Uphold

About All Uphold

Uphold is ideal if you want to buy and trade a variety of assets in one place. It offers a good range of cryptocurrencies, along with precious metals and national currencies. The platform boasts robust security measures, but a class-action lawsuit also raises some questions. Read our in-depth Uphold review to see what it offers and decide if it's right for you.

This cryptocurrency broker is a good fit for: Investors who want access to cryptocurrencies, precious metals, and forex trading in a single platform.

Pros

• Excellent cryptocurrency selection
• Cross-asset trading
• Educational content

Cons

• Security concerns
• Debit card and crypto staking not available to U.S. customers
• Variable spread
• Charges trading fees

Crypto regulation

The SEC advises investor caution when it comes to crypto and filed charges against several crypto platforms in 2023. It says that a number of popular cryptocurrencies — including Solana, Cardano, and Polygon — are unregistered securities. This could impact the way these and other cryptos are traded in the U.S. As a crypto investor, make sure you understand how the SEC cases and proposed regulatory changes could impact your portfolio.

Top perks

Excellent cryptocurrency selection

You won't be short on digital currency options if you use Uphold. It lists over 250 cryptocurrencies for international users, including most popular coins and tokens. However, some of its cryptocurrencies are not available to U.S. users, and state-specific restrictions also apply.

Trade between cryptocurrencies and other assets

One of the best parts about Uphold is that it offers several types of assets and lets you trade between them. With an Uphold account, you can buy and trade:

• Cryptocurrencies
• Precious metals, such as gold and silver
• Fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar and the euro

Educational content

Uphold offers valuable educational content that teaches users about crypto. It has a “cryptionary” explaining crypto terminology, a blog, and a section covering cryptocurrency news.

With many of the types of cryptocurrency it offers, Uphold also includes a page with info on what that cryptocurrency does. These pages often include sections on what the bulls and bears are saying, meaning the arguments for and against that cryptocurrency.

Low minimum deposit

You don't need a lot of money to start investing in cryptocurrency with Uphold. The minimum deposit amount is $1.

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What could be improved

Security concerns

There have been a number of reports regarding crypto funds stolen from Uphold clients. Multiple users allege that an unauthorized party was able to access and drain their accounts despite having two-factor authentication (2FA) active. Some lost over $20,000 worth of cryptocurrency. A class-action lawsuit was filed against Uphold on Feb. 25, 2022. Uphold says it has several security measures in place, but reports like these are still a big red flag.

Debit card and crypto staking unavailable in the U.S.

In some parts of the world, Uphold offers a crypto staking program. When you stake your cryptocurrency, it's used to help validate transactions and secure the blockchain network. In return, you earn rewards on the amount you stake. However, neither this staking program nor the company's debit card are currently available to U.S. customers.

Trading fees

Uphold charges a fee of $0.99 for each transaction under $500. It also charges 3.99% for credit and debit card deposits in the U.S.

Withdrawals to external crypto wallets will also have a network fee, but that's charged by the cryptocurrency network, not Uphold.

Variable spread

Uphold charges a variable spread that can be as much or more as trading fees on other platforms. The amount of the spread depends on the asset you're buying and market conditions — up to 1.5%, according to Uphold.

Not available in New York

Uphold does not have New York's BitLicense and so the service is not available in New York state. A BitLicense is a bit like a gold stamp in terms of regulation. To get it, exchanges need to provide a boatload of information on things like their financials, anti-money laundering, and compliance. As such, if Uphold had it, it would give an extra layer of trustability.

How Uphold works

Uphold is a cryptocurrency exchange that lets you buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency, precious metals, and fiat currencies.

What makes Uphold unique is its cross-asset trading. You can trade between any of the assets it offers, meaning you could trade a cryptocurrency for a precious metal or a foreign currency.

In addition to trading, Uphold offers several other financial services, including:

• Instant fee-free payments to friends and family worldwide.
• Withdrawals to bank accounts in many countries or to private crypto wallets.
• Integration with Brave, a free browser that allows you to earn Brave Rewards paid in the Basic Attention Token (BAT) cryptocurrency.

Fees overview

Uphold fees depend on where you are in the world, and what payment method you use. In addition to a fee of $0.99 for trades under $500, it charges a spread of up to 1.5%, which varies depending on the liquidity of the asset. You'll be able to preview the spread when you buy or sell an asset.

Cryptocurrency selection

Uphold offers over 250 cryptocurrencies, which gives it one of the deeper lineups among cryptocurrency exchanges. However, some of those cryptocurrencies are not available to U.S. investors, or are restricted in certain states.

One of the reasons Uphold is popular is because it offers cryptocurrencies that most other U.S. exchanges don't. The biggest example is XRP, the native cryptocurrency of Ripple. It was delisted by quite a few exchanges due to an SEC lawsuit.

Is your cryptocurrency safe with Uphold?

There are a few different aspects to cryptocurrency security. One is specific security features on the platform. Another is how the platform handles client funds, particularly how much it holds in reserve. Unlike money you deposit with a bank, there is no FDIC insurance for crypto assets. This means it's wise to look for a platform that has enough funds to support all client deposits. In terms of reserves, Uphold publishes its real-time assets and liabilities online, so you can see for yourself. Given the limited regulation and investor protection in the cryptocurrency industry, this level of transparency is a big plus.

Uphold also checks all the boxes in terms of security features, but customer reviews are mixed.

Here's a rundown of Uphold's most important security features:

• Two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled by default on all accounts
• About 90% of crypto funds are kept offline in cold storage
• It runs a bug bounty program
• All employees go through mandatory background checks

Despite those safety features, there have been many reports of Uphold customers who claim their accounts were hacked, even after correctly setting up 2FA. A class action filed by Kronenberger Rosenfeld alleges that third parties were able to reset 2FA on several users' accounts without their permission. These hackers then withdrew all those users' cryptocurrency.

In fairness, every crypto exchange receives its share of complaints, and Uphold has plenty of satisfied customers. But these account hacks are worth looking into if you're thinking about buying and storing cryptocurrency on Uphold.