Paxful Review 2024: Bitcoin Trading Simplified?

If you are eyeing the crypto broker Paxful, then you, my friend, might just be sitting on a lot of Bitcoin (BTC). Jokes aside, Paxful is one of the most sought-after platforms for trading Bitcoin. This crypto broker keeps things simple, extending support to BTC and Tether. While Paxful has its priorities set in stone, the question remains: is it the right platform for you to frequent?

Even though Paxful is better known for BTC trading, it also allows you to buy and sell ETH, USDT, and USDC.

This review will explore everything there is about Paxful, starting from its supported assets to features, fee structure, limits, customer support, and other traits. Let us now delve deeper into the world of Paxful, focusing on unpacking it for you as a BTC trader.

Paxful pros and cons

If you want to quickly decide if Paxful is the right crypto broker for you, check out this list of pros and cons:

Pros

• Its entire operation relies on peer-to-peer trading
• Supports 350+ payment methods
• Competitive P2P rates
• Sleek interface
• Allows you to check and verify trader reputation
• Brings escrow to support secure transactions
• Multilingual support

Cons

• It can be a hotbed for scammers as P2P traders are easier to manipulate
• Price conversion is lower than other exchanges

On Paxful, crypto buyers do not need to pay anything in terms of fees. However, sellers need to pay, depending on the payment method they choose.

Paxful’s background

Paxful came to fruition in 2015, led by Artur Schaback and Ray Youssef. The idea behind the Paxful crypto broker was to create something like an Uber but for crypto, allowing BTC sellers and buyers to interact directly with each other. Paxful currently has a presence in multiple global cities with over 200 employees.

Though Paxful is headquartered in the U.S., it doesn’t operate in West Virginia, New York, or Washington. Tether (USDT) is prohibited from being offered to Texas users

Here is what the co-founder of Paxful had to say about the Bitcoin exchange:

“With Bitcoin price and mining fees rising, the lightning network would drastically reduce wallet fees sending between crypto companies who have it implemented. Can’t wait once Paxful implements and our customers will enjoy instant transactions and much lower wallet fees!”

Artur Schaback, Co-Founder of Paxful: Twitter

What does Paxful offer?

Even though Paxful chooses to keep things simple, it still brings a decent set of crypto-specific features. These include the following:

Peer-to-peer trading

Paxful is famous for its P2P trading infrastructure, where BTC, ETH, Tether, and USDC buyers and sellers can connect directly. Whenever you log in with a registered account, you are shown the best P2P options for the given crypto relevant to your region.

The interface is sleek and minimal, showing at-a-glance the best conversion rate for buy or sell orders. Similar to an e-commerce platform, you can set filters by selecting buyers and sellers requiring photo ID for tax filing purposes, traders that do not require verification, traders that do not require receipts, and so on and so forth.

On Paxful, you can even sell your crypto and receive payment in the form of Amazon or any other company’s gift card. You can find the gift card options exclusively under the Gift card hub.

A wide range of payment options

One of the best traits of Paxful is its ability to accommodate a wide range of payment options. This functionality persists regardless of a buy or sell order. Depending on the crypto you wish to buy or sell, you can even get close to 470 payment options to work with.

Simply choosing “Cash Payment” gives you 17 choices, including OXXO, Amazon Cash, Western Union, and more. You can even buy crypto by paying in any other supported digital currency like Polkadot, EOS, ETC, and more.

In case you want to place sell orders, you can even accept payments in specific digital currencies. Regardless of the payment method you choose, precisely while selling crypto, your assets are held in the Paxful escrow and only released when you confirm to have received the payment.

Paxful Wallet

Another exceptional feature of Paxful is its proprietary wallet. This Bitcoin wallet boasts a user-friendly interface, brings in a host of security enhancements like the 2FA, works seamlessly with the Paxful marketplace, and even supports fiat-to-BTC conversions in one click. To sell your BTC, you must migrate your externally-located BTC to the Paxful wallet and start trading.

Vendor support

Paxful allows you to integrate your online payments with its UI, simplifying the process of selling your BTC. You can create specific sell orders while paying a maximum transaction fee of 2% on each trade.

