US residents can purchase crypto directly through the PayPal app, but this service isn’t currently available in Canada. The good news is that Canadians can still use PayPal to buy crypto like bitcoin and Ethereum. But instead of buying through the PayPal app, you’ll need to use PayPal as a payment method to buy bitcoin on a cryptocurrency exchange. Keep reading to find out how.
You can buy bitcoin and other cryptos with PayPal in Canada on Paybis or Coinbase. Founded over a decade ago, both platforms are registered with FINTRAC and made our list of the best crypto exchanges in Canada.
PayPal supports chargebacks, which is a problem when purchasing cryptocurrencies, because bitcoin and other crypto transactions are irreversible.
This means someone could theoretically buy bitcoin with PayPal, complain that they never received the BTC they purchased and ask for a chargeback. In this way, scammers can keep their money and essentially get bitcoin for free.
Because of the heightened risk of fraud, many crypto trading platforms don’t accept PayPal deposits.
There are always risks involved with buying and selling bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency, but none are specific to using PayPal as a deposit method.
Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and trading them comes with a high level of risk. Once you’ve purchased your bitcoin, you may also want to consider moving it off the exchange you bought it on into a non-custodial wallet to reduce the risk of fraud and hacks.
If you live in the US and have a US PayPal account, you can use it to buy crypto directly. After logging into your PayPal account online or via mobile app:
PayPal US only supports buying and selling several cryptocurrencies, although more may be added in the future.
You can’t buy crypto directly from your PayPal account in Canada, but you can use PayPal as a payment method to buy bitcoin and other cryptos on exchanges like Paybis or Coinbase. Compare cryptocurrency exchanges and their supported payment methods before deciding where to trade, and check out our detailed bitcoin guide to learn more about the world’s largest crypto.
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