Uphold Review | Crypto Exchange Guide For Casino Players

What is Uphold Exchange?

Uphold is a multi-asset virtual exchange designed for different types of trading. It is more than a simple crypto exchange used for multiple assets, it’s also a place you can trade precious metals, stocks, commodities, etc.

It seems that lots of users aren’t certain about one thing: Is Uphold a wallet or exchange? Actually, it’s both. Its platform and its Uphold wallet are good for investing and trading major currencies, both crypto and fiat currencies, but it can cause some annoyance if you plan to use it for online gambling alone.

Uphold Exchange Overview

Founded in 2013 under the name Bitreserve, this trading platform rebranded two years later, and in addition to crypto trade, it started offering precious metals, commodities, stocks, and national currencies. With nearly two million users and available in 184 countries, Uphold website accepts a vast array of fiat currencies, cryptos, precious metals, and other asset classes.

Before they start dealing with foreign exchange options and equity trading, Uphold users must know that equity trading is unavailable for US residents, while European users need to create an account on Uphold Europe Limited to trade equities. Uphold has over $1,3B in assets reserve, with a transaction volume of $33B+ spread over 100M transactions. In 2022, a class-action lawsuit was filed due to massive crypto drainage from multiple Uphold accounts.

Several Uphold clients claimed their cryptos have been stolen, tarnishing Uphold’s otherwise spotless reputation. However, around 90% of Uphold’s crypto funds are kept in cold storage, meaning they are impossible to get access via the internet. Also, Uphold conducts numerous third-party security audits, and their own personnel is under constant control.

Pros and Cons of Uphold Exchange

Using Uphold Exchange in Online Casinos

As with some other cryptocurrency exchanges, Uphold offers the possibility to deposit fiat currencies and cryptos into a legal online casino, but in order to do so you will need written permission from the Uphold staff members. Uphold platform is not the only digital money platform that prohibits transfers of supported assets into an online casino without prior written consent. And that’s not all. Deposits intended for sports betting or odds-making are not allowed at all, and if you are a sports bettor it’s best to use a different exchange.

There is a solution to this conundrum, however, if you want to play traditional casino games in legal casinos. You can always send your crypto or fiat currencies from a linked bank account used for making deposits at Uphold directly into a casino of your liking, without the need to send digital assets from your Uphold account.

In other words, you can use Uphold for managing your crypto investments and fiat conversions, shopping, or buying precious metals, but when it comes to online gambling you can simply make a deposit using a different wallet, credit card, or bank account.

Uphold Margin Trading

At the time of writing this review, Uphold exchange did not support margin trading. If you want to learn more about margin trading and get a taste of it, we advise you to visit other exchanges that fully support this type of trading, like Binance.

Uphold Staking

Uphold exchange enables you to stake your crypto assets and reap digital rewards as time passes by. Depending on the crypto involved, staking can yield up to 25% profit over one year and the money is paid every Thursday. Bear in mind that Uphold has a 15% commission on any staking rewards and staking is not available for traders from Japan and Singapore due to legal issues.

In order to stake your cryptos, you must sign up and activate the staking feature. Choose an asset and stake any amount you wish – the more you invest, the higher the staking yield. And that’s it! All you have to do is wait because staking is a passive way to make extra income by assigning your tokens for the purpose of validating other transactions. You can stake the following cryptos, with an estimated APY listed in the brackets, starting from the biggest to the lowest APY.

Kava (25%)

Polygon (9%)

Solana (6%)

Kusama (18%)

Injective (8,75%)

Tron (6%)

Polkadot (12%)

NEAR Protocol (8,5%)

Avalanche (5,5%)

Cosmos (12%)

Livepeer (8%)

Cardano (5%)

Mina (12%)

Flow (7,5%)

Tezos (5%)

Band Protocol (10%)

Audius (7,5%)

The Graph (3,5%)

Zilliqa (9,5%)

Ethereum (7%)

Algorand (1%)

Casper (9,25%)

Oasis Network (6,75%)

Asset Classes

Uphold supports several asset classes, which are categorized slightly differently than in traditional economies. Having more than one asset class, Uphold can be very lucrative for experienced traders and investors willing to deal with different goods and assets.

• Crypto
• Fiat currency
• Stocks
• Precious metals
• Other commodities

Uphold vs Coinbase

Similar to Coinbase, Uphold supports deposits to legitimate online casinos, but only as long as you get written consent from the Uphold exchange team. The two exchanges have a lot in common, but naturally one appeals to some more than the other. Check out our Coinbase exchange review for details! Here are some other benefits and drawbacks that come along with Uphold and Coinbase exchanges:

Uphold benefits over Coinbase

• No fees for $100+ transactions between assets
• 0% trading commission
• More currencies
• Have precious metals
• Send money for free to a family member
• No convenience fee via bank account
• Great multi-asset trading tool

Coinbase benefits over Uphold

• Lower spread
• Advanced platform available for experienced clients
• Rewards for educational content on cryptos
• Great for beginners
• Accounts with an interest of up to 0,15% annually for USDC
• Insured by the Federal deposit insurance corporation (FDIC)
• Better mobile app

How to Create an Uphold Account

Uphold users can choose between opening an Individual, or Business Account. Let’s take a look at how to open your individual account first.

