How to open Paxful account and buy/sell Bitcoin?

Founded in 2015, Paxful has grown into one of the world’s leading peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplaces. With 9 million users and more than 350 payment options, Paxful’s mission is simple: provide financial services to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

If you’re determined to take the leap and get your first bitcoin, this is the place for you. To help you get started, we’ve put together the ultimate guide on how to use Paxful – let’s get started.

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How does Paxful’s service work?

Paxful offers over 350 payment methods, allowing you to buy and sell Bitcoin however you want. Paxful connects you to thousands of trusted traders, you simply pay using their preferred payment method, mark the transaction as paid, and the other party does the rest.

Ready to get started? Let’s create your account first.

How to open an account with Paxful?

The first stop on your Paxful journey is creating an account. You first decide if you are ready to enter the world of Bitcoin,

If you’re ready, open your web browser, go to the Paxful homepage, and click the signup button in the upper right corner of the page.

how to open paxful account

Here you can create an account using your own phone number or email address. If you started your Paxful journey through a referral from a friend, please don’t forget to click I have an invitation code to receive all Paxful referral benefits.

After creating an account, you will receive a free Paxful wallet and you can get started now. Also, don’t forget to verify your phone number and identity to trade higher limits and unlock more benefits.

Go to Paxful’s Official Website

Buy Bitcoin for the first time

Now that you have all the tools you need to get started, are you ready to buy your first bitcoin? It might sound intimidating at first, but trust Paxful, the actual process is a lot easier than you might think. The best thing about buying Bitcoin on Paxful is that there are over 350 payment methods to choose from, no fees for buyers and as little as $10 to get started .

Here’s how it works:

1. Go to the homepage

to choose Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency you want to buy, choose from more than 350 payment methods, or enter the amount you want to spend. Then, click Find Offers.

Buy Bitcoin for the first time on paxful

2. After selecting a offer

To go to the offer page, find a offer from a trusted trader that suits your needs.

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Here are some things you should be aware of:

Price: Shown as a percentage with an up or down arrow next to it, this is the price of the bitcoin you bought compared to the current market price. Also, you can check the dollar value next to the price to see the bitcoin dollar equivalent you are getting.
Offer Limit: Shown as a range, this is how much traders are willing to sell, make sure you are spending within this range.
Offer Description: Displayed under Payment Methods, the Offer Description gives you a simple idea of how the seller would like to be paid. Please make sure your preferred payment method matches the description for a smooth transaction.
Feedback Score: With a green thumbs up icon and numerical rating, each trader’s Feedback Score gives you a simple look at the other’s creditworthiness. If you want to dig deeper into a seller’s profile, you can click on their name to see feedback on past transactions.
Active seller status: Before you start trading, make sure the seller is active. If the seller is not active, the transaction may take a while to complete. You can see how recently the seller has been online (displayed below the feedback score).
Medals: Paxful has pinned offer from some of the most trusted traders at the top, keep an eye out for Featured or Trusted Medals in your offers. Alternatively, you can turn on the “Show only Paxful verified offer” option to filter the offer page to only show trusted traders.

Go to Paxful’s Official Website

3. Start Trading

Once you find a offer you like, click the buy button to learn more about the offer. If you’re satisfied, you can enter the amount you want to pay and click Buy Now.

When the trade begins, greet your trading partner politely, who should send you a set of specific trade instructions for you to follow. Make sure to follow the instructions strictly to ensure a smooth transaction.

After paying, remember to mark your transaction as paid. The next operation will be completed by the seller, please wait a few minutes for the other party to confirm your payment. Once confirmed, they will release the bitcoins from escrow into your Paxful wallet.

At this point, the transaction is complete, you only need to leave feedback for the trading partner!

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Buy Bitcoin with Gift Cards

Gift cards are one of the most popular payment methods on Paxful. The platform has over a hundred gift card brands available, allowing the unbanked to participate in transactions. People can even use gift cards to start their own online business and earn extra income.

In order to make transactions more efficient for users who like to trade gift cards, Paxful has created the Gift Card Hub feature, which is your one-stop gift card trading center. Here you can sell your own gift cards, or buy discounted gift cards with bitcoin, and Paxful will do all the work for you. The whole process is automatic, you just need to list your gift cards and you can easily sit back and wait for your brand new bitcoins to be credited to your wallet.

