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Many crypto platforms let you trade digital coins and not much else. Uphold takes a wider swing by letting you trade more than 250 cryptocurrencies, four precious metals, and dozens of national currencies. It even allows you to directly trade one for another.
What makes that possible is what Uphold calls its anything-to-anything model, which moves you directly from bitcoin to gold, or from silver to euros, without forcing a sale in dollars in between. Very few platforms work this way.
That wide selection costs you, though. Uphold folds its fee into a spread on every trade, so the price you see already includes its cut, and that all-in price runs higher than several rivals. You also won't find the advanced trading tools that active traders use or any stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Let's take a closer look at what Uphold delivers and where it falls flat based on our hands-on testing.
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 for long-term holding than frequent trading
Withdrawals add a network fee plus a $0.99 fee on most networks other than bitcoin, XRP, and hedera
FDIC coverage up to $2.5 million on USD Interest Account balances
More than 250 coins with staking available on more than 20
Precious metals and national currencies trading
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 you 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 you can swap one asset directly for another. That's 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 you can confirm at any moment that your money is backed. Few exchanges let you check that whenever you like.
Uphold is licensed to operate in 42 U.S. states, leaving out California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New York, and Wisconsin.
Crypto, four precious metals, and 27 national currencies in one account