For US residents

1. Create login credentials – Email, password, and country of residence.
2. Create your account info – First and last names, US state, and date of birth. You will be sent a confirmation email.
3. Two-factor authentication – Enter your phone number, and download the Authy app which will recognize your account and streamline the process).

Note: Uphold Exchange collects personal information and you have to provide your current address a valid government-issued photo ID (driver’s license, passport), and a selfie of yourself from your device.

For non-US residents

1. Create login credentials – Email, password, choose one of 184 countries offered
2. Enter your personal information – First and last name, and date of birth, and set a username, after which you will receive a verification email.
3. Two-factor authentication – Enter your phone number, and download the Authy app which will recognize your account and streamline the process.
4. Deposit money – The minimum deposit is $10 via debit card, crypto, bank wire, SWIFT, or SEPA to fund your account and open a trade.

Uphold Business Account

Expert users can open a Business account that offers some cool perks and benefits, such as higher transactions, liking your company’s bank account, low-cost conversions, etc. The business account creation includes:

1. Choose the [Business] account type on the sign-up page
2. Fill in the application form, step by step
3. If ever in doubt, customer support will lend you a hand

How to Withdraw Funds via Uphold Exchange

Directly to a crypto network, on your phone

• Tap the logo on the bottom of our screen
• Select [From] and choose any funding account (crypto, fiat, tokens, stablecoins, or metals) and enter the amount you wish to withdraw
• Tap [To] and select a network in the top menu
• Select [Preview withdrawal]
• Enter your private wallet address, or scan the QR code. Click [Confirm]
• Enter your 6-digit code from the Authenticator app

On your Web wallet

• Go to Transaction panel, click [From] and select your asset and the amount
• Select [To] and select a crypto network
• Click [Preview withdrawal]
• Enter the generated 6-digit code via the authenticator app

The minimum withdrawal is between $5 to $10, varying by the country, for bank transfers or the equivalent in cryptocurrency (0.00001 BTC, 0.001 ETH, 0.001 XRP, 0.25 LTC, 0.0001 DASH).

Uphold Fees

Sadly, Uphold is not a free-of-charge exchange platform. A spread will be charged every time you make a trade and the prices below are the prices you pay when you trade. Fortunately, Uphold prices are locked in pre-trade and there are no hidden fees between Preview and Transact, unlike with some other exchanges.

• Uphold charges 0% withdrawal fees.
• Spread fees still apply a $0,99 transaction fee between assets amounting under $100, excluding Uphold Debit Card, BAT from a Brave Browser to fiat currencies, and automated transactions with 0% trading commissions.
• Network fees apply when withdrawing assets to an external crypto wallet, depending on the network congestion.
• Keep in mind that Uphold displays the current mid-market price on their charts, so when you trade, you receive the current bid or ask price depending on whether you’re selling or buying cryptos. A small difference between the mid-market and the bid/ask prices will occur due to the nature of order books on crypto exchanges.

Spread fees

When trading cryptocurrency, Uphold charges a spread of 0.8% to 1.2% in the United States, 0.85% to 1.2% in UK and Europe, and around 1.8% for other regions. Spreads can be significantly higher for low-liquidity cryptos and tokens such as XRP, ZIL, OXT, UPT, DOGE, and others.

Check rates at Preview before you trade with altcoins – the spread is slightly higher, going from 0.95-1% for buying and 1.1-1.25% for selling. For trading currencies, you have access to low forex conversion rates with the spread for Euro, American dollar and the British pound is 0.2%.

Uphold Web Wallet

In order to trade with different asset classes, you have to open an account and hold funds in your Uphold wallet, for free. When funded by a bank account, Bitcoin, or from another Uphold account, there are no fees whatsoever. However, if using a debit/credit card to fund your account, Uphold applies a fee of 3.99%.

You can also send and receive money for free between Uphold customers. All customer-to-customer transfers are completely free of all fees, costs, or limitations regardless of the amounts transferred, currency, or frequency.

Important notice: if you plan to gamble with cryptos and you don’t want to ask for written consent from Uphold, we advise you to use a different wallet, which you may or may not finance using your existing Uphold account.

Convert Buy

Uphold will charge an exchange fee when a customer buys or converts between different currencies. This is based upon a percentage of the transaction value, and you may also notice a slight difference between the buy and sell price quotes for the same currency pair due to the inclusion of a Price protection fee, by Uphold.

This difference is usually less than 0.75% above or below the market rate and it allows Uphold to give you an instant and guaranteed quote no matter the market conditions or other factors that may affect their ability to settle your trade.

