Before now, our financial activities were entirely controlled by a centralized economic system which acted as a mediator between parties involved in a transaction. Today, a more decentralized system has emerged, eliminating the power and intermediation of a third party in financial transactions. Such a decentralized system or platform is known as a peer-to-peer platform.
A peer-to-peer platform is a decentralized platform where two individuals can interact directly, fix prices on products, and buy and sell their products without the intervention of a third party.
A good and important feature of a peer-to-peer platform is its decentralized nature. Buyers and sellers do not play to the tune of any authority. They set their prices and operate on their terms.
Paxful is one of the most popular peer-to-peer crypto platforms worldwide that provides seamless peer-to-peer services such as payment processing, crypto trading and gift card trading to users.
The primary purpose of Paxful P2P is to create a system that provides financial services to people in the absence of a third party.
Many questions have been raised about some of the Paxful services, and in this article, we will answer some of the frequently asked questions about Paxful.
What Is Paxful?
Paxful is one of the most popular peer-to-peer platforms where users can trade crypto for fiat money and vice versa, gift cards and execute other financial transactions without the mediation of any central authority. In other words, Paxful is a decentralized platform with no central monetary authority controlling the activities on the platform.
The platform’s trading of financial and digital assets is strictly between the buyers and sellers at an agreed price. The seller sets his price and conditions and buys the product if such price and conditions are acceptable to him.
To ensure transparency and eliminate fraud on the platform, the platform has an escrow system which locks up the funds and assets pending when both parties are satisfied with the transaction.
Paxful is most famous for Bitcoin and gift card trading. Users can trade Bitcoin for gift cards and vice verse on Paxful. They can also sell Bitcoin and gift cards for fiat currency, depending on the available offers.
There are several other P2P platforms, such as Binance P2P but Paxful has some distinguishing features such as low fees and easy sign-up, availability of the world’s leading cryptocurrencies and wire transfer as one of the payment methods.
How Do I Create An Account On Paxful?
Given what I have explained above about Paxful, you will agree that Paxful is a desirable platform for trading cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. You can’t get started until you have created an account on the platform. Here are some of the steps by step guides to creating an account on Paxful.
- Visit the Paxful website on your web browser.
- On the top right corner of the main page, click on “Register“.
- You have the option to create an account with your phone number or email address, make a choice and create a password.
- Before you proceed, you’ll be asked to verify your phone number or email address, depending on your choice.
It is important and recommended that you verify your details, such as your email address and phone number, to be a confirmed member who has access to all features and gains trading opportunities on the platform.
Bitcoins
How Do I Buy And Sell Bitcoin On Paxful?
Remember, we discussed earlier that the most traded cryptocurrency on Paxful is Bitcoin. Traders can buy and sell Bitcoin on the platform at set prices. All you need to do is to find a seller with a good offer and follow the steps below to buy Bitcoin.
1. Fill in The Search Requirements:
The first step is to click ” Buy” on your Paxful account and fill in the details such as the payment method, amount, currency etc. Then click “Find Offers“.
2. Filter Out Trusted Bitcoin Vendors:
You can use a filter to sort out the Paxful Verified Users Only, showing you the most trusted vendors. You can also find the Bitcoin vendors with the cheapest rates when you use the filter icon beside the rate per Bitcoin and choose Price: Lowest to Highest.
3. Find Offers:
When you find the seller, scrutinize everything about the seller and be sure you’re satisfied with all terms and conditions before you click “Buy.“
4. Complete the Trade:
When you click “buy”, a live chat will open for you to further discuss with the seller. Click ” I have paid“, and the Bitcoin will be released to you. Always leave feedback about the seller to help future traders know who they are dealing with.
Note that Paxful does not charge a fee for buying crypto.
Sell Bitcoin On Paxful
1. Create Sell Offer:
Click on “Create New Offer“, select Bitcoin as the crypto you want to sell and select ” Sell Bitcoin“.
2. Set Trading Pricing and Offer Limits:
Select your desired Bitcoin rate and indicate your offer margin. The offer margin serves as markup where your profits will vary. It is important to understand that Paxful charges a 3% fee when selling crypto for OneVanilla VISA/MasterCard gift cards but between 0.5% to 1% for most payment methods.
Remember to set your “offer trade limits” and “offer time limits.”
3. Write Trade Instructions:
As a seller, you’ll be required to write some offer tags, which helps buyers identify your requirement. This can be something like a “physical card only”. You can also write offer terms and trade instructions to let potential buyers view your instructions before engaging you.
4. Wait For Someone To Trade With You:
A live chat feature will be activated once a trade initiates. You can gather all relevant information about the gift card, including images and photos of receipts, on the chat with the seller. The receipts will be verified to ensure the gift card was purchased from a store.
After verification of the gift card information, go to your Squareup account and sell the gift card. You can release the BTC after trading the gift card to your Squareup account.
How Do I Ensure My Account’s Security On Paxful?
To avoid the malicious activities of cyber attackers on your account, you can keep your account safe using the following tips:
- Beware of weird and unexpected text messages from unknown senders.
- Be wary of profiles in the guise of Paxful moderators during a trade.
- Don’t engage with unknown users in the guise of Paxful support.
- Do not click on unknown links; they can be phishing links.
- Check the website domain address; it should always be: https://paxful.com
- Enable 2FA to improve your account security. It adds a second layer of security to your account.
Generally, you should know that Paxful will never ask for your personal information such as full credit/debit card number, 2FA code, account password etc. Do not disclose any of this information to anyone.
How Do I Contact Paxful Customer Support?
If you have any issues you want to resolve on the platform, you can contact Paxful support through their various social media platforms or Paxbot.
Paxbot is a bot found on the bottom right corner of the platform, and it serves as an automated assistant through which users can file a support ticket.
Such users will then be contacted through an official email at [email protected] regarding the support ticket.
Conclusion
Paxful is a leading and exceptional P2P crypto trading platform among others in the world. Paxful P2P traders enjoy low transaction fees, multiple payment options, security and prompt customer support.
