Uphold Review: Your New Multi-Asset Exchange?

Successful crypto trading starts with choosing the right exchange. But, in a world dominated by Binance , Coinbase , and Kraken , it can feel like there’s very little difference between platforms. What if you want something a little different? And what if your sights are set on crypto, but your vision doesn’t end there?

Uphold promises a user-friendly crypto trading platform where you can go beyond digital currencies and merge your strategy with traditional assets: but is it worth the hype? 

After extensive testing, I discovered Uphold’s many strengths and a few of its weaknesses. Now we can answer the question: What is Uphold and why would you choose it as your trading platform? Let’s dive in.

Nailing Crypto but Going Beyond

At the heart of Uphold’s appeal lies its comprehensive suite of financial services, which cater to the diverse needs of its global user base.

One of Uphold’s standout features is its multi-asset platform, allowing users to seamlessly trade between cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies, precious metals, and even equities. Uphold supports over 100 digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP).

One-Stop-Shop

Uphold’s all-in-one approach distinguishes it from most other crypto platforms. With Uphold, you only need to go to one place to integrate your crypto strategy alongside trading various traditional assets. This can be useful for taking advantage of coordinated market opportunities, or offsetting risk in your portfolio.

In addition to its robust trading capabilities, Uphold also offers a range of other financial services. This includes a digital wallet for storing and managing cryptoassets, an Uphold card for easy spending, and the ability to earn interest on select coins through its Yield Program. 

A History of Stability

Founded in 2014 by Halsey Minor, Uphold has attracted over 10 million users from over 150 countries.

Uphold has influenced the cryptocurrency market by making it easier for users to engage with a range of assets. For instance, it allows seamless transactions between cryptocurrencies and national currencies like USD, GBP, and EUR.

By integrating these features, Uphold has enhanced crypto market liquidity and stability. Its approach to blending crypto with traditional investment options encourages diverse investment strategies that can mitigate risk.

In Times Of Trouble

During recent cryptocurrency downturns, Uphold has demonstrated remarkable resilience. For example, during the crypto crash of March 2020, Uphold’s platform experienced increased user activity as traders sought safe havens and diversified their portfolios. 

Unlike other major cryptocurrency exchanges that faced downtime due to overwhelming trading volumes, Uphold’s infrastructure supported continuous operation. This helped solidify Uphold’s reputation during times of market stress.

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What Makes Uphold Different?

Uphold can be seen as more similar to a traditional financial institution than crypto platforms like Coinbase or Binance. This is thanks to its multi-asset approach, which other providers are yet to catch on to.

However, unlike traditional financial institutions that often impose high fees and barriers to entry, Uphold strives to make financial services available to everyone. This is shown in its easy signup process and its unrestricted availability in over 180 countries. 

I found Uphold to be the easiest platform I’ve ever signed up for, with a streamlined ID service that didn’t glitch as others often do.

What’s Uphold’s Fee Structure Like?

Uphold’s fee structure is transparent. Fees are shown before transactions and their structure is handily broken down with clear information. It was easy for me to understand what I was paying and why, which made the fees less annoying.

When trading Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH), Uphold applies a transaction fee ranging from 0.8% to 1.2% of the trade’s market value. I found these fees lower and clearer at every stage than other large platforms.

What About Regulatory Risk?

Uphold strictly adheres to anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) guidelines. It also complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, along with similar regulations in other jurisdictions.

To date, the platform has never been fined for breaking any regulations, reducing user risk that unexpected fines or sanctions could lead to stranded or lost assets.

Is Uphold Secure?

Uphold offers two-factor authentication for users and requires identity verification for trading or withdrawals. 

Uphold staff and external contractors undergo vetting and background investigations. Uphold also operates a bug bounty program, rewarding the discovery of security flaws.

Uphold offers a digital wallet with the usual security. However, you might want to consider cold storage for extra safety.

Source: Uphold

What Can I Do With Uphold?

• Exchange: Uphold serves as a robust crypto exchange, facilitating the buying, selling, and trading of over 100 cryptocurrencies.
• Store: With Uphold’s integrated crypto wallet, users can securely store and manage their digital assets. 
• Integrate Cards: Uphold offers seamless integration with credit cards, allowing users to fund their bank account quickly and conveniently. 
• Diversify Assets: Beyond cryptocurrencies, Uphold offers access to a diverse range of asset classes, including fiat currencies, precious metals, and equities. 
• Trading: Uphold’s intuitive trading platform makes it easy for users to execute crypto trades. Many user comments focus on how easy it is to use the platform compared to other exchanges.
• Liquidity: Uphold ensures high liquidity across its platform, enabling users to buy, sell, and trade assets quickly and efficiently. 
• Portability: In addition to Uphold.com, Uphold offers mobile apps for both Apple and Android devices, ensuring seamless accessibility on the go. With Uphold’s iOS and Android apps users can conveniently manage their assets.