Uphold Card

Regardless of your love for cryptos or precious metals, if you already have an Uphold account you might want to consider activating the physical Uphold card and improve your financial potential all around the globe.

Regulated by the FCA, the Uphold debit card is backed by Mastercard, which is on itself a valuable asset capable of opening many doors, from stock markets to street vendors.

You can use it to trade cryptos, do real-time analytics, and gain additional protection via the [Freeze your card] function. Some of the additional benefits are:

• Spend your cryptos wherever Mastercard is accepted
• Earn 4% cashback in XRP, capped at 50 pounds Sterling per month 0% foreign transaction fees
• Zero annual fees
• The card has some limitations and fees, naturally.
• In the UK there is a 2,50 pounds national ATM withdrawal fee and GBP 3,50 for ATMs abroad.
• The daily spending limit is 10,000 pounds, with 50 transactions per day max.
• The virtual card is free of charge, and the physical one comes with a 9,95 pounds price tag.

Uphold Exchange PC App

Available for PC and Mac, the Uphold desktop app will help you stay organized, manage multiple accounts and be more productive as you buy, sell, or trade your digital assets, equities, and precious metals. Paired with a password and/or touch ID, this discrete window is designed to improve your safety as well, while at the same time enabling you to work in peace due to its distraction-free interface.

Uphold Exchange Mobile Application

Uphold offers a dedicated mobile app for Android and iOS users, but too many clients expressed their complaints in this regard. For the biggest part, they are related to usability problems and the general feeling of being too cluttered. So if you are a rookie it will take some time to master, and advanced users should not experience the same problems.

With that in mind, Uphold app is still a global powerhouse, enabling users to trade with over 200 cryptocurrencies, 27 national currencies, 4 precious metals, and over 50 American stocks.

Uphold Exchange Customer Support

Most of the people who tied to contact Uphold are disappointed with the support. In essence, they are not quick to respond, and trying to get the info you need can be annoying. As far as we know, there are only two ways you can communicate with the Uphold support team – using a form on the trading platform, or trying to get them via Uphold Twitter account.

When all is said and done, the support section leaves a lot of room for improvement and we hope that Uphold will become easier to reach and provide help as soon as possible.

User Reviews

What Users Like About Uphold

Users like the fact that there are plenty of cryptos, stocks, precious metals, and currencies, as well as a trade-in app. They also praise no deposit fees and withdrawal fees, no trading fees, zero fees for cross-asset transactions over $100, and all transactions are automated. Lastly, Uphold debit card comes with with 2% cashback for crypto purchases.

What Users Dislike About Uphold

Users dislike that written consent is needed in order to place casino deposits and withdrawals. Also, sports forecasting and betting odds are illegal via Uphold wallet.

There is a substantial risk that is common when you trade multiple assets. The security breach in 2022, followed by the lawsuit against Uphold damaged trust among users. As for mobile apps, some users feel they could be less confusing, especially for beginners. Lastly, some users complain about the support team, claiming it takes ages to respond.

Uphold Exchange Summary

Our Uphold review proved that although it is a good and reliable exchange, we can not recommend it to devoted casino players wholeheartedly. Uphold is a crypto exchange, online brokerage, and forex trading app all rolled into one, which is a very cool feat, and as such it offers some truly great services and benefits, but it does not allow depositing funds in unlicensed (and illegal, obviously) casinos.

Furthermore, sports betting is off-limits entirely, and you must ask for written consent from Uphold before you make any deposits into a legit, licensed online casino. This is very similar to limitations imposed by Coinbase, and some other crypto exchanges.

If you opt to make casino deposits using a different wallet or trading account and plan to use the Uphold exchange for everything BUT online gambling, then this trading platform looks quite more attractive to both pros and rookies. Professional and active traders will appreciate different assets they can deal with, as well as over 200 currencies supported.

This is where Uphold exchange shines – it’s perfect for traders looking to invest in a lot of different assets, not just crypto and fiat money. In terms of customer ratings, Uphold is a two-sided coin, if there ever was one. Uphold has a relatively poor rating due to thousands of complaints regarding delayed ID verification process, account lockouts, and poor communication between clients and the support team.

On the other hand, despite thousands of complaints, a lot of users find Uphold to be a great trading platform with high-profit margins and low bank wire costs, and crypto network fees. The support team and the mobile app both require a serious overhaul, but they are still functional, although not quite at the level of serious competitors.

When it comes to banking, having a Mastercard-backed physical card is always a plus, the fees are competitively low, and you can even earn some extra funds by staking your cryptos for a long period of time.

To summarise, Uphold is a good and very diverse exchange platform, with competitive fees and some issues in the security, support, and mobile domains. If online gambling is your number one concern, Uphold imposes some serious limitations and if they are not working for you, feel free to turn to Uphold alternatives – the ones that will let you deposit your assets in online casinos freely and with no questions asked.