What is Uphold and how does it work?

Uphold is a platform for buying, selling and holding crypto alongside traditional currencies, and in the US it also offers stock trading through a broker-dealer affiliate. It started as Bitreserve, founded by Halsey Minor, who earlier founded CNET, and relaunched under the Uphold name on October 14, 2015, according to Fortune. It operates through separate companies in the US, UK, Portugal, the Bahamas and Canada.

Is Uphold a wallet or an exchange?

It is mainly a custodial trading platform, meaning Uphold holds the crypto in your account. It also offers Uphold Vault, an optional self-custody wallet inside the app. Vault uses a 2-of-3 multisig setup: you hold two keys (a Vault Key on your phone and a Backup Key), and Uphold holds a third that helps with recovery. Any two keys are needed to move funds. Vault is mobile only, needs a paid subscription and supports a limited set of assets such as BTC and XRP. Our guide on custodial vs non-custodial wallets explains the difference.

Is Uphold FDIC insured?

Crypto is not. Uphold's disclosures say digital asset balances held with Uphold HQ Inc. are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC and are not protected by SIPC. Uphold separately offers a USD Interest Account, which it says spreads deposits across up to 10 program banks for FDIC coverage of up to $2.5 million. Deposits made after 3 pm ET may wait until the next business day before being swept, and are not FDIC insured while held. Our guide on whether crypto is insured covers how these protections differ.

Is Uphold available in New York?

Partly. Uphold restricts some crypto activity based on where you are physically, not just your home address. While in New York, you cannot add fiat to your account, and card-present purchases at New York merchants are declined if the card is funded with crypto. You can still log in, check balances, sell crypto for fiat (except stablecoins), trade US equities and use the card with fiat funding, according to Uphold's help page updated in September 2026.

Is Uphold legit and safe?

Uphold HQ Inc. is registered with FinCEN as a money services business and licensed as a money transmitter in numerous states, and it has applied for a licence under California's Digital Financial Assets Law. Its Portuguese entity is registered with the Bank of Portugal, and its Bahamas entity with the Securities Commission of the Bahamas. Its Canadian entity withdrew its registration application in some provinces and does not offer registrable services to Canadians. As with any custodial platform, how safe your account is also depends on your own security, covered in our guide on how to secure a crypto exchange account.