Cryptocurrency Exchanges That Accept PayPal
Can you use PayPal to buy Crypto in Australia?
Our Verdict: There are only a few top cryptocurrency Exchanges in Australia that accept PayPal. While it’s fast and secure, you will have to pay high fees when using PayPal. For that reason, we use and recommend the following alternative:
For Australians, the best exchange where you can use PayPal to buy crypto is eToro. We’ll go into more details below!
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Top Exchange Sites to Buy Bitcoin with PayPal
There are 3 main ways that you can use to buy cryptocurrency using PayPal;
1. Cryptocurrency exchanges:
There are limited exchange sites that accept this mode of payment, especially in Australia. Most of them only accept popular payment methods like credit and debit cards, OSKO, Bpay, PayID, and fiat purchases.
2. Peer-to-peer marketplaces:
These are unregulated marketplaces that connect cryptocurrency buyers and sellers directly. This gives the seller the freedom to set their preferred payment method & exchange rates, and some sellers accept payment through PayPal. You just have to filter your search on the marketplace to find your preferred seller.
Since these sites are majorly uncontrolled, fraud cases are often high, so you should be cautious when making a purchase.
3. Peer-to-peer lending platforms:
These are platforms that connect cryptocurrency borrowers & lenders, and some of them accept PayPal payments.
Here’s a list of platforms that allow you to make cryptocurrency purchases using PayPal:
1. eToro – Best Way To Buy Crypto With PayPal
This Israeli-based crypto exchange site is one of the few Australian exchanges that allow both PayPal deposits and withdrawals. This platform was launched in 2006 as a stock trading platform, but it has grown into one of the most reliable crypto exchanges.
eToro’s interface is easy to navigate by both amateurs and expert traders, and it has a mobile app that’s compatible with both android and iOS devices. Security on the site is also top-notch, and investor money is insured in case of a breach.
Some of the security protocols on the site include data encryption, most of the funds are stored in offline storage, and strong firewalls. They also encourage their users to enable 2-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security to their accounts.
Currently, the only crypto supported by eToro are bitcoin, Litecoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, XLM and XRP. While these options may seem limited, these are some of the major cryptocurrencies, and this exchange is always adding to its portfolio.
The registration process on eToro is simple:
- Step 1: Go to their registration page.
- Step 2: Fill in your personal details and submit them for review.
- Step 3: Complete the identity verification process by submitting a valid ID, utility bill or passport.
- Step 4: Deposit funds into your account.
- Step 5: Start trading!
eToro only requires you to make $200 to start trading, and every new user is given a demo account with $100,000 of virtual money.
This allows you to sharpen your skills until you’re confident to invest in actual money. eToro also has a social trading feature that connects you with the over 10 million traders on their site.
The minimum withdrawal amount is $30, which incurs a $2 fee, while all withdrawals above $500 are charged $25. For more information on the fees, read our detailed eToro review for Australians.
2. Paxful: Best Peer to Peer Exchange Site That Accepts PayPal
Paxful directly connects cryptocurrency buyers & sellers and has over 300 payment options. It’s important to note that when trading on peer-to-peer exchange sites, you don’t buy from the platform; you buy from sellers that have listed their coins on the site. This is also why prices vary.
Paxful acts as an escrow service where you send your payment to the site; they hold onto it and only release it to the seller once you receive your crypto. Since such sites are highly unregulated, cases of fraud and scams are on the rise, so refrain from making trades outside the platform.
To get started on this site:
- Go to the registration page and fill out your email address, secure password and name.
- Deposit funds into your account. Paxful accepts both fiat and cryptocurrency deposits.
- Connect with other buyers & sellers and start trading cryptocurrency.
Some of the benefits of this site include:
- It has a simple user interface.
- It supports more than 140 fiat currencies.
- It accepts more than 300 payment options.
- The payment process is seamless and orders are processed quickly.
This site is highly convenient, but it has 2 major drawbacks:
- It only supports BTC and ETH trades which is very limited compared to exchange sites.
- Even though the escrow fee varies, they are often higher what you’d pay on an exchange sites.
Paxful’s security is fairly solid, and they allow their users to enable 2-factor authentication. There’s also the option of meeting sellers in person to make cash payments, but we strongly advise against this due to security concerns.
