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Uphold Review: The Truth About This Platform

Many cryptocurrency exchange platforms are easy to use, both for professional traders and beginners. However, very few offer reliable platforms to trade between cryptocurrencies, national currencies and precious metals, all from one platform. Uphold is one such trading platform that has emerged, and is leading the crypto world with its unique and innovative features.

This review will provide an in-depth analysis of the offerings. We’ll discuss trading fees, Uphold cards, mobile app features and customer service.

What is Uphold?

Uphold, a cryptocurrency platform, offers a wide range of financial products. It lets users trade, buy, and sell nearly 100 cryptocurrencies.

Uphold is open about its fees. Uphold has a different fee structure than many other crypto exchanges. There are no deposit fees, commissions or maker-taker fees. Spread fees are essentially a small premium that you will pay over the market price. This allows Uphold to make money. Spread fees can lead to higher prices than you would see from other competitors. It could be a good option for people who want to invest in multiple asset classes on one platform.

Register for an account with Uphold

It is easy to sign up for an account with Uphold. Click on the “Sign Up” button at the upper right of the Uphold website to get started. During the initial sign up process, you will need to provide the following information: email address, password and country of residence. Further information, including a government ID, is needed to confirm your identity.

After you have submitted your information and reviewed Uphold’s terms and conditions, you will receive a verification email. Once you have verified your email address, your account can be used.

Top Recommended Platforms

MIN. DEPOSIT

$50

EXCL. OFFER

USER RATING

9.8

4.9/5

78% of retail investor accounts lose money trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

MIN. DEPOSIT

$100

EXCL. OFFER

USER RATING

9.7

4.8/5

MIN. DEPOSIT

$250

EXCL. OFFER

USER RATING

9.6

4.5/5

CFDs are complex instruments and involve a high risk of losing money quickly because of the leverage effect. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Manage your Account

Users of Uphold can access their accounts through the company’s website or mobile apps. After logging in, you will be able to use the online dashboard and mobile app to review your portfolio, buy, trade, and trade assets. Users will be largely responsible for managing their accounts, as Uphold has very few customer support options.

Uphold cryptocurrency options

Uphold has over 150 cryptocurrencies. This makes it one of the most comprehensive cryptocurrency exchanges.

Uphold is a popular exchange that offers cryptocurrencies other than those offered by U.S. exchanges. Ripple’s native cryptocurrency, XRP is the most prominent example. Due to an SEC suit, quite a few exchanges delisted it. Tron (TRX), another major cryptocurrency offered to Uphold, isn’t widely accessible.

Uphold Features

Staking Rewards

Some cryptocurrencies work by investors putting up tokens to verify and run the blockchain. This is known as staking. You can lock your cryptocurrency for a time and earn more tokens in return.

Uphold lets U.S. citizens stake eligible cryptocurrency in their portfolios on their platform. Tezos (XTZ), Ethereum (ETH) and Solana(SOL) are just a few coins that can be staked.

The cryptocurrency you choose will determine how much you earn. Some cryptocurrencies offer annual percentage yields (APYs), up to 25%. Cryptos with higher APYs are more stable. For instance, users can earn as much as 7% on their Ethereum.

Different cryptocurrency might have different minimum requirements to begin staking.

Multi-asset Trading Platform

Uphold supports more than 200 crypto assets. These include major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, BNB and XRP. There are also emerging and so-called mem coins like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin. It supports DeFi coins like COMP and CRV, as well as almost all major stablecoins such USDT, USDC and DAI.

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The platform also allows users to trade and purchase dozens of popular US stocks such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Amazon. Uphold’s fractional equities platform allows users to purchase stocks as low as $1 and receive partial dividends.

Uphold supports 37 national currencies as well as multiple precious metals like gold, silver and platinum.

Uphold keeps precious metals, such as gold bullion, when a user buys them on the platform. The platform’s vaulting partners also audit its precious metal holdings every day.

Uphold Debit card

Uphold offers a Mastercard Crypto Rewards Debit Card. This card can be used to invest in cryptocurrencies, precious metals or currencies.

Spend on this card to get 1% cashback on national currencies, and 2% on cryptos

Anything-to-Anything Feature

Uphold allows users to conveniently trade between different assets using its “Anything-to-Anything” feature. To convert gold into Bitcoin, users don’t have to first sell the gold they already own and then invest in Bitcoin. They can instead directly exchange their gold for Bitcoin.

Security

Uphold provides industry-standard security measures such as KYC verification and 2-factor authentication. Most user funds are stored offline in cold storage. This is typically more secure than online hot wallets. The company provides basic guidance to users on security best practices, how to avoid frauds and how they can recognize them.

Uphold also uses Intigriti, which is a third-party security firm, to run a bug bounty program. Users can report bugs they have encountered while using Uphold through this program.

Staff members of Uphold are required to complete background checks and to take part in routine privacy training. This is done to promote security on the platform.

Fees

Every cryptocurrency trade is subject to a spread fee by Uphold. Uphold will list a bid and ask spread for each cryptocurrency that is available for purchase or sale on the platform.

The ask price is the price you would pay to purchase a crypto. Uphold will add a spread fee to the crypto’s market price if you wish to complete the transaction.

Uphold charges a spread fee between 0.8% to 1.2% of the trade value for U.S. customers who trade Bitcoin (BTC), or Ethereum (ETH) in order to trade Bitcoin (BTC). For other regions of the globe, the spread is usually around 1.8%.

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The Uphold platform allows you to preview trades and will show the spread fees it will charge for buying or selling. The fee is locked in by the platform when you preview a transaction. This fee will not change while you decide whether or not to go ahead with the transaction.

Higher-liquidity cryptos such as Ripple (XRP), Dogecoin(DOGE) are subject to a higher spread fee by Uphold. They charge higher spread fees when there is market stress or high trading volumes. The only way to find out the exact spread fee that you will pay is by previewing the transaction.

Uphold charges the following spread fees for other asset classes than cryptocurrency:

  • Precious metals: 3% surcharge on the bid-ask prices
  • Fiat currencies: 0.2% for major currencies
  • U.S. Equities: Usually 1% (Note: U.S. and European customers are not currently able to trade equities via the platform.

Uphold usually does not charge trading commissions in addition to spread fees. Uphold may assess a fee if you transfer tokens to another crypto wallet.

Customer Support 

Uphold does not offer customer service options. Uphold offers two options for customer service: users can submit a request via the website or through the company’s Twitter account.

Uphold does not offer live chat or a number for those who require immediate assistance. Users who require additional assistance are not aware of the ADA tools available.

Uphold Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
A wide range of cryptocurrencies are available No volume discount for larger purchases
Quick account opening with low minimum deposit Spread fees that are high-risk, especially for low-liquidity cryptos
Most regions have no withdrawal or deposit fees Limited customer support
Trade of fiat currencies or precious metals

Conclusion

Uphold is not well-received by customers despite its large selection of cryptocurrency and advanced security features. Some users find it difficult due to problems with customer service or account lockouts.

Nonetheless, Uphold’s unique features such as multi-asset trading or the ability to earn cryptocurrency rewards via the Uphold Card could make it attractive to some users. It’s worth looking into different crypto exchanges before signing up.

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