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How to Buy Bitcoin with PayPal
Buying Bitcoin with PayPal has become an increasingly popular option. Bitcoin has changed how we think about money online, but PayPal is still the go-to choice for everyday digital payments. A lot of people want to use PayPal to get into Bitcoin, but the way these two systems work is very different, which creates benefits and drawbacks for buyers.
This article looks at the advantages and challenges of buying Bitcoin with PayPal, and the best ways to do it.
Pros & Cons of Buying Bitcoin with PayPal
Pros
PayPal is a user friendly option for most people to make online payments
PayPal is trusted as a secure platform for online payments
Many people already have a PayPal account
Cons
Buying Bitcoin with PayPal has higher fees
There are strict limits on how much cryptocurrency users can buy via PayPal
Most exchanges don’t even offer PayPal as an option
Can You Buy Bitcoin With The PayPal App?
Yes. PayPal launched crypto services in early 2021.
PayPal seemed opposed to crypto at first, but as of 2021, the company enabled people to buy, sell and hold popular currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. PayPal lets you withdraw your purchased crypto to a private wallet
It’s a very streamlined process, but, unfortunately, the fees are rather high. In this guide, we mostly focus on using PayPal on popular exchanges with lower fees. Crypto purchases are not available in all jurisdictions where PayPal operates.
Coinbase: Our Favorite Exchange That Accepts PayPalto Buy Bitcoin with PayPal
Coinbase gives millions of US consumers a quick and easy way to buy Bitcoin with PayPal. Bank transfers can be slow and inconvenient for most people who want to buy crypto. PayPal on Coinbase offers a faster alternative. You can buy Bitcoin instantly with just a few taps.
How easy is it to buy cryptocurrency on PayPal using Coinbase?
1. Select the cryptocurrency you want to buy and tap “Add a payment method”
2. Log in to PayPal using the same email address as your Coinbase account to avoid extra verification steps
3. Choose a linked debit card or bank account from your PayPal wallet
Once set up, you can purchase up to $25,000 worth of crypto per day through PayPal.
A regulated U.S. exchange tailored for simplicity, security, and fiat integration.
History of PayPal and Cryptocurrency
PayPal was launched back in 1998, and its original goals were somewhat aligned with Bitcoin’s goals. PayPal wanted to create a new form of internet money that would be frictionless and make sending payments to other PayPal users almost as easy as sending an email.
However, due to the centralized nature of PayPal, the company was never able to be as innovative and boundary-pushing as they hoped. That said, PayPal eventually became the de facto standard for online payments.
However, PayPal has not worked well with Bitcoin up to this point. This is because, unlike cryptocurrency payments, PayPal transactions are not settled right after they are made. Due to this difference in how payments are processed on these separate platforms, they are mostly incompatible for trust-less trades between each other.
The same goes for using PayPal to buy popular alt-coins like Ethereum, Tether and Litecoin. PayPal and cryptocurrency exchanges simply do not work well together. You will likely have to find an intermediary to buy or sell Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency using PayPal.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying Bitcoin with PayPal
PayPal’s main advantage for buying crypto is its widespread adoption. Millions of people already use it. As one of the world’s largest payment processors with decades of experience, PayPal offers a simple, familiar way to purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. For people who want immediate access to crypto without learning new payment systems, PayPal can be a convenient option.
PayPal does come with drawbacks. Fees are higher than credit cards and much higher than bank transfers, and purchase limits are low. The biggest challenge is availability. Most major crypto exchanges don’t accept PayPal, making it difficult to use.
PayPal Alternatives
There are many ways to buy and sell crypto. Probably the most popular method of buying and selling crypto is a traditional bank transfer (likely using ACH, SEPA or something similar). It’s cheap (if not free) and extremely reliable. The only downside is that it’s relatively slow and takes days rather than minutes to fund your account. Credit and debit cards are much faster but charge high fees. Google Pay and Apple Pay are both becoming quite popular crypto transactions.
FAQ
PayPal is not a cryptocurrency; it is an online payments platform. You can buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash on the platform, however.
PayPal also has offers its own stablecoin called PYUSD.
While you cannot transfer Ethereum to PayPal directly, it is possible to to make this movement of money with Coinbase as a middleman. First, you will need to send your Ethereum to Coinbase (if it’s not already on the exchange). Next, you will need to sell your Ethereum for your local fiat currency of choice. Lastly, you can withdraw your fiat-denominated funds into your PayPal account.
PayPal does not currently accept Bitcoin; however, a subsidiary of PayPal, known as Braintree, does allow merchants to accept the cryptocurrency for online payments.
Yes, you can use your PayPal credit card to buy cryptocurrency; however, it should be noted that buying crypto via a credit card comes with the same sorts of drawbacks found with buying cryptocurrency via PayPal.
PayPal and cryptocurrency are not really comparable. PayPal is an online payments platform while cryptocurrencies are a completely new form of money. Whether PayPal or cryptocurrency is better for you will depend on your specific use case. As a payments mechanism, cryptocurrency is usually a better option in unregulated markets.
Yes. Coinbase added support for PayPal in 2021.
PayPal launched its own cryptocurrency called PYUSD in 2023 but it’s a stablecoin, which means its value is pegged to the US dollar.
In the early days PayPal seemed to view crypto as a competitor to its business but in recent years its been building crypto support into its platform rapidly. So there seems to have been a change of thought.