3. xCoins- Best Peer to Peer Lending Site That Accepts PayPal
Like peer to peer exchange sites, xCoins acts as a middleman between borrowers and lenders. This platform is highly convenient as it allows you to buy bitcoin using PayPal balance and PayPal credit.
xCoin is majorly bitcoin fuelled, and to borrow crypto on this platform, you have to provide collateral in USD. This platform uses an automated process to connect buyers and sellers.
The borrower indicates the amount they’d like to receive, and xCoin links them with potential lenders with varying terms and rates. Lenders, however, benefit most on this site as they don’t have to trade their crypt to generate profits.
xCoin is highly secure, and they claim to have a strict verification process that only accepts 1% of the applicants. In 2016, this site was hacked, but they reimbursed the affected accounts. All users are also encouraged to enable two-factor authentication and Google authenticator.
At one time, xCoin’s SMS provider had an outage and users that had only enabled SMS-based 2-factor authentication couldn’t access their accounts.
This platform also has responsive customer support that’s available 24/7, allows lenders to use bank transfers and processes transactions swiftly. The major downside is that for borrowers, the fees are very high.
4. Coinbase
Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange sites across the world and has been in operation since 2012. This exchange site has a clean interface that makes it easy to execute trades and navigate the platform. It also has a straightforward sign-up process that allows beginners to start trading crypto within the shortest time.
Most exchange sites are a hot target for malicious hackers, but Coinbase has never been breached. This site has implemented strong security protocols, which include employee
background checks, 98% of assets are stored in cold storage and insurance for your funds in case a breach occurs. Coinbase also supports 2-factor verification and biometric login for other users.
Strand users on the platform have access to 32 coins, while those on the pro version can trade 36 coins. This site has a complex fee structure and also charges some of the user fees in Australia.
They, however, accept the most popular Australian deposit and withdrawal methods, including wire transfers, credit cards and debit cards. It’s important to note that coinbase only allows PayPal withdrawals.
Some of the top features on this exchange site include;
- Coinbase Pro gives users access to more trending features.
- Earn as you learn gives users cryptocurrency rewards for completing courses on their site.
- Coinbase card that allows users to spend crypto directly from their wallets for transactions
They also have a solid crypto wallet for storing coins and an Ethereum staking feature.
5. LocalCryptos
LocalCryptos is a peer to peer exchange site that provides users with a secure platform to make bitcoin purchases via PayPal. This person to person marketplace has over 100,000 users and protects all PayPal transactions in escrow.
Before a seller can receive payment, they have to put their coins in escrow. The coins are then transferred to you once you make your PayPal transfer. LocalCryptos is fairly secure, and all transactions are complete within 15 minutes. All messages are also protected with end-to-end encryption.
LocalCryptos’ fees are daily reasonable, and buyers incur a 0.75% fee when they respond to a seller’s offer, while the sellers are charged a 0.25% fee to list their crypto.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Buying Crypto With PayPal?
Pros
- PayPal is a safe and secure mode of payment.
- For users with PayPal accounts, this is a quick and painless way of buying cryptocurrency.
- It enables you to make crypto purchases using AUD.
Cons
- Very few exchange sites accept PayPal payments
- You’ll incure high transaction fees. Most platforms that allow PayPal transactions can impose fees as high as 10%.
- If you’re listed on a platform that doesn’t accept AUD, you’ll have to incur conversion fees.
It’s also important to note that you can’t make anonymous crypto transactions using PayPal. This is because PayPal accounts have to be linked to a credit card or bank account, which is in turn connected to your identity details.
Why Are There Few Sites That Allow PayPal Transactions?
This is majorly because of the PayPal chargeback policy. All cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, so it’s easy for a trader to make a bitcoin purchase, launch a complaint with PayPal that they never received their crypto and ask for a refund.
This way, they’ll keep their money and still get free bitcoin. Few crypto exchange sites are willing to take on this risk, and those that allow PayPal transactions charge very high fees.
Should You Buy Bitcoin With PayPal?
While PayPal transactions are painless, swift and secure, they also incur high fees that could potentially eat into your profits.
There are also few exchange sites that are willing to accept this payment method in Australia, and if you trade on a site that doesn’t accept AUD, you’ll have to incur conversion fees.
This is highly inconvenient, and it’s more reasonable to trade on exchange sites like Swyfx that accept other popular payment methods like debit cards, wire transfers and fiat deposits.
Warren is the co-founder of CoinCryption. He has a passion for cryptocurrency and has been involved in this space for more than 7 years. His other love is digital marketing and has over 15 years of experience.