Uphold

Uphold is a multi-asset trading platform founded in 2014 and headquartered in New York. It supports over 360 cryptocurrencies alongside precious metals, US equities, and 27 national currencies, enabling direct swaps between any two asset classes in a single transaction. As of 2026, Uphold reports more than 10 million registered users across 180 countries. The platform is primarily custodial, meaning Uphold holds private keys on behalf of users.

Security

• Around 90% of crypto assets are stored in AES-256 multi-signature cold storage; remaining assets are kept in hot wallets to support liquidity
• Two-factor authentication, withdrawal address whitelisting, and a 24/7 Security Operations Centre
• SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS certified
• Active bug bounty programme on Intigriti, with rewards of up to €25,000 for critical findings
• Publishes a live Transparency page (Reserveledger) updated every 30 seconds showing customer liabilities alongside reserves; on-chain verification is available for crypto holdings, but reserves for non-crypto assets such as precious metals and equities are self-reported rather than third-party attested

Regulation

• United States: Registered as a Money Services Business (MSB) with FinCEN (NMLS ID 1269875), also regulated at the state level
• United Kingdom: Uphold Europe Limited received FCA authorisation as a registered crypto asset firm in January 2026 — one of only 32 firms to hold this designation
• Canada: Registered with FINTRAC
• Europe: Registered with the Bank of Portugal
• Full KYC verification is required for all users; the platform complies with GDPR, AMLD5/6, and MiCA frameworks

Incident History

• July 2022: Third-party email service provider Customer.io disclosed that a rogue internal employee had shared client contact data with an external party. Data exposed was limited to names and email addresses. No account credentials, balances, or private keys stored within Uphold's own systems were involved
• No confirmed loss of customer funds from a direct breach of Uphold's core infrastructure has been publicly reported

Availability

Uphold is available in 140+ countries. New account openings are restricted in several markets including Germany, the Netherlands, India, Nigeria, Indonesia, and China. The platform is fully blocked in sanctioned jurisdictions including Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Cuba.