What’s the best place to buy, sell, and store crypto?
If you’re asking that question, you’re definitely not alone. In fact, you’re in great company.
The truth is that there are tons of exchanges out there and not all of them are trustworthy. Picking (and trusting) the right one matters.
Uphold may not be as well known as some other exchanges such as Coinbase or Kraken, but should you consider using an Uphold account?
Is Uphold legit?
Important questions to ask! In this Uphold review, we’ll break down everything you need to know, including what you can do on Uphold, which features are available, how much it costs, and how secure your holdings are — all before you deposit a single dollar!
What is Uphold?
Before we get into what you can do with Uphold and all of that, here’s some basic information to help you understand the company and exchange.
Uphold was founded in 2013 by Halsey Minor and was first called Bitreserve. Minor explained the company’s mission like this:
The future is a world where everyone on the planet has access to safe, transparent, fair and free financial services.
Although the company started as a Bitcoin wallet, it has evolved into a cryptocurrency exchange where users can also trade multiple asset classes like gold, equities, and even some fiat currencies.
Since changing its name to Uphold in 2015 and introducing enhanced security, the exchange now serves 140+ countries across more than 300 currencies and commodities.
Uphold is owned by Halsey Minor, JP Theriot, and Anthony Watson. The company is privately held and JP Theriot is the CEO.
Is Uphold Safe to Use?
The single most important question to ask before signing up with any digital exchange is if it’s secure. So, is Uphold safe to use?
Let’s start with regulation. While the Uphold platform isn’t a licensed broker/dealer, they are regulated in the United States by FinCEN.
They’re regulated by other major financial authorities in other countries: the FCA in the U.K., FINTRAC in Canada, and the Financial Crime Investigation Service in the EU. There’s also this from their website:
Uphold must comply with global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls. We seek to follow all applicable local, state, federal and international law concerning the protection of consumer data including, but not limited, to the EU data protection requirements, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) in the US, and the People’s Republic of China regulations to protect personal information.
Security measures to protect users and their assets include end-to-end encryption, two-factor authentication, 24/7 overwatch, and third-party auditing.
One of the things that sets Uphold apart is its asset backing with real-time transparency. The company publishes its assets and liabilities every 30 seconds and never loans out customer assets.
If you open an Uphold USD interest account, you can take advantage of an APY up to 4.4% and FDIC insurance through partner banks.
Keep reading our Uphold exchange review to learn more about Uphold security.
Is Uphold Wallet Safe?
Uphold got its start as a Bitcoin wallet, so you may be asking: Is Uphold wallet safe? Here’s our Uphold wallet review.
The most important thing you need to know is that the Uphold wallet is custodial, meaning that Uphold has access to your funds and controls the keys to your wallet.
That’s in contrast to a non-custodial wallet, which would mean you are the sole person with access to the wallet.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have a custodial wallet as long as the custodian has excellent security, as Uphold does.
Here are the pros and cons of storing funds on Uphold.
How does an Uphold wallet differ from cold wallets?
Uphold’s wallet is stored on the web and you can access it from the web.
In other words, if you lost your key or somehow compromised your own security, others could access it from the web, too.
A cold wallet is a wallet that’s stored offline and is never accessible from the web. They’re the safest option and something you should consider.
Is Uphold Legit or a Scam?
There are several ways to evaluate investment platforms to determine if they’re legitimate or intent on scamming their users.
Is Uphold legit?
Let’s start with how users view Uphold. Trustpilot reviewers have given Uphold an overall rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars. That’s slightly above average, and when you look at the ratings, it’s easy to see that while most ratings are above average, there are quite a few one-star reviews.
Top reviewers praise:
Speedy and helpful assistance from customer service
User-friendly platform and experience
Availability of hard-to-find coins
Smooth transfers and trades
Strong security and compliance
Issues mentioned in the below average reviews are mostly technical, such as needing to re-link to a bank account. Some people mentioned Uphold’s fees as a ding against them. Uphold is extremely responsive to both positive and negative reviews.
What about security breaches? Has Uphold’s security held up to real-world threats?
Yes!
Uphold has experienced one email breach that was not due to a failing of their security, but to a bad actor at a third-party partner, customer.io.
Customer.io notified Uphold of the breach and Uphold took immediate action to notify users. While no user assets were stolen, they still warned people to be wary of phishing requests.
Finally, Uphold is duly licensed and registered in every U.S. state except New York. Uphold HQ, Inc. is legally incorporated in California and is an active corporation in good standing.
To be clear: Uphold is a legit company and not a scam or fraud!
Pro Tip:
Join Uphold Rewards Today to Earn 5.25% on Stable Coins in addition to 24 Hour Early Access to New Coin Releases!
Is Uphold a Good Exchange?
Now that we know that Uphold is legit, let’s weigh in on another question.
Is Uphold a good exchange?
