Uphold Trading Platform Review

6 min read

Uphold is a one-stop shop that allows customers to purchase, sell, and trade various assets.

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Introduction

Uphold is a cryptocurrency exchange that provides a comprehensive range of financial services and products. It allows users to buy, sell, or exchange almost 100 cryptocurrencies and other assets.

Uphold’s fee structure is different from many other crypto exchanges. There are no commissions, deposit fees, or maker-taker fees. Instead, there are spread fees, a small premium you’ll pay over the actual market price that allows Uphold to make money. This could be a good choice for investing across different asset classes under one platform.

Company Overview

Uphold is a crypto exchange that offers a unique financial experience. In addition to allowing users to buy cryptocurrency, users can also purchase U.S. equities and precious metals. The platform also allows you to trade across currencies without taking the extra step of converting your assets back to cash.

Uphold offers a one-of-a-kind trading experience and a cashback debit card that allows customers to make payments using assets they hold on the platform – like crypto or fiat currency.

Uphold enables users to hold and trade over 100 cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin, Bitcoin, and Stellar Lumens. Over 1.7 million people now use Uphold, with over $2.5 billion in current financial reserves.

What Do Uphold Offer?

Uphold allows you to trade between different asset classes without first exchanging one for another. Users may, for example, convert gold into Bitcoin or DASH into XRP. And cash, gold, and cryptocurrencies can be used to purchase fractional shares of stock.

Another feature of Uphold is automated trading. This means you may regularly invest by purchasing pre-chosen assets. Dollar-cost averaging occurs as a result of automated trading.

Uphold also enables you to place limited orders when trading. A limit order allows you to buy or sell an asset at your target price. You can determine how long you want the limit order to stay open or cancel anytime.

How do I open an account with Uphold?

To create an account with Uphold, go to the website and follow the simple steps. Individuals will find it simple to open an Uphold account, which should take a few minutes. You may also open a company account if you choose to do so. However, business account creation might take longer since you must submit additional verification materials.

Uphold Review: Uphold account creation

Who Should Use Uphold?

If you’re looking to invest in cryptocurrency and have a wide variety of options, Uphold could be a good platform for you. You can also trade precious metals and foreign currency on the site. Another plus is that you don’t have to convert your assets into cash before trading them; for example, if you want to trade Bitcoin for gold, you can do so directly.

Uphold is user-friendly and simple to use. You can start trading immediately after setting up your account using a bank account or a credit card, with no requirement to wait for the money to clear. The United States has a 3.99% charge for credit card transaction fees.

Uphold’s main disadvantage is the high costs, especially for low-volume cryptos, and when markets are volatile. The platform does not provide price breaks for bigger transactions, charging the same percentage as a spread on all trades, regardless of size.

Investors with larger portfolios who plan on making more frequent crypto trades may want to check out crypto exchanges like Kraken, Binance.US or Gemini.

Cryptocurrencies Available on Uphold

Currently, Uphold has nearly 100 currencies for users to buy, sell, and trade on its platform. Available cryptocurrencies include:

  • Bitcoin (BTC)
  • Etherium (ETH)
  • Litecoin (LTC)
  • Ripple (XRP) 
  • Chainlink (Link)
  • Stellar Lumens (XLM)
  • Iota (MIOTA)

User-friendly Trading Experience

Customers on Uphold can make trades via its desktop platform or mobile apps, which are available on Android and iOS. It’s a great solution for people just getting into crypto since newcomers’ user interface is easy to understand.

Unlike many competitors, Uphold allows investors to trade across asset classes, which sets it apart. Users may also use Uphold’s AutoPilot feature to set up repeating transactions, which uses dollar-cost averaging to help reduce some of the cryptocurrency market’s volatility.

However, if you’re looking for an order type other than limit orders, you’ll need to find a different platform. Additionally, this one doesn’t have access to advanced charting or some of the features that many traders want.

Fees 

Although Uphold does not charge trading commissions, it applies spread fees to the site’s cryptocurrency sales and customer purchases. Because these spread fees are based on a floating rate, they can change from 0.8% to 1.2%. However, during moments of market instability, Uphold suggests that there is the potential for an even higher fee.

There are no account fees for personal accounts. Although, when withdrawing to an external wallet, crypto network costs may apply, just like they would with any other service.

Uphold Features

Multiasset Trading Platform

Uphold also enables you to invest in other fiat currencies and precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum. They also provide at least 40 U.S. equities for purchase. At present, European and American investors are not permitted to trade equities with each other.

Not only does Uphold let you buy the different assets, but they also allow cross-asset trades. For example, you could use Bitcoin to buy gold without having to convert your BTC into USD first. You can save time and one round of fees by skipping a step.

Ease of Use

Signing up with Uphold is simple; you just need to enter your email, country of residence, and nationality.

You must also upload a valid government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport, to verify your identity.

