Uphold Review: Features, Fees & More

What is Uphold?

Founded in 2014, Uphold is a platform offering access to over 280 cryptocurrencies, precious metals, and fiat currencies. It is connected to 28 trading venues, including centralised and decentralised exchanges, giving users access to new tokens faster than most platforms. There are over 30 million registered users in 150 countries worldwide.

Features include a crypto debit card with cashback on purchases, staking services, an OTC desk and API. Uphold also prioritises security and transparency, publishing its assets and liabilities every 30 seconds, and holds certifications such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001 to ensure data protection and compliance with regulatory standards.

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Uphold Features

‍Uphold is a feature-rich cryptocurrency platform that offers various tools for managing digital and traditional assets. Here’s a closer look at some of the platform’s key features:

1. Simple Trading Options: Uphold allows users to trade over 280 digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies, and precious metals.
2. Global Reach: Available in over 150 countries with more than 10 million users, Uphold offers a truly global trading experience. It supports various fiat currencies, allowing easy conversions between local currencies and digital assets.
3. Transparent Reserves: Uphold is known for its commitment to transparency, publishing its reserve status every 30 seconds showing its assets and liabilities in real-time.
4. Crypto Debit Card: The Uphold card allows users to spend their crypto, fiat, or precious metals holdings wherever Mastercard is accepted. Users earn cashback on purchases, and the card supports integration with Apple Pay and Google Pay.
5. Security and Trust: Uphold never lends out customer assets, and its security framework includes SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 certifications, and compliance with GDPR and other global data protection laws.
6. Recurring Buys: It offers a recurring buy feature that lets users automatically purchase digital assets at regular intervals, making it easier to implement dollar-cost averaging strategies without having to time the market.
7. Mobile Compatibility: Uphold's mobile app mirrors the functionality of its web platform, allowing users to trade, manage assets, and access all the features from their phones.
8. Earn Program: This feature allows users to earn interest on their digital assets. The interest rates vary between 2% - 34% depending on the asset and staking duration.‍
9. Uphold API: Developers can leverage Uphold's API to build applications and services that interact with the platform, opening up a range of possibilities for integrating digital asset transactions into other services.

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Is Uphold Safe?

The platform implements strong security protocols, including two-factor authentication (2FA) and keeps most user assets in offline cold storage. It is transparent, providing real-time Proof of Reserves by offering users tools like the Reserveledger™ and Reservechain™ to verify the platform’s solvency and transaction integrity.

Uphold operates with regulatory compliance across key regions:

• Europe: Uphold Europe Limited is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for anti-money laundering purposes, ensuring high regulatory standards for its users in the UK.
• United States: Uphold complies with U.S. regulations for its operations, ensuring it operates within the legal frameworks set by financial authorities.
• Global Reach: Available in over 150 countries, Uphold meets local regulatory requirements and provides financial services to millions of users globally.

Uphold enforces strict Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards to maintain a compliant trading environment. The platform's dedication to security is backed by certifications such as SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001.

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Fees Schedule

‍Uphold offers a transparent cost structure with no hidden costs and a clear breakdown for trading, deposits, and withdrawals. It operates on a spread-based model rather than traditional trading fees. Here’s a look at the main fees:

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Trading Fees

• Crypto spreads: Typically range from 0.8% to 1.2% for major cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
• Fiat currencies: Around 0.2% spread on major fiat pairs.
• Precious metals: Spreads vary between 1% to 3%.

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Deposit and Withdrawals

• Card Deposits: 3.99% fee on all deposits made via debit and credit cards.
• Apple Pay/Google Pay: 3.99% fee for deposits using these methods.
• Bank Transfers (ACH): Free for deposits via ACH. Standard withdrawals are free, but instant withdrawals incur a 1.75% fee, with a minimum fee of $1.

Uphold offers clear fees, ensuring users know the exact costs before any transaction is made, helping them trade and manage assets confidently across various supported currencies and assets.

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Does Uphold Offer Staking?

Yes, Uphold offers an earn feature that allows eligible users to earn rewards by staking specific Proof of Stake (PoS) cryptocurrencies. Below is an overview of Uphold’s staking options:

• Eligibility: Staking is available to verified users in regions where Uphold’s staking services are supported. However, staking is not available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Europe, Japan, Venezuela, Singapore, and certain other jurisdictions.
• How Staking Works: Staking involves pledging your crypto assets to a validator to support the PoS network. Validators process transactions and secure the network, and in return, stakers earn rewards. Uphold facilitates this process through partnerships, and rewards are credited to users' accounts after validation.
• Rewards: Rewards are determined by the PoS network based on the amount staked. The more you stake, the more you can earn. Uphold takes a commission on staking rewards, ranging from 3% to 34%, depending on the asset. Rewards are distributed as they are received from the network.
• Unstaking Process: The time required to unstake your assets varies by token. For example, DOT has a 28-day “unbounding” period during which assets cannot be moved or earn rewards. Unstaked assets are returned to your Uphold account after the network’s unbounding period ends.
• Available Tokens: Uphold currently supports staking for various tokens, including ADA, SOL, ATOM, DOT, ETH, MATIC, AVAX, and more. A full list of supported tokens and those planned for future support can be found on Uphold's staking page.

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Bottom Line

In conclusion, Uphold is a British multi-asset platform, offering a seamless experience for trading over 280 cryptocurrencies, precious metals, and fiat currencies. With global availability across 150 countries and trusted by over 30 million users, Uphold provides advanced features like staking services, a crypto debit card, and real-time asset transparency.