How to Buy USD Coin with PayPal in 2024

Learn where & how to buy USD Coin with PayPal in this five step guide for beginners, supporting you through your first purchase.
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Updated on Aug 21, 2024
Reading time 1 minutes

Firstly, the most important question to answer is: can I buy USD Coin with PayPal?

Yes, you can use PayPal to buy USD Coin, but not directly. Instead, you can use PayPal to fund a trading account and buy Bitcoin that way.

This means you’ll need to select a crypto exchange that accepts PayPal deposits. And, we’re here to help you do that.

How to buy USD Coin with PayPal in 5 steps

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It takes between 15-45 minutes to buy USDC with PayPal the first time. After you’re all set up, it takes just a minute. You’ll want to have a copy of your photo ID, a computer or smart phone, and some cash to invest.

Let’s get started.

Step 1. Choose a crypto platform that accepts PayPal

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We recommend Gemini as the best platform to use to buy USD Coin with PayPal. However, there are several options, which you can compare in more detail below.

Best Gemini alternatives
3.8
Gemini
Min. Deposit n/a
Fees
No. assets n/a
Demo account No

Best Gemini alternatives

Step 2. Create an account

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You need an account before you can buy anything. Sign up with your contact details and a form of ID for verification. Depending on the platform, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of days to be approved.

Step 3. Make a deposit via PayPal

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Once you’re on the platform, you’ll be prompted to deposit for the first time.

Here, you need to enter how much you want to deposit, usually there’s a minimum such as $10, $50, or $100. Select PayPal as your payment method from the list of options and off you go. You should see the funds arrive in your account fairly quickly!

Step 4. Use the search box to find USD Coin

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Now that you have funded your account with PayPal, you can search for USD Coin or USDC on the app to make an investment.

You’ll likely be able to purchase using a range of currencies, with the most common being USDT, USD, GBP or EUR. Depending on which currency you deposited, you may even need to convert your funds into another base currency. 

Step 5. Make your purchase

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Enter how much USD Coin you want to buy, for instance $100, check that you’re happy with the details, and click the trade or buy button. The trade should execute immediately, and your new USD Coin should show up in your exchange account immediately.

Now you own USD Coin, purchased with PayPal! Not a big deal, right?

Top USD Coin platforms that accept PayPal

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We found 2 crypto platforms for users based in

1. OKX. Best for futures and margin trading

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4
Ratings

$-

Min. deposit

Fees

No. assets

No

Demo account

Overview

We love OKX because it’s an adaptable and flexible exchange, with an app that’s available in three different versions depending on how you trade. Choose from the beginner-friendly Lite version, Web3 option for NFT traders, or the Pro version for a plethora of trading tools. 

From an app or desktop you can trade 350+ crypto coins on one of the world’s top crypto exchanges. You can fund your account easily, through a variety of simple payment methods, and a sliding scale of fees that means you can access discounts by holding the OKB token or trading high volumes.

The fees: Regular users pay a 0.1% fee on spot crypto trades. OKB crypto holders are entitled to a discount, up to 0.02% off for holding more than 2,000 coins. High volume traders are also entitled to a discount, with the cheapest fees available for traders with a 30 day trading volume above $10,000,000,000.

Highlights

Pros & Cons

Quick answers to key questions

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Can I buy crypto with PayPal?

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Yes, you aren’t limited to buying USD Coin alone. The only limit is which coins are available on the exchange you’ve chosen. Most crypto exchanges that support PayPal as a payment method offer 50+ cryptocurrencies and many offer hundreds more, so you have plenty of options.

Is PayPal safe?

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Yes, it’s completely safe to use PayPal. The only risk to look out for is to make sure you sign up to a regulated PayPal USD Coin broker. Regulated platforms offer greater investor protection, and usually mean the service has had to abide by certain rules – such as storing your funds separately to the money it uses to run its business, or auditing its reserves to proof it has capital on hand.

Using an unregulated broker platform, on the other hand, can put your money at risk, because you won’t benefit from these protections.

How much does it cost to buy USD Coin via PayPal?

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The cost to buy USD Coin via PayPal varies depending on the exchange or brokerage platform you use. Using PayPal is free of charge, but you’ll need to pay a fee with your broker; generally, anything above $3 or 2% is expensive, with most platforms charging you around the 1% mark.

Can I store USD Coin in my PayPal account?

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No, PayPal is a payment processing service and you cannot store USD Coin on it. You have two choices when it comes to storing your USDC: keep it on the exchange you used to buy it, or use a dedicated USD Coin wallet.

Why don’t more crypto platforms support PayPal?

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One reason can be that not enough customers use it, and so the cost and resources required to accept PayPal simply aren’t worth it. Another reason is that some payment processing systems charge quite high fees to the merchant, which again means it makes less financial sense to allow payments that way.

Ultimately, if PayPal grows in popularity, then it’s likely that more crypto exchanges or brokers will start accepting it. Most brokers tend to accept a few popular payment methods, like debit cards, credit cards, and bank transfers.

Can I buy USD Coin using PayPal with no ID verification?

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It’s not possible to buy USD Coin using PayPal without ID verification, as this goes against the Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. These regulations mandate ID verification to prevent illicit activities, like money laundering or fraud. 

Most payment providers, as well as trading platforms or centralized exchanges allowing cryptocurrency transactions, require users to verify their identity. This process typically involves submitting personal information, including but not limited to: 

  • Full, legal name,
  • Address, 
  • A government-issued photo ID. 

These steps are legally necessary and serve as security measures to protect users from fraud and prevent illegal activities. 

Some peer-to-peer platforms facilitate USD Coin purchases using PayPal without ID verification, but these transactions carry significant risks, including scams and higher fees.

Should I buy USD Coin using PayPal?

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Yes, you may want to consider buying USD Coin with PayPal. It all comes down to personal preference. If it’s easy for you to fund your crypto brokerage account and offers you an easy way to use your online banking details to make payments, then yes, absolutely.

Pros

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  • You can use PayPal to buy USD Coin using several different currencies
  • PayPal accepts users from many countries
  • Transactions are processed very quickly

Cons

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FAQs

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01

Can I buy USD Coin with PayPal on Coinbase?

02

Can I buy USD Coin with PayPal on Cash App?

03

How do I fund my crypto account with PayPal?

04

Can I buy USD Coin with PayPal instantly?

05

Can I buy USD Coin with PayPal anonymously?

06

Can I buy USD Coin with PayPal Credit?

07

How can I buy USD Coin on PayPal and send it to an external wallet?


Sources & references

Prash Raval

Prash Raval

Financial Writer

  • Forex
  • Trading
  • Stocks
  • Investing
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Prash is a financial writer for Invezz covering FX, the stock market and investing. For over a decade he has traded spot FX full time while running an educational service helping novice traders learn the markets. He has a keen interest in micro and small cap stocks....