Looking to buy Bitcoin (BTC) with PayPal in the UK?
There aren’t many places where you can buy crypto using PayPal – especially if you’re looking to keep fees at a minimum.
In this list, I’ll run through the places that I know about where you can purchase Bitcoin (BTC) using your PayPal balance in the UK.
Best Ways to Buy Bitcoin (BTC) with PayPal in the UK
1. PayPal’s Crypto Hub
The simplest way to buy Bitcoin (BTC) using PayPal is to do so directly through PayPal itself.
PayPal is one of the world’s largest digital payments providers. The company specialises in credit card and bank transfer payments, but it launched a crypto purchasing platform in 2021 for UK investors.
This service is quick and easy to use as it’s designed primarily for people looking to get their first taste of crypto. You can buy as little as £1 worth of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and a couple of other popular cryptocurrencies using any payment method that’s linked to your PayPal account.
The downside?
Fees are pretty darn high with PayPal Crypto. You’ll pay a minimum of 1.5% on your transaction. But you could be charged much more in fees (5% or more) for a smaller order.
| Amount | Transaction Fee |
|---|---|
| £1.00 – £4.99 | £0.49 |
| £5.00 - £24.99 | £0.99 |
| £25.00 - £74.99 | £1.99 |
| £75.00 - £200.00 | £2.49 |
| £200.01 - £1000.00 | 1.80% |
| > £1000.01 | 1.50% |
And there’s another catch.
Even though PayPal Crypto is super easy to use, you cannot withdraw your Bitcoin to an external wallet. In my opinion, this makes the services useless for most investors.
Sure, if you just want to exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) price movements, then PayPal’s crypto service might be okay. However, there are so many other places out there where you can trade, withdraw, and hold crypto without being restricted in this manner.
For more information about PayPal Crypto, check out my review or head to the PayPal website.
PayPal WebsitePayPal Cryptocurrency Hub Review
PayPal has made buying Bitcoin (BTC) as simple as possible.
However, even if you have an active PayPal account, you need to provide additional personal information and accept a new set of terms and conditions before you can purchase crypto. This is a one-time thing and it’s required as part of PayPal’s KYC (Know Your Client) requirements.
Once that’s sorted, to purchase BTC on PayPal, do the following:
- Log into your PayPal account.
- Navigate to the ‘Crypto’ tab.
- Choose Bitcoin (BTC).
- Press ‘Buy’.
- Enter the amount of Bitcoin (BTC) that you want to buy.
- Pick a payment method (bank transfer or debit card).
- Review your transaction details, fees, and exchange rate.
- Press ‘Agree and Buy’.
As soon as you purchase Bitcoin (BTC) on PayPal, your BTC should be available within your account in a matter of seconds.
2. eToro
eToro is an international online brokerage that’s based in Israel. It has been providing brokerage services since 2007 – but it only began to offer crypto spot trading in 2017.
Although eToro is primarily designed for stocks and ETFs trading, it now supports trades of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and 25+ other tokens and coins.
eToro is also one of the few major online brokerages that lets you withdraw a few of the cryptocurrencies from your account (BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, XLM, & XRP). However, you’ll have to wait up to 60 days before you can do this (depending on the payment method you choose). Although that’s not ideal, it’s still better than what’s possible on similar brokerage sites.
Another key feature of eToro’s crypto trading platform is that it lets you buy Bitcoin (BTC) using PayPal. Most dedicated cryptocurrency brokers/exchanges only support bank transfers and credit card/debit card purchases.
eToro also offers unique (and popular) trading features called CopyTrader and CopyPortfolio. These features let you invest in pre-set portfolios and automatically copy the trades of other top investors.
Disadvantages to trading on eToro include the firm’s high fees.
Technically, eToro is a “commission-free broker”. But even though the company doesn’t charge a commission, they do take a spread on all crypto transactions. They’ve recently simplified their fee schedule, so the spread will be 1% for all supported cryptocurrencies.
On top of this, eToro’s exchange rates are often higher than the current GBP-BTC market rate that you’d find on places like Coinbase Pro or Kraken. When I checked, the markup was between 1% – 2% across a small sample I took.
Check out eToro’s website to learn more about the company’s crypto trading features.
Find Out More*eToro Crypto Review
Buying Bitcoin (BTC) with PayPal on eToro is slightly more complex than doing so with a bank transfer (but it’s still quick).
To place a BTC trade on eToro using PayPal:
- Log in to your eToro account.
- Navigate to the crypto trading terminal.
- Choose a market order (called a ‘Trade’) or a limit order (called an ‘Order’).
- Enter the amount of Bitcoin (BTC) you want to buy.
- Select PayPal as your deposit method.
- Review the fees and exchange rate for your trade.
- Confirm your BTC purchase.
If you place a market order, your BTC should be available in your eToro account immediately. Funds from limit orders will be available as soon as your trade executes at your stated limit price.
Any Questions?
Thanks for checking out this quick post about how to buy Bitcoin (BTC) with PayPal in the UK!
Have any questions about the places I’ve talked about?
Comment below and I’ll get back to you ASAP!
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Cryptoassets are volatile instruments that can fluctuate widely in a very short time frame and, therefore, are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and, therefore, is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.