PayPal Cryptocurrency Review (Is It Worth it)
It has been developed in partnership with Coinbase, an international digital wallet that allows people to store and exchange crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin and others.
The feature is only available for users who are 18 years old or older.
The PayPal crypto feature is designed to be a way for users to send and receive money in cryptocurrency. It also allows people who are new to crypto to learn about it.
This article will cover how the feature works and what its benefits are. The first thing that you need to know about the PayPal crypto feature is that it is not a bank account, but rather a virtual wallet for storing your money in different cryptocurrencies. You can then use this virtual wallet with any merchant that accepts PayPal as an alternative form of payment, or you can withdraw your money from the wallet back into fiat currency if you want to spend it.
PayPal is one of the most popular and widely used online payment platforms in the world. The company made headlines when it announced its plans to offer cryptocurrency payments for merchants on its platform.
PayPal’s crypto feature works by converting digital currency into fiat currency at the time of transaction. This means that merchants will not be required to handle any cryptocurrency themselves.
If you’ve already set up a PayPal account, it’s easy to get Bitcoin and other cryptos in just a few minutes. Pretty awesome!
If you want to trade crypto on PayPal, you’ll need to create a PayPal account and verify your identity (by providing info about yourself/ ID).
- Log in to your account and go to the ‘Crypto’ tab
- Enter how much Bitcoin (BTC) you want to buy.
- Select ‘Next’.
- How would you like to pay for this transaction? I selected PayPal balance, but you can also pull money from a bank account or debit card.
- Click ‘Next’.
- Please review and agree to the following terms.
- To see your purchase details, click the ‘see all’ button next to your purchase address and you should be able to see a detailed breakdown of the exchange rates, transaction fees and purchase amounts involved.
- If you’re happy and want to move forward, please select “Agree and Buy”
- You should now see your Bitcoin balance in the Crypto tab. You’ll also be able to see the combined value of your crypto balance from within the PayPal summary page.
What are the Payment Methods on payal
Payal offers a variety of payment methods to its customers. The most popular ones are credit cards, debit cards, net banking and UPI.
We hope this article has been informative in telling you about the different payment methods that Payal offers to its customers and will be useful in your future transactions with them.
You can deposit GBP into your PayPal account by transferring GBP using a UK bank transfer (via Faster Payments) or a debit card.
What are the Paypal Cryptocurrency Supported Countries
PayPal does not yet support their cryptocurrency features for all countries.
It is available in
- United Kingdom
- United States (excluding Hawaii)
Cryptocurrency Fees
The commission fee you’ll pay on PayPal for cryptocurrency transactions is different than the exchanges. You’ll also notice that it does not include the current price for cryptocurrencies (due to their volatility).
The amount you pay in transaction fees depends on how many coins you buy or sell – is your order more than the minimum threshold?
The USD to crypto exchange rate you’re quoted should also include a 0.50% fee (but it could be more). Putting this all together means that, with PayPal, you should be paying at least 2% in fees when buying or selling cryptocurrency.
| Amount spent | Transaction Fee |
|---|---|
| £1.00 – £24.99 | £0.50 |
| £25.00 – £100.00 | 2.30% |
| £100.01 – £200.00 | 2.00% |
| £200.01 – £1000.00 | 1.80% |
| > £1000.01 | 1.50% |
Drawbacks of using paypal to buy crypto
At the moment there are some drawbacks to using paypal to store and buy your crypto, such as
- You cannot send your cryptocurrencies to other people using PayPal.
- At the moment you can’t use the cryptocurrency to pay merchants.
- Deposit cryptocurrencies into your PayPal account from somewhere else.
This is honestly not very good, and paypal needs to improve on its cryptocurrency service.
You’ll be 100% locked into their platform and won’t be able to do…well, anything with the cryptocurrency you buy using PayPal.
If you’re considering purchasing Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other cryptocurrency through PayPal, you should be aware of the risks.
Just because it’s convenient doesn’t mean it’s a great way to buy crypto.
As Bitcoin and other crypto become more popular, new platforms are created to facilitate trading. One recent example was last year when PayPal systems began to accept digital currency as a form of transaction. Unfortunately, the trend has not been replicated by Venmo since it is technically an extension of PayPal.
Ethereum and Bitcoin are two of the most popular payment apps, and now you can use them to pay for things in our store! The problem is that there are a few downsides to using these apps that make it more convenient to use a crypto exchange instead.
There’s no way to move your crypto
You can’t withdraw your crypto from PayPal or Venmo when you’re making a purchase, but there are some other options. You can either hold on to your crypto and see what happens, or sell it for fiat. PayPal also recently introduced an option to pay with crypto at checkout.
From a security perspective, this isn’t ideal. A common recommendation is to move any cryptocurrency that you purchase to a wallet of your own so that you will not be vulnerable to a potential hack in the event that something goes wrong. This protects you and gives you an extra layer of protection.
In case your crypto was stored on a hacked platform. The platform decides to freeze your account while they investigate if they did in fact get hacked. Someone else (not you) gets access to your account and uses that information to withdraw money from the account.
If you had $5,000 worth of Bitcoin on PayPal and they froze your account, you would be unable to access it until they unlocked your account. This could put a lot of stress on people who may not have this much money in their bank accounts.
Some people leave their crypto sitting in the exchange they bought it from and also not run into any issues. Why not at least have an option to transfer your crypto though? I know you cannot send crypto to other people if you buy it on PayPal or Venmo.
No options to lend your crypto, or stake and earn interest
Cryptocurrency exchanges often offer loans or other types of financial assistance.
You can earn interest on your crypto by lending it to others for a duration of time. For instance, Gemini clients can get a day pass to their platform and earn up to one percent from their crypto. Another option is KuCoin, which has a p2p marketplace where crypto owners can earn money
One extra thing to keep in mind when lending cryptocurrencies is that not all sites are reliable. It’s important to do your research before making a decision and ensure they’re trustworthy. However, it’s nice to have the option from time-to-time, especially if you need a little extra money for personal reasons.
Other exchanges will let you stake your crypto to gain interest, Paypal has no such option.
Selection is very limited
PayPal has four coins. This runs from $2.00 all the way up to $10,000.
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ether (ETH)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Litecoin (LTC)
PayPal and Venmo have their own lists of coins that are missing from this list. It may be because they are focusing on new buyers, who will likely not use this site. That being said, the coins offered by each app may still be enough for some newer crypto buyers to purchase with.
On the other hand, there are many coins out there that PayPal can’t offer. Their limited selection is a big disadvantage when compared to exchanges like Coinbase, which offer dozens of cryptocurrencies.
Conclusion on Paypals cryptocurrency service
PayPal is looking to expand its digital payment services and has been exploring the idea of adding Bitcoin as one of the available currencies. This would allow PayPal users to withdraw or spend Bitcoin (BTC) in a more convenient way.
The company has filed for a patent that would allow customers to convert their crypto holdings into fiat money, which could then be transferred via PayPal’s platform.
If you want to experiment with cryptocurrencies and don’t want use a bank account, PayPal is a good option. It has some missing features but also offers some alternative methods of getting started.