Uphold takes a broader approach than most crypto platforms by letting users trade more than 250 cryptocurrencies, four precious metals, and dozens of national currencies — and even swap one asset directly for another. The company calls this its "anything-to-anything" model, which moves a user directly from bitcoin to gold, or from silver to euros, without requiring a sale into dollars in between. Very few platforms operate this way, and for users who rotate between asset classes, the single-step swap also avoids paying two separate conversion costs through a cash intermediary.

That wide selection comes at a cost. Uphold folds its fee into a spread on every trade, so the displayed price already includes its cut, and that all-in price runs higher than several rivals. The platform also lacks the advanced trading tools active traders use, as well as stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This review is based on hands-on testing by Yahoo Finance.

Uphold at a Glance

• Rating: 4.1/5
• Best for: Currency and commodity traders
• Summary: A multi-asset platform that holds crypto, precious metals, and national currencies in one account with real-time reserves, though spread-based pricing and the lack of advanced tools make it better suited to long-term holding than frequent trading
• Founded: 2015
• Crypto trading fees: 2.05% to 2.20% on bitcoin and ethereum; 2.85% to 3.80% on altcoins; $0.99 fee on trades under $500
• Fiat deposit and withdrawal fees: Free ACH deposits and withdrawals; 3.99% debit card deposit fee
• Crypto deposit and withdrawal fees: Free deposits; withdrawals add a network fee plus a $0.99 fee on most networks other than bitcoin, XRP, and hedera
• Insurance coverage: FDIC coverage up to $2.5 million on USD Interest Account balances; no insurance on crypto
• Available coins: More than 250 coins with staking available on more than 20
• Order types: Market, limit, take profit, trailing stop
• Other features: Precious metals and national currencies trading; staking; recurring AutoPilot orders; Uphold Vault; USD Interest Account; real-time proof of reserves
• Mobile app rating: 4.7 out of 5 on the Apple App Store; 4.5 out of 5 on Google Play

Introducing Uphold

Uphold launched in 2015 and now serves more than 10 million users worldwide. Its U.S. arm, Uphold HQ Inc., operates out of Larkspur, California. The platform built its name on the range of assets it offers, letting users hold and trade digital coins along with gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and dozens of national currencies.

Uphold routes each order across a network of external exchanges and quotes one all-in price, so users can swap one asset directly for another. That is how buying gold with bitcoin takes a single step instead of two separate trades through cash.

Uphold promises never to lend out customer assets and stays fully reserved, meaning it always holds enough to cover every customer balance. It also publishes its assets and liabilities in real time, so customers can confirm at any moment that their money is backed. Few exchanges allow that kind of on-demand verification. Proof of reserves became a widespread industry practice after high-profile exchange collapses, most notably FTX in 2022, which left customers unable to withdraw funds the exchange did not adequately back — making transparency about reserves a key checkpoint for anyone choosing a platform.

Uphold is licensed to operate in 42 U.S. states, leaving out California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New York, and Wisconsin.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Crypto, four precious metals, and 27 national currencies in one account
• Staking available on more than 20 cryptocurrencies
• Real-time proof of reserves with no lending of customer assets
• FDIC coverage of up to $2.5 million on USD Interest Account balances
• Recurring AutoPilot orders plus up to 50 limit orders across asset classes

Cons:

• Crypto spreads of 2.85% to 3.80%
• No advanced order book or maker-taker tiers
• 3.99% debit card deposit fee
• Not available in eight states

What Uphold Offers

Crypto Trading

Uphold supports more than 250 cryptocurrencies for U.S. users, and its app listings advertise more than 360 coins worldwide. Its anything-to-anything model treats every asset as a trading pair, so users can swap bitcoin straight for gold or euros in one move. Users trade at a single all-in price rather than a separate fee, and Uphold holds that price for 18 seconds before it refreshes.

There is no order book — the live feed of buy and sell orders that active traders rely on to judge supply and demand. Nor are there maker-taker fees, the tiered pricing that rewards traders who add orders to the book over those who remove them, and that shrinks as volume climbs. Users pick a coin, enter a dollar amount, and confirm at the price shown. That keeps things simple, though active traders give up advanced tools and favorable trading fees.

Precious Metals and National Currencies

Metals and currencies set Uphold apart from a standard crypto exchange. Alongside crypto, users can hold gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, priced by the ounce, as well as 27 national currencies, such as euros and British pounds. Metals trade at a 2.35% to 3.40% spread, and currency conversions run about 0.3%.

Recurring Orders and Order Types

Uphold's AutoPilot tool sets up automated recurring orders on any asset at a chosen schedule, enabling dollar-cost averaging — buying a fixed amount on a regular schedule to smooth out market ups and downs.