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Source: Uphold

What Are the Pros and Cons of Uphold?

After extensive testing, here are the strengths and weaknesses I found:

Pros

• Diverse Assets: Uphold offers access to a variety of digital assets, including digital currencies, stablecoins, NFTs, fiat currencies, precious metals, and equities.
• Transparency and Trustworthiness: Uphold prides itself on its commitment to transparency and compliance with regulatory standards, ensuring you don’t suffer from regulatory blunders.
• Accessibility: Uphold aims to make financial services accessible to everyone by offering low deposit fees and withdrawal fees, no minimum investment requirements, and a range of payment options as well as wide geographic availability.
• Innovative Features: Uphold constantly strives to innovate and improve its services, introducing new features such as earning interest on select assets through its Yield program.

Cons

• Limited Cryptocurrency: Uphold’s crypto selection may be limited compared to other platforms, with support for fewer altcoins and tokens.
• Centralization: Uphold operates as a centralized platform, which may not align with the decentralized ethos of some blockchain enthusiasts.
• Customer Support: Some users have reported issues with Uphold’s customer support, citing delays in real-time responses and difficulty resolving inquiries or concerns.
• UI Confusion: Despite many users reporting experiences to the contrary, I found Uphold’s interface confusing. After some fiddling, I figured out most of what I wanted, but it wasn’t the seamless experience I had expected.

What If I Don’t Want To Use Uphold?

Here’s a list of some of Uphold’s main rivals , and why you might want to consider them as alternatives:

1. Coinbase : Coinbase offers a user-friendly platform ideal for beginners in cryptocurrency. It also provides educational resources to help users understand trading and the crypto market, which is distinct from Uphold’s more diverse but complex offering.
2. Binance : Binance is known for its extensive range of cryptocurrencies available for trading, significantly more than Uphold. It also features lower trading fees and advanced charting options.
3. Kraken : Kraken is noted for its strong security measures and commitment to regulatory compliance, often considered more rigorous compared to many other platforms.
4. Revolut: Revolut started as a digital bank and incorporates banking services like salary direct deposits and bill payments, which Uphold does not.
5. Robinhood : Robinhood offers commission-free trading of stocks and cryptocurrencies. Unlike Uphold, Robinhood is geared more towards stock trading alongside crypto.

Uphold: Our Verdict

Overall, Uphold offers a compelling suite of financial services with a focus on multi-asset trading and a clear, transparent system of low-cost fees. As such, it is a good choice for those looking to trade more than just crypto and who are sensitive to cost.

Is It User-Friendly?

I found Uphold to be, reliable, fun, and impressive in its ability to jump between assets in a seamless manner. However, I found the interface to be a bit confusing at times, lowering its ease of use. I couldn’t always get it to do what I wanted and left feeling frustrated.

Would You Recommend Uphold? 

Uphold is a solid choice for anyone looking for variety and innovative features. The signup process was easier than most and its worldwide availability is a real standout. You might struggle to use the interface like I did, or be one of the thousands who believe its UI is one of the best out there.

Overall, I would recommend Uphold. Its powerful trading and strong performance during crypto downturns win the day. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s never gotten into any kind of trouble with regulators, so I know my assets are as safe as they can be.

A disclaimer: with more practice, I’d likely have learned to manipulate Uphold far more skillfully, overcoming my initial confusion. Uphold’s help articles weren’t the best and its customer service was as slow as reviews made it seem like it would be. That was unfortunate, but will hopefully be fixed as customer feedback continues to roll in.

Like any platform, Uphold has its positives and its pitfalls. You should carefully consider your individual needs and preferences before deciding whether to use Uphold.

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On the Flipside

Uphold may not be the right choice for everyone. Like any platform, it has its flaws, and competitors have advantages over it. Some of these include:

• Uphold’s centralized nature may conflict with the decentralized ethos of some cryptocurrency enthusiasts, requiring trust in the company to safeguard assets.
• Certain platforms may have lower fees or offer additional features, such as staking or decentralized finance (DeFi) services, catering to the specific needs and preferences of users.

Why This Matters

The crypto platform market is dominated by the ‘big three’: Binance, Kraken, and Coinbase. To most, their offerings are nearly identical. Enter Uphold. Uphold is a challenger who does things none of the big three do, and does them in an accessible and easy-to-understand way. Uphold is a challenger, and competition is good for any marketplace.

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