Uphold Review – Legal however With Issues

Since 2015, the Uphold exchange has been present in over 184, supporting over 250 currencies. This multi-asset digital money platform has been serving traders from all over the world for almost a decade. 

Alas, discrepancies and concerns still exist, despite the company’s efforts to present itself as best as possible. We’ll present them all to you through our Uphold review, so you can make a final decision if you want to trade on this site or not.

Regulated by:	CySEC, FCA, FINCEN, FINTRAC, FCIS
Is This Company Safe?	According to some regulatory bodies they’re safe. However, other entities suggest different things.
Known Websites:	uphold.com
Have Warnings from:	CSSF, A-TVP, CNMV
Registered in:	Lithuania
Operating since:	2015
Trading Platforms:	Proprietary software
Maximum Leverage:	1:50
Minimum Deposit:	No minimum deposit
Deposit Bonus:	No
Trading Assets:	Cryptocurrencies, National currencies, Precious Metals
Free Demo Account:	No
How to  Withdraw from This Company?	In case of withdrawal issues, contact our legal service for advice and help

Turbulent Legal Past

The exchange we’re reviewing is currently owned by Uphold Lithuania UAB, established in 2021, according to the business register in Lithuania. Since the exchange has operated since 2015, we tried to find out something more about the previous owner. Uphold Inc was the previous owning firm, yet no traces of it exist now. 

Until the exchange started acquiring necessary licenses, they had a certain period when they operated without any permits from financial regulators. During that time, they were blacklisted by CSSF in Luxembourg. The same warning was shortly after reposted by CNMV and A-TVP.

After this scandal, the company was first licensed by the Lithuanian Financial Crimes Investigation Service (FCIS), which provided a passport for offering services to other EEA countries, as CySEC register confirms. Today the firm is also verified as a MSB registrant in the US, owns a FCA approval in the UK, and has been registered with FINTRAC in Canada.

Who Uses the Service?

Uphold crypto mostly advertises on the net, with numerous profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, CrunchBase and YouTube. This firm went an extra length to participate in the sponsorship of Burnley FC in order to cater to the sport token aficionados.

While the uphold.com domain was launched in 1998, it didn’t host an exchange until 2015. Majority of the firm’s clients are from these nations:

• United States
• United Kingdom
• Canada

Regardless of the apparently long track record, the service is not exactly a crypto trading hub. The exchange isn’t even listed on CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap.

Traders Aren’t Too Happy

The overwhelming number of negative Uphold reviews online is sure to raise a few eyebrows. Users of TrustPilot, SiteJabber and Reddit speak of some problems that are more common with online swindlers than with regulated exchanges.

The issues include accounts getting frozen after a significant deposit, earnings being rolled back, and coins getting lost during a transaction. If you believe you’ve become a victim of fraudulent action by this company, don’t hesitate to call our expert team.

Fees Defined by Asset Type and Region

Since the Uphold withdrawal fee structure differs from one country to another, we suggest you look at the official support page for detailed information on payout costs. 

For example, debit card and credit card transaction fees for US citizens are as high as 3.99%, while they do not apply to UK and EEA traders. Besides these, there’s also a standard network withdrawal fee of $0.99.

On the other hand, there’s trading fees, which are generally always the same, just differ between asset categories. Stable coins and FX fees are 0.25%, but BTC and ETH fees are 1.4% – 1.6%. Alt coins expectedly include higher trading costs which range between 1.9% and 2.95%. These same fees apply to precious metals.

Available leverage goes up to 1:50, which is as dangerous as the Duhani Capital fraudster offering 1:1000 for FX pairs.

Revenue Share Rates for Affiliates

Participating in the user referral program organized by the company is not particularly hard or demanding. 

All you have to do is get your referral link after registering a new Uphold login and then share this link online. The promised revenue share rates are 30% per each affiliate.

Useful App and Quick Registration are a Plus

Generally speaking, the majority of the services and tools offered on this crypto portal don’t differ much in comparison to countless other sites. That also means that nothing in particular stands out. However, the platform still has a lot to offer and you may find its features quite convenient and user-friendly.

Millions of Downloads

Feature-rich, easy to navigate and fully customizable, the Uphold app has been downloaded more than 5 million times from the Google Play store. That is certainly something we can’t neglect, along with the current user rating of the app being 4.4, based on almost 50 thousand reviews. 

The app is not any less popular on the App Store, with an even higher average rating from the same number of reviews.

Small List of Assets

The firm only offers around 260 assets, a microscopic number compared to tens of thousands of coins and tokens available on mainstream exchanges.

These are some of the available instruments:

• Cryptocurrencies – BTC, ETH, DOGE, ADA, XRP, LINK, MANA
• Stablecoins – USDC, USDT, EUROC, MIM
• FIAT currencies – GBP, EUR, USD
• Precious metals – Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium

Swift Registration

After providing only a few details about yourself, you can register for an account. Once you’ve opened a new account, you will be expected to also complete the verification procedure, which requires more sensitive information, like passport and ID. 

All users can choose between these two account types, which are pretty self explanatory:

Withdrawal Options

The company supports automatic payments processing through various channels. These include bank cards, wire transfers, crypto payments and P2P transactions. Slowest of these is the wire, which takes up to 5 days.

It’s impossible to ignore, however, the glaring issues many users are complaining about. With all the software glitches that freeze or misplace clients’ assets, the harsh question is whether there will be anything left for Uphold withdrawal. 

If you’re trying to unsuccessfully pull out your deposit from this exchange or an online scheme like BVVE, feel free to contact our recovery team.

Customer Service

Customer support is available almost exclusively via the Zendesk SSO empowered live chat. It is based on creating and managing support tickets, which means some queue times are to be expected. Alternatively, clients may use email, which is a less prompt way to contact the support.

Contact Us, Whatever the Issue

Although this crypto portal is now properly licensed for their activities, questions about the client satisfaction and previous blacklists remain open.

If you encounter any issues pertaining to withdrawals or any other element of your user experience, share it with us! Our recovery team can help you regain control over lost assets.

FAQ Section

What is Uphold?

It is a less known cryptocurrency exchange that offers mediocre online service. Their user base is dedicated, however, despite certain drawbacks.

Is Uphold Legitimate?

The company is regulated, but has been operating for a long time prior to receiving actual authorization. Although a legit business, it has received some reprimands from the authorities.

Is Uphold Safe From Hackers?

No system is completely safe from hackers, and lesser known exchanges are certainly more vulnerable. If you’ve lost your funds through a hacking attack, contact our recovery team.