Beyond market orders, users can place up to 50 limit orders at once, even across asset classes, setting the exact price they are willing to trade at instead of taking the current market price. Uphold also offers take-profit and trailing-stop orders that sell automatically once a target price is hit.

Staking

Uphold brought staking back to U.S. users in March 2025 and now offers it on more than 20 cryptocurrencies. Staking lets users earn rewards on coins they already hold as a reward for helping run the blockchain network behind them. Rewards arrive weekly in the same coin that was staked. Staking availability in the U.S. has shifted with the regulatory environment: several major exchanges, including Kraken and Coinbase, scaled back or restructured U.S. staking programs after regulators scrutinized whether the products constituted securities offerings, so the range of coins offered for staking on any U.S. platform is worth rechecking over time.

Users can choose flexible staking, which keeps coins available to trade, or boosted staking, which locks them for a set period in exchange for higher rewards. Flexible staking typically pays less than boosted staking, and boosted staking carries minimums. Uphold charges a 20% to 25% commission on staking rewards.

Crypto Wallet and Transfers

Uphold holds purchased crypto in the user's account, a custodial setup where the platform keeps the private keys. Users can move coins out to an external wallet, which adds a network fee plus a $0.99 fee on most networks other than bitcoin, XRP, and hedera.

For more control, $4.99 a month buys Uphold Vault, which gives users the keys to a handful of assets while still helping them recover access if lost. That self-custody option addresses a concern that dates back to the collapse of exchanges like Mt. Gox and FTX, where customers who held assets on the platform had no direct claim to coins they could move elsewhere.

USD Interest Account

Idle dollars can be put to work through a USD Interest Account, which Uphold runs through a partner brokerage. Balances of $10 or more earn interest, and Uphold sweeps balances across partner banks for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) coverage of up to $2.5 million.

Educational Tools

Uphold runs a learning library and a crypto glossary called Cryptionary that explains wallets, staking, and market basics in plain language. It covers the essentials for newer users, though it is lighter than the structured course catalogs some larger exchanges maintain.

Where Uphold Stands Out

Crypto, Metals, and Currencies Under One Login

Many exchanges stop at crypto. Uphold adds gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, plus 27 national currencies, to the same account. While Kraken, Coinbase, and eToro all let users trade crypto and stocks, none of them lets users trade one asset for another the way Uphold does. For an investor who wants crypto and a metals holding in one place, Uphold may eliminate the hassle of juggling separate platforms. (Disclosure: Yahoo Finance has a partnership with Coinbase.)

Reserves Verifiable in Real Time

Proof of reserves is how an exchange shows it actually holds what customers deposit. Uphold publishes its assets and liabilities in real time through Reserveledger and Reservechai, and says it never lends customers' assets. That frequency beats most rivals: OKX reports monthly and Kraken quarterly, while eToro does not report at all. Live updates will not stop a hack, but they let users confirm their balance is backed at any moment.

Up to $2.5 Million in FDIC Coverage on Idle Cash

Cash placed in an Uphold USD Interest Account is swept across as many as 10 partner banks, which stretches FDIC coverage to $2.5 million, or $250,000 at each bank. Many crypto platforms that offer FDIC protection cap it at the standard $250,000. The catch is that this applies only to the interest account, not the regular trading balance, and crypto itself carries no insurance coverage.

Where Uphold Falls Short

Spread-Based Pricing That Runs Higher Than Rivals

Uphold's biggest drawback is cost. Bitcoin and ethereum trade at a 2.05% to 2.20% spread, and altcoins run 2.85% to 3.80%. On a $1,000 bitcoin buy, that is about $20.50 in cost. The same $1,000 trade runs $10 on eToro at its flat 1% fee. OKX charges a flat 1% fee, or $10, for the same trade, while Coinbase charges about 1.84%, or $18.40. Uphold also charges a $0.99 fee on trades under $500, which weighs on small orders.

No Advanced Order Book, and No Stocks or ETFs

Uphold has no maker-taker pricing — the volume-based fee tiers that drop as trading volume rises — so frequent traders never unlock a discount. A $10,000 bitcoin purchase costs roughly $205 at the 2.05% spread. By comparison, Kraken Pro charges 0.25% at its base tier for maker orders, with rates falling from there, which works out to about $25 on a $10,000 trade, while Coinbase Advanced uses a similar schedule starting at 0.60%. Additionally, Uphold does not offer stocks or exchange-traded funds, so it cannot serve as an all-in-one brokerage.

