Want to buy Bitcoins anonymously and instantly by using fiat currency? One of the best options out there could be Paxful. This is a peer2peer Bitcoin marketplace that connects buyers with sellers to make the Bitcoin exchange fast, convenient, and private.

As the demand for the top cryptocurrencies edges up driven by people seeking to take advantage of the low token prices after a year of bearish trading, the need for a reliable platform cannot be overemphasized. Paxful has positioned itself well to provide the convenience through an intuitive platform and support for many payment methods, including fiat, PayPal, and credit cards that most crypto exchanges such as Binance do not accept.

Although its features such as the free wallet and operational model are impressive, the persistent complaints about lost Bitcoins and poor replies from Paxful have cast it in a bad light. This post is a comprehensive Paxful review that seeks to answer key questions, including “Is Paxful legit?” and “Is Paxful safe to buy Bitcoin?”

A Closer Look at Paxful

As mentioned, Paxful is a crypto exchange, which was established in 2015 to act as a marketplace for bringing together Bitcoin buyers and sellers. As a peer2peer platform, it implies that Paxful does not operate as a merchant for Bitcoin or a centralized exchange. Rather, it only acts as a mediator between buyers and sellers.

The exchange was founded in Delaware by a group of developers who wanted to simplify the process of purchasing Bitcoins. The most notable of the founders are Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback.

Speaking to PR Newswire early in 2017, Schaback explained that they wanted to have a platform that everyone could associate with without worrying of his/her identify getting revealed. The exchange seeks to empower the Bitcoin buyer and seller by allowing them to control the purchase process.

Schaback continued to say that they want Paxful to be a motivation for all through the affiliate programs that yield benefits to both individuals and businesses. This means that you can use own blog, social media following, and website to drive referrals and earn from Paxful.

How Does Paxful Work?

Paxful commits to keeping the process of buying and selling Bitcoins as simple as possible. To start using Paxful, a user simply heads to the site and clicks the “Buy Bitcoin” icon at the top center section. Take a look at the page below of the Paxful website.

Then, choose the quantity of Bitcoin to purchase and the currency of choice. The page will display Bitcoins to expect for the amount of your choice. In order to purchase the BTC shown on the screen, you will need to follow the following steps:

• Once you have seen the number of Bitcoins that will go to your wallet, the next step is creating an account. On the right-hand corner of the website, click create an account to get a form requiring you to fill a valid email, a username, and a password.
• When you complete creating your account, Paxful will also create a free Bitcoin wallet for you to help simplify the purchase process.
• Select the preferred method of payment. Paxful supports a long list of payment methods including wire transfers, credit cards, PayPal, MasterCard, and NetTeller.  
• Search the available Bitcoin sellers and ensure to indicate the currency of choice and preferred method of payment. The search results show the open orders that you can simply click to select a specific seller.
• After selecting the preferred seller, you will be allowed to view their profile and make the right decision whether to proceed to buy from your selected seller. You even have the option of chatting with the seller on the platform and only initiate the purchase process once convinced the seller has a good reputation.
• After initiating the purchase process from the seller, you will be directed to an Escrow service that will guide you on additional steps to follow based on the selected method of payment.

The video below is a demonstration of how to buy Bitcoins from Paxful:

The Paxful Exchange Fee

There is no fee for buying Bitcoin from Paxful. Instead, the fee is determined by the seller. Note that Paxful charges the seller 1% of the amount of the transaction.

It is also crucial to pay attention to the exchange rates because the fee can be very high. In fact, sellers set the exchange rates at rates higher than the centralized exchanges such as Binance and KuCoin. They use the method to recover part of the 1% charged for selling their coins on the platform.

It is also important to be on the lookout because the exchange rates could change before completing your transaction. Therefore, compare the exchange rate and ensure to only work with the seller charging a lower fee.

Is Paxful Safe to Buy Bitcoin?

Paxful has put a lot of effort into ensuring that users and their resources are protected. Here are some of the security structures and indicators that Paxful use:

• The Legitimacy of Paxful Exchange

Paxful operates as a registered company with its headquarters at 3422 Old Capital Trail, PMB# #989, Wilmington DE, 19808, USA. To demonstrate that they are not scammers, they have even posted the images of the top staff on the exchange’s About Us page.

The info demonstrates that the company is compliant with the local laws and can be sued if it goes against the law. The openness demonstrated by Paxful has set it apart from other exchanges that opt to operate anonymously because users can associate with it.

• Paxful Uses Advanced Encryption to Keep User Info Safe

When running online transactions, especially those related to finances, it is prudent to ensure your website is secure to avoid getting attacked by hackers. The Paxful exchange is secured by Comodo and it encrypts data using 256-bit SSL. The encryption technology is very effective and, therefore, has a preference for modern encryption algorithms and technologies such as SSL.

It is important to appreciate that as a peer2peer platform, it is the role of the user to try and work with a reputable and verified seller, which you can verify by checking the feedback from past clients before authorizing payment.

• Security of User Funds

When users create accounts on Paxful, their coins are deposited in the wallet that is automatically generated for them. The wallet is secured using a password and 2-factor authentication to ensure that no third party can easily gain access.

To keep your wallet more secure, you need to create a wallet that is very difficult for hackers to crack. For example, include numbers, figures, signs, and special characters.

Paxful Customer Support

To know the commitment of a company to customer value, one of the components to check keenly is the customer support. At Paxful, customer support is very responsive through a number of methods.

The first and arguably most effective method is buy posting on is https://paxful.com/buy-bitcoin. The company support responds to email inquiries within hours.

You can also opt to use the chat function located at the bottom right-hand side of their website. Though the chat function allows you to directly talk with a customer representative, it takes a lot of time before getting a reply. Therefore, you might have to wait a while before help can come through. Take a look at their chat caption below.

Another helpful option of reaching Paxful customer support is by placing a call to the company’s phone number. Their customer line is 1-865-272-9385. To get assistance this way, it is advisable to only call during working hours.

You can also engage the support on their social media pages such as Facebook. However, you need to be careful about asking pertinent questions about your account because the conversation is public.

Paxful Summary

Paxful came out as a carefully designed platform that is committed to empowering people to easily buy Bitcoins by using different methods. Here is a summary of the pros and cons:

A good cryptocurrency exchange seeks to guarantee users of optimal safety for their info and resources while simplifying the process of buying new coins. Paxful scores high on all the factors because it puts users in control of the process.

This review established that people calling Paxful a scam is indeed not genuine. From the beginning of the purchase or sale process, the users’ funds are protected and they are provided with feedback to help establish the reputation of the seller. Indeed, they can even chat with sellers to further gauge their trust.

The answer to the question “Is Paxful legit?”, is “yes.” The platform is run in an open manner and in line with the local laws to win the trust of the administration and the community. Indeed, it is correct to say that Paxful is one of the best platforms out there.

If you have been planning to buy Bitcoins using fiat in a secure way, this Paxful review would strongly recommend that you consider Paxful. Remember that even with a reliable platform such as Paxful, it is still crucial to observe the best practices, including the following:

• Always keep your private keys away from third parties.
• Only commit a small portion of your funds to cryptos.
• Consider splitting funds to multiple assets to lower associated risks.