Uphold exchange reviews are something we’ve already talked about. Most reviewers (48%) give it 4 or 5 stars.
Here are some of the things we think make Uphold a good exchange.
The easy-to-use interface is ideal for beginners.
There’s full transparency around fees, so you always know what you’re getting in return for your money.
Uphold prioritizes security and has experienced only one serious breach, and that was not due to a lapse in Uphold’s security.
There are coins available on Uphold that you can’t buy anywhere else.
In addition to crypto, users can also buy and trade other securities, including gold and fiat currencies.
Uphold doesn’t offer as many coins and trading pairs as Coinbase, but it does offer some things that Coinbase doesn’t, including the option to trade gold and fiat currencies.
One area where Coinbase falls a little short is in its charting and analysis options. They’re pretty basic, but we did see a comment from Uphold (in response to a review) saying that they’re working on expanding the charting features.
Uphold Fees Explained
What about Uphold fees? We’ve talked about transparency, but what will you actually pay if you choose Uphold as your crypto trading platform?
Trading Fees
Here’s a breakdown of Uphold’s trading fees for US accounts.
Most Stablecoins: 0.2%
Major Market FX: 0.25%
BTC, ETH: 1.4% – 1.6%
Altcoins: 1.9% – 2.95%
Precious Metals: 1.9% – 2.95%
$0.99 Uphold fee for trades under $500
There are some exceptions. Prices may increase in periods of high volatility. Prices are held for 18 seconds, and there will never be any variation between Preview Trade and Confirm Trade, so there aren’t any surprises.
Pro Tip:
Join Uphold Rewards Today to Earn 5.25% on Stable Coins in addition to 24 Hour Early Access to New Coin Releases!
Deposit/Withdrawal Fees
Uphold charges fees for withdrawing funds and (in some cases) for depositing them. There’s no fee for incoming deposits made via ACH. Other fees are as follows:
3.99% fee for deposits made with a credit or debit card
$20 fee for incoming wire transfers <$5,000
No fee for standard ACH withdrawal
1.75% for instant ACH withdrawal
$0.99 fee for withdrawal of certain cryptocurrencies
Other Fees
There are two other fees you should be aware of before you become an Uphold user.
The first is the trading spread for cryptocurrency, which is small (usually between 50 and 100 bps), meaning it’s no more than 1% of the trade.
The other thing you should know is that Uphold only funds accounts with cryptocurrency. That means there’s a mark-up for exchanging fiat currencies for cryptocurrencies.
We always recommend reviewing the fee disclosure thoroughly to avoid any surprises.
Uphold Pros and Cons
Here’s our take on the pros and cons of using Uphold.
Pro Tip:
Join Uphold Rewards Today to Earn 5.25% on Stable Coins in addition to 24 Hour Early Access to New Coin Releases!
Who Should Use Uphold?
You may still be wondering if Uphold is the right crypto exchange for you. Here’s how we see it.
Best For:
Uphold is best for:
Beginners looking for an easy-to-use trading platform
Users who are interested in crypto and other assets, including fiat currencies and commodities
Traders who value real-time transparency in regard to fees and the company holding their assets
Uphold isn’t the most advanced trading platform, which may make it the best choice for beginners who don’t want to be overwhelmed by a complex interface.
Even intermediate or advanced traders will appreciate Uphold’s transparency around fees and the company’s finances.
Not Ideal For:
People who may want to look elsewhere for a crypto trading platform include:
Professional traders
Anyone who requires deep liquidity
Users who prioritize cold storage
Those who want a platform that provides advanced trading tools
If you’re someone who likes to dive deep into research and analysis before making a trade. Uphold (at least in its present capacity) isn’t the right platform for you.
Conclusion: Is Uphold Worth Using?
If you’re wondering whether Uphold is worth using, here’s our final conclusion.
Uphold does a great job of prioritizing users’ safety and security and providing a user-friendly interface that’s easy to understand, even for beginners.
We appreciate their transparency around fees. They’re a duly licensed corporation, registered in California and licensed in every US state except New York.
Where Uphold may fall short of other crypto platforms is that it offers limited trading tools. Pro or experienced traders may prefer an exchange that offers advanced charting and other features.
Uphold is clearly a good choice for beginners, as well as for traders who want an exchange that offers hard-to-find coins and fee transparency.
It’s a less obvious choice for people who want access to advanced trading tools or who want a company that implements cold storage.
Click here to try Uphold now!
FAQs
The Uphold wallet is custodial, meaning that the company controls the wallet. While their security is excellent, you may want to consider using a cold wallet to protect your crypto assets.
Yes, Uphold reports all taxable holdings and transactions to the IRS. They’ll provide you with tax forms upon request.
Yes, you can store XRP and other altcoins on Uphold. Keep in mind that the Uphold wallet is custodial, so again, you may want to consider using a cold wallet to protect yourself.