Not Licensed in 8 States, With Extra Limits on Staking

Uphold is licensed in 42 U.S. states; the eight it leaves out are California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New York, and Wisconsin. Staking carries its own limits on top of that, restricting users in Washington from using it.

A 2026 New York Settlement Over CredEarn

In April 2026, the New York attorney general announced that Uphold agreed to pay $5 million to harmed investors to resolve claims it misleadingly promoted a third-party product called CredEarn, run by a separate firm, Cred, which collapsed in 2020. As part of the deal, Uphold agreed to register as a broker with the attorney general and to improve how it vets third-party products. Uphold has publicly disputed the attorney general's characterization of its conduct. The episode involved a partner's lending product rather than Uphold's own trading platform.

Uphold's Fees

Uphold keeps its fee structure simple, but simple does not always mean cheap. The platform folds its cut into the displayed price rather than charging a separate commission.

Crypto Trading Fees

Bitcoin and ethereum carry a 2.05% to 2.20% spread; altcoins run from 2.85% to 3.80%. On a $1,000 bitcoin buy, the cost is around $20.50; on a $1,000 altcoin trade, it climbs to between $28.50 and $38. Trades under $500 add a flat $0.99 fee, which hits small buys hardest — on a $50 trade, that $0.99 works out to nearly 2%.

Other Asset Fees

• Precious metals: Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium trade at a 2.35% to 3.40% spread.
• National currencies: Major fiat currencies carry a 0.3% spread, far below the crypto rate.
• Stablecoins: Most stablecoins trade at under 0.25%, the cheapest category on the platform.

When trading between two asset types — say bitcoin into gold — Uphold applies the higher of the two spreads.

Funding and Withdrawal Fees

Cash deposits:

• Automated Clearing House (ACH) bank transfer: Free, with funds ready to trade right away
• Debit or credit card: 3.99% per transaction
• Wire transfer: $10 on transfers under $2,000, and free at $2,000 and above

Cash withdrawals:

• ACH bank transfer: Free for standard withdrawals, which take up to five business days
• Instant withdrawal: 1.75%, with a $1 minimum
• Debit card: 1.75%, with a $1 minimum

Crypto deposits:

• All assets: Free, though the blockchain's own network fee still applies

Crypto withdrawals:

• Most networks: the blockchain network fee plus a flat $0.99 per withdrawal
• Bitcoin, XRP, and hedera: the network fee only, with no added Uphold fee

Network fees vary by asset. At the time of testing, a bitcoin withdrawal cost about 0.00004 BTC, and a solana withdrawal about 0.0006 SOL.

Uphold FAQs

What's the minimum to start on Uphold? Opening an account costs nothing, and the smallest cash deposit is $10. ACH transfers become available to trade right away. Users can buy crypto, metals, or currencies in small amounts, since Uphold allows fractional purchases.

Can I move my crypto off Uphold to my own wallet? Yes. Uphold supports external crypto withdrawals. Users pay the blockchain network fee plus a flat $0.99 on most networks, though bitcoin, XRP, and hedera skip the $0.99.

Is my money safe on Uphold? Uphold is registered with U.S. financial regulators and licensed in the states it serves. It publishes its holdings in real time and says it never lends out customer funds. Crypto is not insured, though idle cash in a USD Interest Account gets FDIC coverage up to $2.5 million. As with any platform, only invest what you can afford to lose.

Methodology

The review is based on hands-on testing and independent research across five categories:

• Fees and costs: Trades were tested at several sizes to measure the spread cost in practice, along with every deposit, withdrawal, and transfer charge tied to ACH, card, wire, and crypto funding.
• User experience: Reviewers opened an account, cleared identity verification, and worked through both the app and the web platform, noting how quickly fee details, staking terms, and account settings could be surfaced. The anything-to-anything flow across crypto, metals, and currencies was also tested.
• Available assets and features: The review examined how many coins, metals, and currencies Uphold lists, what staking it offers and where, the available order types, and additional features such as AutoPilot orders, Uphold Vault, and the USD Interest Account.
• Security and regulatory compliance: The review covered Uphold's real-time proof of reserves, how it stores and protects customer crypto, its insurance coverage, the states it serves, the licenses it holds, and recent regulatory actions.
• Customer support and reputation: Reviewers contacted Uphold's support and assessed the speed, quality, and channels of replies, and considered the platform's record since 2015.

Each category was scored independently with no input from or compensation by Uphold. Fees and security carry the most weight in the final rating, since those affect the typical user most.

Editorial disclaimer: The information in this article is for educational purposes and is not investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets, and past performance does not indicate future results. Research any platform independently and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decision.