Uphold launched in 2015 with the goal to change the way people access money. Today, the multi-asset platform offers more than 60 cryptocurrencies, precious metals and national currencies with the ability to trade ‘anything to anything’. This unique function gives its users complete freedom to take control of their digital finances.
About Uphold
Uphold was founded by Halsey Minor in the United States and has grown dramatically since its launch. It provides its digital services to a global market, covering more than 184 countries, over 80 national and crypto currencies combined and has powered more than £40 billion in transactions.
Developed with trusted technologies and e-money apps, Uphold embraces a future where people and businesses around the world have access to safe, transparent, fair and affordable financial services. Users can buy, sell, hold and send assets in seconds thanks to the platform’s quick and simple functionality. The inclusive platform calculates the exchange rates so the user doesn’t have to, allowing the global audience to easily trade any currency with anyone all over the world.
Opening an Uphold wallet
Joining Uphold is quick and simple. You can open an account via the website or app, whichever you prefer. Once you have provided your email address and created a password and inputted your details, you will need to verify your identity – and then you’re in. All you need to do next is fund your account with as little as $1 and start trading.
During the onboarding process, security is Uphold’s main priority. In Addition to verifying your identity, the details Uphold collects are required to keep your account secure and prevent any fraudulent activity.
Uphold features
The simple and clean interface makes Uphold ideal for all traders, including beginners. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t filled with exciting features too.
The unique ‘anything to anything’ functionality allows users to trade directly between asset classes. For example, Bitcoin to gold or dollar to Etherium. There’s no need to convert the asset first making Uphold one of the easiest and most flexible trading platforms.
Users can also trade with as little as $1, making it the ideal platform for beginners to try out the crypto world. Transactions can be made instantly in a variety of ways, either with your bank account, debit or credit card or even another crypto wallet. Alternatively, users can set up automated trading. If there is a particular asset that you want to trade at the same time each week or month, then you can set up a schedule for regular transactions. Not only does this make trading incredibly easy, but it can also reduce the impact of price volatility.
Users can also ‘spend Bitcoin to earn Bitcoin’. What we mean by this is if you don’t want to just trade your assets, you can use any crypto that is in your wallet to buy day-to-day items or services with the Uphold debit card, partnered with Mastercard. Users will then receive a 2% cashback with all crypto transactions. You can manage this at any time via the Uphold app.
Another exciting feature that other competitors don’t offer is limit order. This allows Uphold users to monitor the market in a time-efficient manner, making sure they don’t miss great buying or selling opportunities without having to spend countless hours watching price movements. It essentially allows you to automatically buy or sell an asset at your desired price or better.
Are there any fees?
At Uphold, users with a personal account are not charged any deposit fees, trading commissions or withdrawal fees, keeping the cost of trading low. The spreads vary depending on where you live in the world and also which cryptocurrency you are trading. In the US and Europe, the spread is typically between 0.8% and 1.2% on top cryptos like BTC and ETH.
How secure is Uphold?
Uphold pride itself on being a secure and trusted platform and make it their number one priority to protect you, your money and your information. As a FinCEN Registered Money Services Business in the United States, and as an EMD Agent of an Electronic Money Issuer regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, Uphold is committed to compliance.
Uphold is fully reserved, so it doesn’t loan out your money, unlike many of its competitors. Also, every customer is verified to keep transactions secure and 2-step verification is encouraged to keep the user’s account safe.
Additionally, there are ample measures in place, including encryption to protect private keys, an internal ‘Need to know’ policy to limit access to sensitive information and regular audits to ensure the best security practices are being followed.
How can you trade?
Uphold offers two types of trading; personal and business.
On the personal account, Uphold does more than just allow its users to buy, sell, send and hold cryptocurrency. In some parts of the world, the user also has access to staking, precious metals and equity, depending on the regulations in a particular country. All prices are locked in pre-trade, so the user can see exactly what they will get before the transaction is made.
Businesses who open an Uphold account will receive many benefits, including access to customers all over the world with affordable international payments and built-in compliance and fraud protection.
Support at Uphold
Uphold supports over two million customers. Their extensive FAQ section is a great place to start to find answers to the most common questions and how-to videos. If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for or if you have a query that is more personal to your account, there is a submit your request form where a member of the support team will find the answer for you and get back to you as quickly as possible.
Uphold also has a responsive team on their social media accounts. They may not be able to answer all of your questions, but they will definitely point you in the right direction.
With a 4.7 star rating on IOS, Uphold is doing a great job at supporting their customers and providing a superb user experience.
Why you should use Uphold
Uphold has so many unique features that other competitors do not have to improve usability and accessibility. This makes Uphold an exciting platform for all traders, as well as being a great option for beginners. The trade ‘anything to anything’ feature is a huge benefit of the platform, making it a globally inclusive interface.
Uphold is completely transparent so there are no hidden fees, and the locked-in prices make it easy for any user to understand what they will receive from their trade, as well as any costs incurred. You can also manage all transactions and monitor the price movements through the simple app so you can keep track of your trading anytime, anywhere.
