Paxful may not confirm to the traditional or normal Crypto trading features, but it still facilitates the trade of Cryptocurrencies and hence is the subject of this Paxful review.
Infact, if you wish to buy/sell Cryptocurrencies, and need an absolutely anonymous platform to do so, Paxful without doubt is the second-best (or the best?) choice after LocalBitcoins.
They also recently changed their entire User-interface making it a lot more appealing and different from LocalBitcoins.
Before you continue further on this Paxful review, note that if it’s instant and automated Crypto trading you’re looking for, you better glance at some of our other best Cryptocurrency trading exchanges.
Paxful isn’t exactly “automated”, rather it’s a Peer-to-Peer exchange, which facilitates trades between a buyer and a seller.
Although we still will ask and answer all the usual questions which we generally discuss in our reviews, which are:
- Does Paxful Require KYC Verifications?
- Which Deposit Methods are Accepted on Paxful?
- What are the Minimum Limits and Fee on Paxful?
- Is Paxful Secure?
- Which are the Countries Supported by Paxful?
- Which Coins can you Trade on Paxful?
- How to Contact Paxful Support?
Paxful Peer to Peer Crypto Exchange Overview
Despite not being automated or instant, Paxful brings with itself a hoard of features which far surpass its lack of automation. Extreme anonymity, and extensively long payment/deposit methods are just tip of the iceberg.
Here’s a list encompassing most of its primary features: 
- Primary URL: https://paxful.com
- KYC: Not Mandatory but Higher Volume Trade, Need KYC.
- Payment /Deposit Methods: 300+ (Fiats and Cryptocurrencies).
- Fee: 0.1%-5%
- Security: User Authenticity Verification / 2-FA / Escrow.
- Margin /Leverage Trading: No
Create Your Account on Paxful
Let’s start with the most important question we generally ask when choosing a Cryptocurrency trading exchange.
Does PaxFul Require KYC Verifications?
No, Paxful doesn’t require any KYC verifications in order to deposit/withdraw or buy/sell Cryptocurrencies. This is probably the biggest factor why it’s on this list of best Cryptocurrency trading exchanges.
Infact, it’s so anonymous it can be compared to the same levels of anonymity as we featured in our DigiFinex Review or obviously LocalBitcoins Review as well.
The registration too is completely anonymous, doesn’t need any personal details, and is instant.
Although KYC-verifications are optionally available. They can be completed to increase your trust for other parties, and make it easier for you to grab higher-value trades.
The KYC-verification isn’t layered alike LocalBitcoins, but is rather simply divided in two sections. The first requires a user to verify his/her identity. It can be done using any govt. issued ID card.
The verification can be completed on the web either using your Webcam, or manually uploading a photo of the document.
It’s completed almost instantly without hours and days of wait-period. The second verification is that of the user’s address. It too is completed in a similar manner, although this time a document proving the user’s address is required.
Although note that some sellers have their own requirements, for e.g. there may be a seller-requirement of your account having to be E-mail verified and/or phone-verified. Although it’s easy to find buyers/sellers without these requirements.
Bottomine, the verification is optional, and is fast and hassle-free if and when opted for.
Which Deposit/Payment Methods are Accepted on Paxful?
So how can you deposit funds on Paxful? As mentioned earlier, the list is extensive. The platform claims to accept over 300 different kind and forms of payments.
Because it is a Peer-to-Peer exchange, the person you’re buying from, or selling to is another human being. Hence, they’re able to accept just about every payment method that exists on the planet.
For e.g. you can pay with:
- Credit/Debit Cards.
- PayPal
- Bank Transfers.
- Local Payment Processors
- Mobile recharge.
- Cash Deposits.
- Gift cards.
- Or even in-person Cash.
Users can even choose to exchange fiat currency for Cryptocurrencies, or make a Crypto for Crypto exchange. Funds can be deposited/received using as many as 26 Cryptocurrencies, including:
- ETH, BTC, BTCH, XLM, XRP, TRX and many others.
This list is only to get an idea of the possibilities, which are far too many to encompass in this brief payment section of this Paxful review.
What are the Minimum Limits and Fee on PaxFul?
