Uphold Staking Program Terms
Last updated Jan 31, 2025
These terms, in addition to our General Terms and Conditions and User Agreement, available on our website, govern your use of certain staking services (“Staking Services”) on the Uphold Platform. Note that Staking Services are not currently available in the US, Canada, the EEA, Japan, Singapore, or in other jurisdictions in which Uphold does not generally make its services available. If you are a resident of the UK, then the staking terms applicable to you can be found here. Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meaning given to them in the General Terms and Conditions or the User Agreement. By accessing and/or using the Staking Services, you agree that you have read, understood and accepted these Uphold Staking Program Terms in its entirety.
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The Staking Program
The Uphold Platform allows unrestricted users in good standing who reside in eligible jurisdictions to stake certain cryptocurrencies held on the Uphold Platform in a third-party proof-of-stake network.
Staking involves delegating or locking certain eligible cryptocurrencies in these networks to support transaction validation and consensus processes on a blockchain or distributed ledger technology system (“Stake”, “Staking” or “Staked”).
When you purchase a cryptocurrency that is eligible for Staking (an “Eligible Cryptocurrency”), you may opt to participate in Uphold’s staking program (the “Staking Program”) whereby you may earn rewards (“Staking Rewards”) based on the amount of Eligible Cryptocurrency you choose to Stake and as determined by the relevant Eligible Cryptocurrency’s network.
You retain ownership of each Eligible Cryptocurrency that you choose to Stake, and each Staked Eligible Cryptocurrency remains your property while Staked.
A minimum amount of Eligible Cryptocurrencies may be required to participate in the Staking Program. Participation in the Staking Program is entirely voluntary, and you may stop participating at any time, subject to the terms set forth below.
Please view our FAQ for Staking for more information.
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Special Terms for Users residing Outside of Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, or Switzerland.
If you reside in a country where Uphold makes the Staking Program available other than Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, or Switzerland, and you do not opt in to the Staking Program, you acknowledge and agree that Uphold may stake any Eligible Assets you hold on the platform in its own name and retain for itself any rewards earned. While Eligible Assets are staked on behalf of Uphold, you are not entitled to and will not receive any Staking Rewards, but you will not be subject to any unbounding periods (see below) with respect to your Eligible Assets.
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Staking and Staking Rewards; Commission; Compounding
You will be eligible to receive Staking Rewards which are calculated based on the amount of Eligible Cryptocurrency that you choose to Stake and any accrued rewards that remain Staked with Uphold. Staking Rewards are rewards paid in the same Eligible Cryptocurrency that is Staked. Uphold may, in its sole discretion, limit the amount of Eligible Cryptocurrency that you are able to Stake.
Unless otherwise specified, the annualized percentage yield (“APY”) published on the Uphold Platform for a particular Eligible Cryptocurrency is an estimated annualized historical rate based on the contemporaneous rewards offered by the relevant network of the Eligible Cryptocurrency and the compounding of Staking Rewards earned, less our commission. This estimated rate may change over time. The actual Staking Rewards you receive may be more or less than this amount. Uphold does not guarantee that you will receive Staking Rewards.
Uphold earns a commission of between 20% - 25% of the Staking Rewards which depends on the Staked Eligible Cryptocurrency. Uphold may change these published commissions without notice at any time, including after your Eligible Cryptocurrency have been Staked.
You have no right to a Staking Reward unless and until the relevant Staking Reward is actually received by Uphold. Staking Rewards are delivered to your Uphold Account weekly after any Preparation Period has ended (see below), however, Uphold maintains sole discretion as to when Staking Rewards are delivered to your Uphold Account. All Staking Rewards delivered to you will automatically be re-Staked if possible, and will then themselves be eligible to receive Staking Rewards after the applicable Preparation Period. If the Eligible Cryptocurrency’s applicable network distributes any rewards in un-Staked form, Uphold will use commercially reasonable efforts to re-Stake those rewards. -
Preparation Periods
When you opt-in to the Staking Program, there may be a preparation period of up to three business days before the amount you stake is eligible to receive Staking Rewards (“Preparation Period”). You will be notified of any Preparation Period prior to Staking your Eligible Cryptocurrency. -
Unbounding Periods
You will need to request for your staked assets to be unstaked before they can be sold or transferred. Depending on the Eligible Cryptocurrency, the network of the Eligible Cryptocurrency may require an “unbounding” period during which Staked Eligible Cryptocurrency cannot be transferred, exchanged or withdrawn (“Unbounding Period”). The Unbounding Period varies, depending on the network of each Eligible Cryptocurrency, and is typically set at up to 30 days, but may be longer. Uphold will make commercially reasonable efforts by managing its liquidity to allow participants in the Staking Program to transfer, exchange or withdraw their staked Eligible Cryptocurrency prior to the completion of the relevant unbounding period, but in periods of high demand, you may be required to wait up to the full unbounding period specified by the relevant network, plus a short administrative period of up to four (4) business days. During any Unbounding Period in which your Eligible Cryptocurrency remains unable to be transferred, exchanged or withdrawn, you will not earn Staking Rewards. At the end of any applicable Unbounding Period, your Uphold Account will be credited with the relevant Eligible Cryptocurrency and only then will it be available for transfer, exchange, or withdrawal.
