Uphold launched in the United States back in 2015, before the insane cryptocurrency bubble of 2017. The platform functions more like a traditional e-currency wallet, such as PayPal, than a cryptocurrency exchange.
However, a large variety of assets, including various cryptocurrencies, can be stored on Uphold.
Uphold
- Diverse range of digital (and non-digital) assets you can purchase
- Easy to sign up
- Has been remarkably secure over the years
- Available to people in over 180 different countries
Uphold General Overview
Pros
- Users can store cryptocurrency, precious metals, and fiat currencies
- Uphold hasn’t faced any serious security issues since its launch in 2015
- Uphold is available in more than 180 different countries
- Transactions sent between Uphold users are completely free
- Uphold has a powerful API that developers can use to build applications on top of the platform
Cons
- The fees are somewhat high compared to platforms built for pro traders
- Users are not in complete control of their funds
- Fees are hidden in the buy and sell spreads
- Other exchanges have a much longer list of cryptocurrencies available to trade
- You must submit KYC documents in order to use Uphold
Uphold Sign-up Process
Uphold is available on both desktop computers and smartphones, so to get started with this cryptocurrency exchange platform, you must either visit Uphold.com or find the Uphold app in your phone’s app store. When you begin the sign-up process, you will need to provide the following basic information:
- Email address
- Password
- Enrolling as business or individual
- Country of residence
- Full name
- Username
- Date of birth
- State or province
Like nearly every other cryptocurrency exchange, the usability of Uphold will be limited unless additional personal information is provided. Users who only provide the above information are limited to a lifetime transaction ceiling of $1,000. To remove this limit and gain access to additional features, such as funding your account via a debit or credit card, users must provide documentation in the form of a valid government-issued ID.
In most cases, Uphold is able to fully verify users within 24 hours.
What You Can Buy
The fiat currencies and precious metals available to Uphold users create a greater variety of assets; however, the number of cryptocurrencies available on the platform is somewhat limited. Here is a partial list:
- Basic Attention Token
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- CRED
- Dash
- Ether
- Litecoin
- Stellar Lumens
- Ripple
Supported Applications
Uphold is available on most computing platforms. The cryptocurrency service is available on any computer via the company’s website, and apps are also available for Apple and Android phones.
Fees
There are a large number of different fee structures to look at for Uphold due to the variety of different assets that can be bought, held, and sold on the platform.
There are no fees for depositing money onto Uphold, unless that deposit is made via a debit or credit card.
Most withdrawal methods involve a fee of $2.99 or $3.99. These withdrawals will also involve a network fee if they are made via a cryptocurrency.
Conversion fees for the various assets available on Uphold range from 0.65% to 3.95%.
Is Uphold Exchange Safe?
Uphold Exchange is considered to be one of the safest ways to buy cryptocurrency by many digital asset experts. Since launching in 2014, Uphold has maintained an exemplary reputation for security among its customers. The site is unique in the sheer amount of assets it offers — including gold and silver — and that might help explain why security seems to be so important to the company.
On the flip side there have been some complaints about Uphold’s customer service over the years but that appears to be getting better and the number of issues seems to have gone down significantly in the last year.
Connection with Brave
Uphold is the designated wallet provider for the Brave Browser. Even though Brave has a wallet built into the browser, you can’t send your Basic Attention Tokens to a cryptocurrency address from the browser itself, you can only tip through YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, etc. In order to unlock your BAT from the advertising rewards, or earn tips as a publisher on one of the supporting networks, you need to sign up, and complete registration for an uphold account. For more information on the Brave Browser and Basic Attention Token, head on over to our guides.