Like any other exchange, Paxful too has its own limits for the minimum as well as maximum trade amounts.
The limits however aren’t static, neither are they fixed by the company. These limits are dependent on the trade/trader you’re going with.
When buying/selling Cryptocurrencies on Paxful, all the available buyer-sellers are displayed. Each offer has its own limits set by the buyer or the seller of the funds.
As for the fee, the marketplace is absolutely free for the buyers. It’s only the sellers the fee is charged to.
Said fee is dependent on the mode of payment that the seller accepts, it’s charged as follows:
- For most payment modes (Cards /Cryptocurrencies/Cash/Online transfers): 1%
- Bank transfers: 0.1%
- iTunes/Google Play Gift cards: 5%.
- Other Gift cards: 2%.
Withdrawal is possible only via Bitcoin, and is charged at 0.0005 BTC/transaction. Although obviously you can also sell your BTC for any other type of payment (as mentioned above) in which case the seller’s fee is applicable.
Open Your First Trade on PAXFUL
Is Paxful Secure?
The first question pertaining to its security is “trust”. Can the other parties (buyers and sellers) be trusted to not scam you.
The answer is, yes absolutely. Paxful uses an in-built Escrow which reserves the funds from the seller’s account as soon as a trade is initiated, making sure you always get paid if you make a payment.
As for buyers-trust, the funds are only released once the seller releases them manually. The buyer has to provide proof of payment (transaction number, receipt and other details).
Apart from this, quite a bit of information about each party is displayed before making any fund-transfers:
- The verification status of the user.
- Total number of trades.
- Total individual/different trade partners.
- Total trade volume.
- “Trusted” contacts.
- Numbers of blocks received.
Additionally, “Positive/Negative and Neutral” reputation is displayed as well. All of this can be evaluated to form a pretty practical picture of the user’s legitimacy or authenticity.
As far as account security goes, they offer 2-Factor authentication which controls all the major actions for the account.
The 2-FA can be set either for cell phone numbers and/or via Google Authenticator or Authy if you prefer your privacy. Active Sessions and Account Activity logs help you monitor and identify unidentified access/changes and secure your account.
So yes it may not have as many security features as we encountered in our OKCoin Review or OKEx Review, the security is still more than acceptable on Paxful.
Which are the Countries Supported by Paxful?
Another major advantage that the platform can offer being a P2P exchange is its global presence. Unlike some other centralized and heavily restricted exchanges, Paxful is actually available Globally.
It’s even available in generally restricted countries such as India, Russia, China, USA etc.
Which Coins can you Trade on PaxFul?
Paxful may not be a traditional Cryptocurrency exchange, it still allows trading of more than just Bitcoin. As mentioned earlier, a total of 3 different Cryptocurrencies can be traded on the platform.
Although one coin from the pair always has to be Bitcoin (BTC), but you can either pay using, or receive any one of the Ethereum, Tether available Cryptocurrencies in return.
Any of the Cryptocurrencies displayed above (and more) can be traded on the platform in exchange for Bitcoins.
How can you Contact Paxful Support?
The support on Paxful isn’t as impressive as some other aspects mentioned on this Paxful review.
The website does have a “live chat” feature present, but it’s neither live nor functional. Its status is always “online”, yet you never find any live representatives there.
The reply is promised via E-mail within a couple hours, but we tested it for over 13 hours and didn’t receive our reply (on a Friday).
Conclusion
Time for a final verdict on this Paxful review. How well does Paxful stack against the other best Cryptocurrency exchanges, I’d say that would depend on what kind of trades you’re trying to make.
If your trades do not have to be instant, and can have a gap of minutes, hours or days, , you’re willing to go through the process of manually contacting the other party and searching for suitable offers for each trade, Paxful is more than impressive.
Also, the price on Paxful is generally higher than the market price of Bitcoin because users are looking to make a “profit” here. But if you’re willing to trade couple extra bucks for your anonymity and privacy the platform is totally made for you.
REGISTER YOUR ACCOUNT ON PAXFUL
I personally love the platform for its simplicity, extensive payment methods and ease of use (trades can be initiated and completed in minutes).
But you may not agree with me; or do you? Why don’t you drop your two cents on this Paxful review and the platform in the comments?
