"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller
As blockchain continues into uncharted waters, these words resonate more profoundly than ever. Celebrating a decade of Uphold, we reflect on the monumental shifts of the past 10 years, and our journey within this incredible industry.
When we began, Bitcoin was in its nascent stages. Today, it's a trillion-dollar asset, embraced by ETFs and financial institutions, reshaping our understanding of money and value. We saw the launch of Ethereum, and the cambrian explosion of smart contract, dapp, and next-gen platform development that followed. We've also navigated the industry's darker moments, like the fall of FTX and Terra Luna, which forced us to rethink our operations and vision for blockchain's future.
Throughout, we adapted and grew. Starting as a BTC storage solution, Uphold has evolved into a comprehensive digital asset platform, supporting hundreds of currencies and offering dynamic products like Vault, UpHODL, Topper, and more, empowering our customers’ to maximize their trading journeys.
As we mark 10 years, we reflect on our journey and look to the future. OH, and thanks for coming along for the ride—it wouldn’t be the same without you.
A Brief History of Uphold
2014: The Beginning Bitreserve is founded by Halsey Minor, focused on providing a Bitcoin storage platform with an evolving API.
2015: Uphold is Born Bitreserve rebrands to Uphold, beginning our transition into a robust digital asset platform, supporting a growing number of products, services, and assets.
2016: First Mover on New Technologies Uphold is one of the first platforms to support Ethereum and Litecoin.
2017: Growth and Partnerships Uphold raises $58M in Series B funding, launches support for major Bitcoin forks, and partners with innovators like Brave Browser. Uphold nears $3 billion in total transaction volume, across 550,000 customers in more than 184 countries.
2018: Regulatory Milestones and User Experience Enhancements Uphold acquires US Broker-dealer JNK. Expanding our compliance footprint, customer base, and service offering.
2019: Global Expansion Uphold expands wallet offerings to include more cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies, and precious metals.
2020: A Milestone in User Engagement The platform introduces fractional equities, allowing users to invest in stocks like Apple and Tesla fractionally.
2021: Strengthening Financial Services Uphold becomes an Electronic Money Institution agent and launches Uphold Card, enabling seamless spending at over 50 million stores worldwide.
2022 and 2023: Commitment to Security and Innovation Uphold receives significant regulatory approvals and launches innovative solutions like Topper and Uphold Institutional, enhancing the platform’s offerings for both retail and institutional users.
2023: Landmark Products & Partnerships The launch of Vault and UPHODL marks Uphold's continued commitment to providing secure and user-friendly solutions for asset management. Designed for HODLers and traders alike, Vault offers an assisted self-custody solution to store cryptocurrencies, merging some of the best aspects of decentralized and centralized solutions, including multi-sig security, seamless key replacement, and instant access to Uphold trading.
Uphold also launched a landmark partnership with leading fintech Ripple, providing enhanced crypto liquidity capabilities and supporting cross-border payments infrastructure. Pegah Soltani, Head of Payments Product at Ripple, emphasized the strategic importance of this collaboration: "Our new partnership with Uphold not only strengthens our infrastructure but also leverages Uphold’s expertise in managing deep liquidity, crucial for offering fast and flexible cross-border payments globally. We view this as just the beginning of our relationship and look forward to exploring what the future holds."
2024: Continuing The Charge Uphold continues to develop new and innovative products, expand asset offerings and network integrations, and establish partnerships that bolster our position as a leading digital platform.
Uphold Today
Today, Uphold stands as a premier digital trading platform, registered in numerous jurisdictions worldwide and chosen by over 10 million users. We support more than 260 assets, including cryptocurrencies, precious metals, and even tokenized carbon credits, smart routing orders across 29 trading venues for optimal execution and superior liquidity. We never loan out customer assets - funds are always 100% reserved, and can be verified at any time through our 24/7 proof-of-reserves.
Discover, trade, earn, and pay in crypto better. Here’s to 10 years of Uphold, and many more to come!
Celebrate With Us
None of this would be possible without you, our users. To show our appreciation, we've organized 4 exclusive giveaways just for you! Keep an eye on X for the details!
Giveaway 1 - Ended May 31st
Giveaway 2 - Live! June 3rd - June 14th
Giveaway 3 - TBA June 17th!
Giveaway 4 - TBA July 1st!
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