Best Features of Using PayPal for Buying Crypto

One of the most enticing features of PayPal is that one only needs to know the correct email address of the recipient to send money. If using the services of PayPal for the very first time, one needs to register his/her credit card or bank account with the PayPal account. Once done with registration, one can make transfers by using the option of “Send and Request Money.” The money will go directly into the recipient’s PayPal account, which they can transfer to their bank account. The recipient should have a PayPal account with his/her email address as the primary identifier of the account.

Businesses can integrate PayPal’s merchant services to their website. To avail merchant integration services, companies need to register themselves with a PayPal business account. For individual transfers, having a personal account is enough. To accept payments through PayPal, businesses can use the PayPal logo on their website.

How Does PayPal’s Crypto Feature Work?

PayPal has introduced its crypto services with the motto of bringing crypto to the people. To leverage PayPal’s crypto services, you need to have the PayPal Cash or Cash Plus account and use the PayPal app. You can start exploring crypto with the PayPal app by investing as little as 1 US dollar in your PayPal wallet. You can choose the cryptocurrency on the app and buy, hold, or sell it at your discretion. For crypto transactions, PayPal offers the same security features applicable to the general PayPal account.

Once you log in to the application, you need to select “crypto” from the dashboard. Next, you need to click on the Buy button, and it will ask you to verify your identity. Additionally, PayPal also provides you with a list of articles on crypto, which you can read to know more about cryptocurrencies.

PayPal plans to introduce the crypto service to Venmo in 2021. According to reported plans, PayPal will also allow cryptocurrencies as a funding source for purchases in 2021. It will allow its users to leverage their crypto holdings to make purchases from its extensive network of more than 26 million merchants. Once this service gets active, cryptocurrencies will be converted to fiat currency upon a consumer’s selection of crypto as the funding source. Subsequently, merchants will receive their payouts in fiat currency as well. At present, one can not use cryptocurrency on PayPal as a means to pay or send money.

Which Cryptos Can You Buy and Sell?

As of now, customers in the United States, except the state of Hawaii, can buy, sell, or hold four selected cryptocurrencies on PayPal. These four cryptocurrencies are:

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Bitcoin Cash

Country Restrictions

Till now, PayPal has not extended its crypto services in any other country except the United States and its territories. Therefore, all trades need to be done in USD. However, the company has already declared its plans to expand its crypto services in selected global markets by the first half of 2021.

PayPal Fees

Transaction fees are calculated based on how much cryptocurrency one buys or sells. There is no fee for holding crypto assets in one’s account.

• $1-$24.99 = 0.5 USD.
• $25-$100 = 2.30%
• $100-$200 = 2.00%
• $200-$1000 = 1.80%
• $1000 and above = 1.50%

In this context, it would be relevant to look at the transaction fees charged by PayPal competitors such as Coinbase or CashApp. CashApp charges 1.76% on all Bitcoin transactions. Meanwhile Coinbase has a variety of different fees that range from $.99 to $2.99.

During the buy or sale of cryptocurrencies, PayPal discloses the exchange rate between US dollars and the Crypto asset beforehand that will apply to the transaction. According to company disclosures, the exchange rate may be inclusive of an estimated spread of 0.50%. Here, the spread implies the margin between the market price that PayPal receives from Paxos, it’s a trading service provider, and the exchange rate between US dollars and the crypto asset showed to the user.

It may be higher or lower depending on the conditions of the market. The platform does not separately disclose or calculate the spread applicable to each transaction. Agreeing to PayPal’s crypto services implies that the user agrees with all applicable rates, including the spread and the transaction fees.

Supported Crypto Wallets

As of now, buying, selling, and holding of crypto assets can only be done through the PayPal wallet. The company has already announced its plans to extend this service to Venmo in the first half of 2021. Venmo is a peer-to-peer payment platform that helps users send and accept payments to or from other people online.

How To Sign Up For PayPal Cash?

The PayPal cash account that one needs to have to avail of its crypto services is nothing but an extension of one’s existing PayPal account. Whenever someone sends money to a PayPal account, the recipient gets the option of either transferring it to their bank account or keeping it in PayPal itself. Choosing to keep the money in PayPal redirects to the creation of a PayPal Cash account.