In addition to the mentioned features, Paxful Pay allows vendors to accept crypto payments. Plus, Paxful introduces the Virtual Bitcoin Kiosk, an extension to the affiliate program. Registering under the Kiosk and using the link to spread the word and onboard new users can help you earn 2% flat on any amount the link brings.

Paxful Fees

The Paxful fee structure can be complex as many payment options are involved. That said, any kind of crypto buying or deposit made into the Paxful wallet is free of cost, as no escrow functionality is needed while buying. Sellers, however, need to pay anywhere between 0.5% to 5%, depending on which way they want to receive the payment.

Selling your crypto for gift cards attracts the highest fee, at 5%.

Also, for BTC-based trades, a network-specific transaction charge is levied. This charge moves directly to the miners and not to the Paxful reserves. Paxful also charges a 0.5% crypto conversion fee and a same bank fund transfer fee of 0.5%.

All Paxful limits explored

At Paxful, the deposit and withdrawal limits are classed together as transactions. Like other all-inclusive crypto brokers, even Paxful has a verification-based limit enhancement option. Without verification, you have no trading and crypto-sending limit in place.

Once you have verified your phone number, there is a $1,000 transaction limit in place. The limit keeps increasing with each verification level, with the maximum limit being $50,000+ for each trade.

It is worth noting that the deposit and withdrawal methods correspond to the various payment options supported by Paxful.

Also, if you want to get KYC-verified, you can provide the following documents for consideration:

1. Passport
2. Driver’s license
3. Bank statement
4. Other government-issued documents which verify residence or identity.

The lot size or the minimum order size depends on what the seller wants to offer to the buyer, something that is common among P2P platforms.

When it refers to enhanced user-verification standards, Paxful means KYC verification. However, even without KYC, with simple phone and email verification, you can get a decent transaction limit.

In case you wish to on-ramp or off-ramp crypto to fiat, here are some of the fiat options supported:

• USD (United States Dollar)
• EUR (Euro)
• GBP (British Pound Sterling)
• AUD (Australian Dollar)
• CAD (Canadian Dollar)
• CNY (Chinese Yuan)
• INR (Indian Rupee)
• RUB (Russian Ruble)
• ZAR (South African Rand)
• NGN (Nigerian Naira)
• KES (Kenyan Shilling)
• PHP (Philippine Peso)
• MXN (Mexican Peso)
• BRL (Brazilian Real)

… and many more.

Paxful user experience

Opening a Paxful account is self-explanatory. You simply need to register using your phone or email ID. Once done, you can enter the Paxful marketplace. This BTC-specific crypto broker also gives the new users a tour of the interface, making the experience all the more seamless.

Besides an easy-to-manage user interface, Paxful lists the buyer and seller’s credentials to give the other party some peace of mind. The mode of payment, maximum and minimum transaction threshold for the account, price limits, and other details are pre-listed on the Paxful interface.

If you are a seller or a buyer, the crypto broker also lets you create offers. This is where you can specify your limits, payment methods, and other aspects.

The primary UI highlight is the built-in reputation system, with details regarding the user credentials, followed by the filtering system.

Another aspect of Paxful’s user experience is the integrated Bitcoin calculator, which helps you handle the conversions and trades seamlessly. Finally, you can use and experience Paxful as an Android or iOS mobile app.

Customer support and security measures on display

If you wish to move further with the Paxful wallet, the built-in escrow component is an additional line of defense for your funds. Other security aspects include the option to set up the Google Authenticator, set up a strong password, check logins and account activity, and more.

Another aspect of Paxful’s enhanced security is funds safety. Paxful’s assets are held with BitGo and Fireblocks, with the quantity disclosed as part of the Paxful status. This interface even reports any kind of downtime experienced by the website.

As for customer support, Paxful boasts a round-the-clock global system. You can even reach out to the Paxful community or experience the multi-channel coverage across social channels like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and more.

Paxful also offers additional customer servicing options, including an info-packed FAQ section, email support for more detailed queries, and live chat support.

You can have a better customer support experience if you join Paxful’s trader or the peer program.

Still on the fence about Paxful?

Overall, if you want a simple, no-frills interface to trade your BTC without worrying about KYC, at least for smaller transactions, Paxful crypto broker is a solid crypto broker to consider. With the integrated Paxful wallet, trading BTC and other supported cryptos is as seamless as it gets.