YieldHow safe is Uphold,
really?
Instead of a vague 'trusted' badge, we grade Uphold on five concrete, checkable criteria — each with sources. Here's exactly how it scores.
Criterion by criterion, with sources
- ✓
Regulation
Regulated in the US by FinCEN and state regulators, in the UK by the FCA, registered in Canada with FINTRAC and in Europe with the Bank of Portugal. Its MiCA licence is still pending, so for Uphold Digital Assets Europe customers crypto and fiat deposits have been paused since 1 July 2026; withdrawals still work. Source 1 → Source 2 →
- ✓
Proof-of-Reserves
A public real-time proof-of-reserves dashboard is refreshed roughly every 30 seconds, one of the most transparent setups in the industry. Source →
- ✓
Flexible withdrawal
Staking carries no platform lock-up; only the network unbonding period (about 4 days for ETH) applies. Source →
- ✗
Insurance Fund
No dedicated customer insurance fund is publicly disclosed. Source →
- ✗
Track record (2+ years incident-free)
Operating since 2014. In 2019–2020 Uphold promoted Cred's CredEarn product to users; when Cred filed for bankruptcy in November 2020, over 6,000 Uphold customers lost roughly $34M. In April 2026 the New York AG secured a settlement of more than $5M from Uphold for restitution to affected investors. Uphold admitted the AG's factual findings without admitting liability, and its CEO called the AG's characterization "profoundly inaccurate". Source →
Incidents we count
Known incidents
1- November 2020 Cred filed for bankruptcy after heavy losses; users had deposited ~$50M into CredEarn (a Cred product promoted by Uphold). Over 6,000 Uphold customers lost roughly $34M. In April 2026 the New York AG settled with Uphold for more than $5M in restitution; Uphold admitted the factual findings without admitting liability and disputes the AG's characterization. Source →
Current earn rates on Uphold
| Asset | Rate | Type |
|---|---|---|
| CSPR | 3.32 % | flexible |
| KSM | 2.07 % | flexible |
| SOL | 1.67 % | flexible |
| TAO | 1.66 % | flexible |
| ALGO | 1.54 % | flexible |