What is Paxful.com? Why is it a household name in the present-day world? Is there anything that you should possibly look forward to with regard to what it has to offer? You shall be finding out about all that and more in today’s review. I believe that by the end of the review, you will be well-placed to make a solid decision about whether or not you will be using this platform in the future. Some of the sections to look forward to include:
- What is Paxful.com?
- The services that are offered on Paxful.com
- How to Purchase Bitcoin on Paxful.com
- Currencies and payment methods used on Paxful.com
- How genuine is Paxful.com?
- Pros and cons
Name of the Service: Paxful
Official Website URL: https://paxful.com/
Overall rating : 
(4.1 / 5)
Recommended: Yes
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What is Paxful.com?
Paxful.com exists as an online platform that facilitates the buying and selling of Bitcoin. People who own Bitcoin or who are looking for Bitcoin to use in various trades can rely on this platform to complete their objectives. If you have used LocalBitcoins there before, then you can relate to what Paxful is here for. This platform brings more than 300+ payment options to the buyers and sellers of BTC, which is something that is not availed in traditional exchanges. You can expect a super-intuitive user experience when using this platform.
Paxful.com was launched in 2015 and has been around since then, offering its services to people in different corners of the world. With more than 100 employees distributed across major cities in the world, Paxful is definitely a global firm. Its creators actually see it rising to become the Uber of the Bitcoin community. Anyone who wants to set up an online Bitcoin shop can do so, in a manner that resembles what is already happening on platforms such as eBay.
This platform is accessible to most people in various corners of the world, but there is however a significant number of people who cannot use the platform due to geo-restrictions. There are also those people who do not have access to certain payment options. All in all, the creators of this platform have done an impressive job at creating a platform that lets Bitcoin buyers use a decentralized trading approach to acquire Bitcoin.
The services that are offered on Paxful
If you are interested in purchasing Bitcoin offered by sellers on Paxful, you can do so through:
- The official website
- A virtual kiosk
- The App
Paxful’s virtual kiosk is basically the affiliate program that lets you earn revenue when a person you refer to this platform purchases Bitcoin worth any amount.
How to Purchase Bitcoin on Paxful.com?
You can only interact with the sellers of Bitcoin on this platform if you have a verified account. In all honesty, I think that is a security measure that everyone should be willing to comply with, owing to the sensitive nature of the transactions. Without such measures, many scammers can get the opportunity to rob people of their hard-earned money. With a verified profile, you can purchase BTC by doing the following:
- Enter the amount of BTC you want to purchase (you can find this section on the homepage of the official website)
- Choose the currency that you want to be utilized in the calculation of exchange rates.
- Choose a payment method from those that Paxful has listed out.
- Select your preferred Bitcoin seller then click “Trade”.
- You should then follow the payment instructions that the seller provides, after which you should click on “Mark as Paid”.
- Wait for the seller to release your BTC.
Note that some trades take longer than others, depending on the currency used and whether the Bitcoin seller is online or not. You will find that with some payment approaches such as PayPal and Amazon Gift cards, the transaction is instant, whereas, with options such as Western Union, you will be required to wait for quite some time.
The escrow service
Paxful.com also provides the escrow feature which is quite essential for this type of service. When a buyer spots a suitable seller, and the seller agrees to the buyer’s offer, the Bitcoin required to complete the transaction are usually moved from the seller’s account to an escrow account. The buyer of the BTC is usually given the opportunity to transfer their money to a seller’s account using the preferred payment platform within a specified time, after which he or she should proceed to mark the payment as “complete”. If this buyer decides to dilly dally and does not send the payment on time, the entire transaction usually autocancelled, and the BTC reverted to the seller’s account.
The alternative scenario is when both the seller and buyer of the Bitcoin reach an amicable agreement and mark the transaction complete, with all the terms being met, in which case the BTC is usually released to the buyer’s account.
If during the transaction, you encounter any challenges, you can move it to “dispute”, for a moderator to help with making sure that matters are resolved.
Currencies and payment methods used on Paxful.com
Paxful exists to facilitate the buying and selling of Bitcoin. As you can already guess, you cannot hold any fiat currency in your Paxful account. Good thing is, as a buyer or seller, you have the liberty to pay with or accept more than 300 payment types. Amongst the most common ones used by Paxful users include:
- PayPal
- Western Union
- Amazon Gift Cards
- Western Union
- Bank Transfers.
Note that using fiat currencies on Paxful will attract varying exchange rates. You should always look at various payment options offered to see to it that you do not get anything short of the best deal.
Also note that as a Bitcoin seller, you will have to part with a 1% commission fee that goes to Paxful and a varying network fee that goes to Bitcoin miners.
How genuine is Paxful.com?
In my own opinion, Paxful is a genuine platform. I can only speak from my experience of having used it in the past, so my experience may be different from other peoples’ experiences. On the overall, I think that if you decide to use Paxful, you should take note of the things below:
- It is not available to people who live in Burundi, CAR, Cuba, Crimea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea, Somali, Sudan and Darfur, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
- If you do not check the seller’s profiles carefully, you may end up getting scammed. This is the main reason behind why it has a user rating of (2.4/5) stars on Trustpilot. Always take your time to choose a seller who has many complete transactions and positive feedback.
- Have your verification documents ready (ID), so that you can always present them whenever you are requested to do so.
Pros and cons
Pros
- It offers many payment methods
- Quick purchase of BTC in most cases
Cons
- If you are not careful, you can run into scammers.
Final words and verdict:
Verdict: Legit
Overall rating : (4.1 / 5)
Paxful.com’s impact in the market can’t be overlooked. It is a platform that has definitely risen to become quite useful to many people whose main objective is to purchase or sell Bitcoin. I think it is a platform that anyone in the nations that are not restricted can access, though one needs to proceed with caution. To that regard, I think it is best if I provide an alternative for those who feel like they are not very sure about using Paxful. Check out the alternative below:
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That is pretty much what you need to know about what Paxful.com is. Have you used this platform in the past? Would you like to share your experience? Please do so in the comments section. You are also welcome to ask any questions that you have concerning Paxful.
Your Friend,
Eric. Bitcoin investor and blogger at StartMakeStopWaste
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