You can invest using a linked bank account or debit/credit card. You can begin with as little as $10, which you can transfer via ACH.

Uphold is more convenient than other platforms because you can make one-step payments. With other sites, you have to put cash into your account and wait for it to arrive before trading– but with Uphold, you can use the linked payment method immediately.

Security

Any top cryptocurrency exchange must have strong security. To prevent assaults, Uphold employs sophisticated encryption and multiple layers of protection. They keep an eye on their system 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for dangers, claiming that they respond to them promptly—and frequently. They also claim to conduct frequent audits and penetration tests.

Uphold employees, and third-party vendors receive due diligence and background checks. Lastly, Uphold has a bug bounty program, where if people find a system vulnerability, they report it for payment.

Uphold offers two-factor verification to secure your account while verifying your identity before allowing you to trade or withdraw funds. These are standard measures to keep your account safe.

Staking Rewards

When you stake your cryptocurrencies, you temporarily lock them up for a set period in exchange for more tokens as rewards. When you do this, you’re also helping to verify and run blockchain systems.

Uphold enables US customers to stake eligible cryptocurrencies in their portfolio on its platform. Tezos (XTZ), Solana (SOL), and Ethereum are a few of the coins that may be staked. The amount you make is determined by the cryptocurrency, with yearly percentage yields ranging from 4% to 19.5 percent.

Depending on the crypto, each cryptocurrency may require different minimum amounts to start staking.

Debit Card

Uphold has a Mastercard crypto rewards debit card that lets you spend your cryptocurrencies. You may use this card to spend your cryptocurrencies, precious metals, currencies, or other assets in your account. When you use this card to purchase dollars or cryptocurrency, you’ll earn 1% cash back on purchases made inside the United States and 2% cash back on purchases made outside of the United States.

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Opening an Uphold Account 

Creating an Uphold account is simple. To begin, click the “Sign Up” button in the Uphold website’s upper right corner. You’ll provide your email address, password, country of residence, and nationality during the first sign-up procedure. After that, additional information is needed to verify your identity, including a government ID.

After reading Uphold’s Terms of Service and submitting your information, you will receive a verification email. Once you verify your email address, you can start using your account immediately.

Customer Service

Uphold’s customer service is quite limited. Users may get assistance by filling out a form on the Uphold website or sending an email to the company through its Twitter account.

Uphold is difficult to get help from when users need it as there is no live chat feature or phone number. Additionally, it’s unclear which ADA tools are available for those who might require more assistance.

Customer Satisfaction 

Overall, Uphold receives negative customer reviews and has an average 2.1 out of 5 star ratings on Trustpilot, with over 6,000 comments. Users complained about difficulties communicating with the firm, account lockouts, and delays in authenticating profiles.

Despite a substantial number of negative comments, some customers have praised Uphold. Users that praise this exchange compliment the company’s product choices, ease of use, and ability to earn crypto rewards.

Account Management

Although Uphold provides a few options for customer support, users will likely have to manage their accounts mostly on their own. Users can access their accounts via the company website or its mobile apps. Once logged in, they can use the online dashboard or mobile app to buy, sell, trade assets, review portfolios, and more.

How Uphold Compares to Other Cryptocurrency Companies

Knowing which platform is best for your needs is challenging because the cryptocurrency market and the number of exchanges available are growing. Here’s an overview of how Uphold compares to BlockFi, a well-known crypto exchange.

Uphold vs. BlockFi 

Though Uphold and BlockFi have convenient platforms to buy, sell, or trade cryptocurrency, there are some key distinctions between the two.

  • Uphold offers a much wider range of tradeable cryptocurrencies than BlockFi.
  • BlockFi offers loans to qualified borrowers backed by their crypto holdings, while Uphold doesn’t have this feature.
  • Uphold offers users a cryptocurrency rewards debit card, while BlockFi offers a cryptocurrency rewards credit card.

FINAL VERDICT

Uphold is a difficult platform to use with many negative customer reviews. The company offers limited customer service and does not have a live chat or phone support. Additionally, it is unclear which ADA tools are available for those who might require more assistance. Although Uphold has some positive features, such as its rewards debit card, it does not compare well to other cryptocurrency exchanges like BlockFi.

Uphold FAQs

Here are a few questions that people often ask about Uphold.

Does Uphold report to the IRS?

Yes, as a centralized cryptocurrency exchange, Uphold is required by law to provide an annual report to the IRS regarding the cryptocurrency transactions of its U.S. users.

Is Uphold still allowing users to trade Ripple (XRP)?

Yes, until the SEC’s lawsuit (accused Ripple of being security) has reached a court judgment, Uphold will continue to support XRP on its platform.

Does Uphold offer crypto interest accounts?

No, users aren’t currently able to earn interest on any of their crypto holdings.

Does Uphold have a sign-up bonus?

No, but it does have a referral program. Eligible users receive $10 in Bitcoin per qualified referral.