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Maximum/minimum staking limits
Each Eligible Cryptocurrency has a quantity of Eligible Cryptocurrency that may be Staked per Staking transaction, and a maximum weekly un-Staking limit per the table below. Uphold may, in its sole discretion, amend these limits.
Asset Minimum Stake/Unstake (Per Transaction) Maximum unstaking limit (Per Week) ADA 1 150,000 ATOM 0.5 5,000 APT 1 3,000 AVAX 0.1 12,500 AXL 1 30,000 CSPR 10 7,500,000 DOT 1 10,000 ETH 0.01 50 FLR 1 1,000,000 HBAR 5 1,000,000 INJ 1 135,000 KSM 0.1 1,000 NEAR 1 70,000 POL 0.1 50,000 ROSE 3 4,000,000 SGB 1 1,000,000 SOL 0.1 1,750 XTZ 5 45,000 ZIL 6 8,000,000 -
Slashing Fees
The relevant networks of Eligible Cryptocurrency may charge “slashing fees” based on network downtime or if the transaction validator representing the Staked Eligible Cryptocurrency incorrectly validates a transaction (“Slashing Fees”).
Slashing fees may result in the loss of the Staked Eligible Cryptocurrency and non-payment of the applicable Staking Rewards by the relevant networks of the Eligible Cryptocurrency.In the unlikely event that any Slashing Fees are charged based on the Staked Eligible Cryptocurrency, Uphold will promptly reimburse you for any such amount charged so long as such penalties are not a result of: (i) protocol-level failures caused by bugs, maintenance, upgrades, or general failure; (ii) your acts or omissions; (iii) acts or omissions of any third party service provider; (iv) acts by a hacker or other malicious actor; or (v) any other events outside of Uphold’s reasonable control.
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No Guarantees
UPHOLD MAKES NO GUARANTEES THAT ANY STAKING REWARDS WILL ACTUALLY BE EARNED, NOR THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE ANY PARTICULAR RETURN OVER TIME, INCLUDING ANY ESTIMATED APY THAT MAY BE DISCLOSED. UPHOLD DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE STAKING PROGRAM WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS OR FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME FOR ANY USER OR IN ANY LOCATION. TERMS OF STAKING MAY BE CHANGED BY THE NETWORKS OF THE RELEVANT ELIGIBLE CRYPTOCURRENCIES WITHOUT UPHOLD’S CONSENT, AND SUCH CHANGES MAY BE PASSED ON TO YOU. UPHOLD DOES NOT GUARANTEE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION OF THE STAKING SERVICES. UPHOLD RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND, WITHDRAW, AMEND, OR TERMINATE THE STAKING PROGRAM IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION, INCLUDING DESIGNATING AN ASSET AS AN ELIGIBLE CRYPTOCURRENCY.IF THERE IS ANY DISRUPTION, SUSPENSION OR DISCONTINUANCE OF THE STAKING SERVICES, ANY STAKED ASSETS MAY STOP GENERATING STAKING REWARDS AND YOU MAY NOT RECEIVE ANY (AND YOU MAY FORFEIT ALL OR SOME) STAKING REWARDS. UPHOLD HAS NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY LOSS, LIABILITY OR DAMAGE THAT USERS MAY INCUR DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN CONNECTION WITH THE STAKING SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS, LIABILITY OR DAMAGE ARISING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM INTERRUPTIONS, ERRORS OR DEFECTS IN THE STAKING SERVICES, THIRD PARTY DISRUPTIONS OF OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO THE STAKING SERVICES AND ANY SUSPENSION OR DISCONTINUANCE OF THE STAKING SERVICES. -
Taxes
The tax treatment of cryptocurrency may be uncertain in various jurisdictions around the world. You are solely responsible for reporting and paying any applicable taxes based on your transactions on the Uphold Platform, including any Staking Rewards that you may earn. -
Risks; No Advice
In addition to the risks related to investment in cryptocurrency generally (see our Crypto-assets Risk Overview), staking poses additional risks. Cryptocurrencies are volatile assets and cryptocurrencies that are Staked may lose value over time, including over the period that they are staked and any unbounding period, and so an asset may earn rewards while Staked but still lose value. You may not be able to liquidate your investment while Eligible Cryptocurrencies are Staked. You may not be able to un-Stake an Eligible Cryptocurrency until the end of the applicable unbounding period. The networks of Eligible Cryptocurrencies may change rewards that are offered, preparation periods, or Unbounding Periods in their sole discretion. Do not Stake Cryptocurrencies unless you are able to bear the risk of waiting for any applicable Unbounding Period to end. You acknowledge that Uphold does not provide investment, legal, or tax advice to you in connection with your activity on the Uphold Platform, including your participation in the Staking Program. You should consult with your own investment, legal, and tax advisors prior to making any investment decision, including whether to participate in the Staking Program.
- 1.The Staking Program
- 2.Special Terms for Users residing Outside of Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, or Switzerland.
- 3.Staking and Staking Rewards; Commission; Compounding
- 4.Preparation Periods
- 5.Unbounding Periods
- 6.Maximum/minimum staking limits
- 7.Slashing Fees
- 8.No Guarantees
- 9.Taxes
- 10.Risks; No Advice