Uphold

Uphold runs one app on top of several legal entities, and which one you deal with depends on where you live. In the United States it operates as a FinCEN Registered Money Services Business. In the United Kingdom it calls itself an EMD Agent of an Electronic Money Issuer regulated by the FCA, meaning it works under another firm's permission rather than holding FCA authorisation of its own. Uphold Digital Assets Europe, Unipessoal, Lda. is a virtual assets service provider registered with the Bank of Portugal, and Uphold Lithuania UAB carries registry code 305967101.

Europe comes with a caveat the platform flags itself. Its user agreement for the European Economic Area says Uphold is authorised as a crypto-asset service provider under MiCA with the Bank of Portugal and the Portuguese Securities Exchange Commission. A banner above that same text says the Portuguese entity has been told its MiCAR application remains under active review, that the transition period closed on 1 July 2026, and that temporary service restrictions now apply, with withdrawals still open. Both sat on the page together according to its website, checked on 5 August 2026.

Trading is priced through spreads rather than a visible commission. The schedule dated 1 July 2026 puts most stablecoins below 0.25 per cent, major currencies at 0.3, Bitcoin and Ether at 1.8 to 1.95, altcoins at 2.55 to 3.10 and precious metals at 2.35 to 3.40. Swap across two categories and the higher rate wins. Card deposits cost 2.5 per cent into US dollars and 2.99 into any other asset. An instant bank withdrawal costs 1.75 per cent with a one dollar floor; the standard route is free but slower.

The firm states its limits plainly. Its terms say Uphold is not a bank, credit institution, payment institution or electronic money institution, takes no deposits, and that balances are not deposits. Crypto-assets in custody fall outside the Investor Compensation Scheme and the Deposit Guarantee Fund. Those same terms promise the assets sit off balance sheet, beyond the bankruptcy estate, and will not be lent or pledged unless you opt into a service such as staking.

Company figures: a 2015 launch after a 2014 start, over 40 billion US dollars moved since, 140-plus countries reached and more than 300 currencies and commodities listed. It holds a SOC 2 Type II attestation, ISO/IEC 27001 and PCI DSS. An in-app notice appears when spreads run wider than 4 per cent.