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Create a offer on Paxful

Creating an offer allows you to trade on your own terms. You can create a buy offer to attract users who want to sell bitcoin, or create a sell offer to attract users who want to buy bitcoin.

To create your own offer, go to the home page and click Create offer at the top. Then set your preferences: the cryptocurrency of your choice, the type of offer you want to create, and your preferred payment method.

create an offer to sell bitcoin

In the next steps, you can customize your offers as needed. Each area is as follows:

Market Price vs Fixed Price: This option allows you to decide whether to base the offer price on the market or if you want to set a fixed price.
Offer Transaction Limit: This range is the amount you wish to trade.
Offer Spread: This percentage is how much you earn on the trade.
Time Limit for Offer: This time limit is the amount of time a trading partner needs to complete the payment before the deal is due.
Offer Description: Select up to three to quickly describe your offer. You can click to see all available descriptions , choose from a list, or type in the appropriate field.
Offer Label: 25 characters, indicating the selling point of the offer, within 25 characters, what would entice traders to choose your offer?
Offer Terms: This is a short description that traders see on each offer page, including how to pay and what the advantage of your offer is. Please try to keep it as clear and concise as possible.
Trading Instructions: This is a more detailed version of the offer terms. In these instructions, be sure to detail everything your counterparty needs to do to make a payment.
Transaction Limits: Verification, Target Country, Visibility, Minimum Transactions Requirements, New User Limits, Country Limits, Proxy/VPN Users, and Active Hours are all ways you can limit offer visibility and accessibility . You can customize these settings according to your needs and choose which users to trade with.

Once everything is set up, you can click Create offer, your offer will be posted on the platform, and the next step is to wait for others to pick your offer. You can also have multiple active offer, buying and selling Bitcoin at the same time.

Go to Paxful’s Official Website

Stay Safe When Buying Bitcoin

You might be wondering: Is Paxful safe? The answer is yes, buying and selling Bitcoin on Paxful is very safe. Paxful goes to great lengths to create a safe trading environment for you, with a platform equipped with custodial services, state-of-the-art blockchain analysis tools and other security features. However, you also do your part to ensure that your funds are kept safe on Paxful. A few commonly used suggestions are as follows:

Never Do Out-of-custody Transactions: Out-of-custody transactions are against Paxful’s Terms of Service , and Paxful’s mediators cannot provide you with protection. If you come across someone trying to do an out-of-custody transaction with you, please report it immediately.
Never share any personal information: Disclosing your contact or personal information may allow criminals to defraud you outside of the Paxful website, or impersonate you to access your account.
Learn how to identify an official Paxful mediator: Paxful mediators come with special speech bubbles and signatures to let you know Paxful is here to help. If you’re wondering if you’re talking to a Paxful Moderator, look to see if the speech bubble is purple and has the Paxful Moderator badge on the bottom left.
Paxful Mediator: Enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Enabling two-factor authentication for all features on your account adds an extra layer of security. This means that for all transactions, you need to verify and approve. Please enable this feature as soon as possible.
Setting up security questions: You should set up security questions immediately after creating an account. If you haven’t set it yet, you can go back to your account settings at any time to complete the operation. Please choose questions and answers that only you know and make sure you can remember them easily!
Find Trusted Traders: If you are just getting started, the best way is to specifically find trusted traders on the platform. As mentioned earlier, you can turn on the “Show Paxful Verified Offers Only” button when looking for offer.
Keep clear receipts: Although there are no paper receipts for buying and selling Bitcoin on Paxful, please take clear screenshots of your transactions as proof of purchase. In the event of a dispute, this evidence will be of great help to you.
Please trade politely with your trading partner: After you start trading and the online chat window pops up, make sure to communicate politely with your trading partner – respectful, professional, direct and clear to ensure a smooth and efficient transaction.

Ready to get started?

Now that you’ve gone through the ultimate beginner’s guide to trading on Paxful, we believe you’re ready to get started! Head over to the page to find an offer you like and buy bitcoin now!

Open Paxful’s Account