buy BTC” and would take several moments until the BTC ends in your wallet.

Buying with PayPal: FAQ

What Is the Best Way to Buy Bitcoins?

The best way and the best place to buy bitcoins are the ones that suit your needs and situation the best. It could be credit card payment in broker platform or PayPal in P2P, it all depends on how you have organized your fund sources and how does the BTC market function in your area.

Is VirWoX the Fastest Way to Get BTC via PayPal?

Although faster than other exchanges, the VirWox is still slower than, for example, Coinbase as you have to purchase bitcoins indirectly. Additionally, PayPal could be used to simply deposit the funds in the exchange’s escrow system until the purchase transaction finishes, as is the case in several exchanges.

It is fast, that is to be sure but only if you follow the guide we have provided for you as the process is quite complex.

Can You Fund Your PayPal Account Using Bitcoin?

In PayPal account, you cannot have bitcoin balance as of yet, since the policy of the PayPal company is designed to hold the funds expressed in USD only. Additionally, the exchange activities are strictly forbidden but you can indirectly fund your PayPal account by buying and selling bitcoins outside of PayPal.

Buying Bitcoin with PayPal No ID?

Buying bitcoin with PayPal and without ID scan is quite possible in several exchanges. In VirWox, you could purchase SLLs with PayPal with only email and PayPal account verified. Then, the purchase of BTC would be done through conversion of SLLs into BTC.

In P2P platforms, you could find traders that would not mind if you have not verified your ID as long as you keep to the agreed terms of the transaction.

Can I Accept Bitcoins with PayPal Merchant Tool?

As mentioned before, you can purchase bitcoins through PayPal but sell and accepting payments for BTC is strictly forbidden as it would be viewed as currency exchange activity, which is against the PayPal’s business conduction policy. Thus, it is not possible (yet) to accept bitcoins with PayPal merchant tool.

Can I Sell My BTC to PayPal?

No, you cannot. You would need to sell it and receive funds elsewhere before you transfer them back to your PayPal account. If you receive funds for bitcoins through receipt that mentions BTC as a source of the trade, it is highly likely that your PayPal will be blocked from the PayPal’s staff.

Update from July 2017: Yes, you can. Coinbase allows you to sell bitcoins to your PayPal account.

Is There a PayPal BTC Wallet?

Unfortunately, there is not. The PayPal is used to store funds in other currencies, while cryptocurrencies are not supported by PayPal.

Can I Leave My Bitcoins on the Exchange?

It is quite possible though we would not recommend you to do so. Hacking incidents have happened in the past, which resulted in many traders losing both funds and bitcoins in the process. It is far safer to get either USB or hardware wallet or stash your bitcoins there for maximized security.

Avoid Scams!

Regularly check scam site lists if you wish to work with bitcoin exchange brokers and trader profiles and ratings if you wish to engage in P2P platforms. Bitcoin community grew in numbers, thus there are many websites and forums dedicated to reviewing exchangers and websites.

Use BTC Hardware USB Wallets

The hardware wallets come at different shapes and prices but all have similar traits. All of them have installed protection software, designed to keep hackers away from your bitcoins. Additionally, they could be carried around with you as they are small and can work offline and online.

Hardware USB Wallets	BTC Wallet Image	Currencies Supported	More Info
Ledger Blue		BTC, XRP, ETH, ETC, LTC, DOGE, DASH, ZEC, STRAT	€274.80 More Info
Ledger Nano S		BTC, XRP, ETH, ETC, LTC, DOGE, DASH, ZEC, STRAT	€69.60 More Info
Trezor		BTC, ETH, LTC, DASH, ZEC	$99.00 More Info
KeepKey		BTC, ETH, LTC, DOGE, DASH, NMC	$99.00 More Info