Uphold Review
Explore Uphold, a secure global trading platform boasting over 30 million users and a diverse range of over 260 crypto assets, precious metals, and national currencies.
Summary: Uphold is a global digital trading platform with over 30 million users. It offers a diverse range of assets, including over 260 cryptocurrencies, 37 national currencies, and various precious metals. The platform provides transparency and security, publishing all transactions and holdings in real-time. Aside from trading, it supports staking, an OTC desk, a mobile app and more.
Uphold is regulated by the FCA in the U.K., the FinCEN in the U.S. and 150+ other countries, highlighting its commitment to maintaining regulatory compliance worldwide.
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What is Uphold?
Founded in 2014, Uphold is a global multi-asset investment platform that provides users with a secure environment to trade and manage their cryptocurrency. It boasts over 30 million users across 150 countries and has a multilingual interface available in English and Spanish. It offers a diverse collection of assets, including over 260 cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, 37 national currencies, and multiple precious metals like Gold and Silver.
The platform prioritizes transparency by publishing all transactions and holdings on a weekly basis, proving all assets are backed on a 1:1 basis. Unlike many banks and other crypto exchanges, Uphold does not loan out user funds, ensuring they are fully reserved. It has acquired licensing from the FCA in the U.K. and FinCEN in the U.S., further emphasizing its commitment to security for its users.
Key Features
Uphold is best known for its digital asset investing services and provides versatile web and mobile banking platforms. There are multiple trading tools available, such as stop losses and take profit tools. Here are some of the main offerings on Uphold:
- Cryptocurrency: Invest in over 260 of the most popular digital assets, such as stablecoins, altcoins, GameFi tokens, meme coins, Metaverse tokens and more.
- Fiat Currency: Uphold supports 27 national currencies, enabling users to hold, convert, and send money globally. This makes it a versatile platform for international transactions.
- Precious Metals: Users can diversify their portfolio by trading in precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. These assets are fully reserved, providing a secure way to invest in commodities.
- Stablecoins: Get access to a wide range of crypto stablecoins including USDC, USDT, DAI, MIM, LUSD, SUSD, BUSD and many others.
- Uphold Crypto Card: Uphold provides a debit card that allows users to spend their digital assets directly. The card also offers cashback rewards in the form of Bitcoin.
- Earn Program: This feature allows users to earn interest on their digital assets. The interest rates vary between 2% - 34% depending on the asset.
- Borrow Program: Uphold users can borrow against their digital assets at competitive rates, providing a way to access liquidity without selling their investments.
- Uphold API: Developers can leverage Uphold's API to build applications and services that interact with the Uphold platform, opening up a range of possibilities for integrating digital asset transactions into other services.
Is Uphold Regulated?
Yes, Uphold is a regulated platform with licenses in various jurisdictions. In the United States, it is registered with each state's regulatory body and holds money transmitter licenses or equivalent in all states where it operates.
Uphold Europe Limited is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the FCA's Temporary Registration Regime for cryptoasset firms in the United Kingdom. It complies with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer for Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 as amended.
In Europe, Uphold operates in compliance with the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 and is also regulated by the Bank of Lithuania. Outside of these regions, the platform adheres to the local regulatory standards of the countries where Uphold operates.
Is Uphold Safe?
Uphold prioritizes security through extensive measures such as robust encryption, multi-factor authentication, and 24/7 threat monitoring by its security operations centre. The platform conducts regular security audits and penetration testing to ensure its defences remain strong. As a regulated entity, Uphold adheres to stringent anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) policies, enhancing the safety and compliance of its operations.
Additionally, Uphold is transparent about its security practices, offering users tools like the Reserveledger™ and Reservechain™ to verify the platform’s solvency and transaction integrity. It is also ISO 27001 certified and has achieved SOC 2 Type 1 Certification, reflecting its commitment to high data security and operational standards.
Fees Schedule
Uphold has a transparent fee structure for its users. Here's a breakdown of the fees associated with various activities on the platform:
- Deposits: There are no fees for bank transfers or crypto deposits. However, credit and debit cards cost 3.99%.
- Withdrawals: Fees for crypto withdrawals to external wallets will vary depending on the network’s congestion. Bank transfers are $3.99 (additional third-party costs might apply).
- Trading: The fees for buying and trading on Uphold vary, beginning with 0.25% for stablecoins, 1.4% for BTC and ETH, and 1.9% - 2.95% for all other digital currencies. Precious metals are between 1.9% - 2.95% depending on the asset.
Staking Options
Uphold offers an earn feature that allows users to receive rewards by staking certain cryptocurrencies on the platform. Here's a concise overview of Uphold's staking:
- Eligibility: Users in eligible jurisdictions can stake specific cryptocurrencies on Uphold to earn rewards.
- Rewards: Users earn staking rewards based on the amount staked. Rewards are paid in the staked cryptocurrency. Uphold takes a commission of 3% to 34%, depending on the asset. Rewards are delivered weekly and are automatically re-staked.
- APY: The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on Uphold is an estimate, considering the rewards, Uphold's commission, and reward compounding.
- Preparation & Unbounding: There's a preparation period of up to four days before earning rewards. An "unbounding" period might also apply, during which staked assets can't be moved and won't earn rewards.
- Available Tokens: ADA, ALGO, ATOM, AUDIO, AVAX, BAND, CELR, CSPR, DOT, ETH, FET, FLOW, FTM, KAVA, KSM, MATIC, MINA, NEAR and more.
Bottom Line
In conclusion, Uphold is a comprehensive trading platform that supports over 260 cryptocurrencies, 37 national currencies, and various precious metals, providing a broad selection of trading options. Its transparent fee structure, staking services, mobile app, multilingual interface, and widespread availability further enhance its appeal. The platform's commitment to security and transparency is evident in its real-time publishing of transactions and holdings, as well as its adherence to regulatory standards in various jurisdictions.
