Is Uphold Safe? Here’s What You Should Know About its Security in 2025

Most crypto enthusiasts all over the world use their favorite crypto exchanges every day with no issues – but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t check up on their security standards and see if they’re still up to snuff every now and then. If Uphold is (or is about to become) your platform of choice, today’s as good an occasion as any to ask, “Is Uphold safe?”

Launched in 2015, Uphold has garnered a lot of deserved praise over the years for its unique trading options (you can buy not only crypto but also precious metals like gold, platinum, and silver), generous staking rewards, and affordable trading fees. At the same time, it seems to have avoided any security-related controversies.

Still, the question remains: how safe is Uphold in general, and how does it fare against other leading exchanges like Binance, Kraken, and Bybit? In this guide, I’ll give you a no-frills, no-nonsense lowdown on its account and platform security features, other protection measures, regulatory and compliance frameworks, and more!

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Uphold Security Measures: An Overview

The security of a crypto exchange consists of a complex system with many moving parts, which is why I’m going to tackle the question, “Is Uphold safe?” from multiple angles. In this section, you’ll find out how this exchange protects your crypto using the industry-standard account and platform-level security features.

Account Protection Features

Every platform needs some safeguards to keep its users’ accounts safe, and crypto exchanges like Uphold are no exception. Here are all the features and tools Uphold employs to make sure no one else can access your account or move your crypto without your knowledge:

• Two-factor authentication (2FA);
• Passcode and biometric protection;
• One-click account freezing.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is one of the most basic safeguards you’ll find on pretty much every major platform today. It acts as the first line of defence against bad actors trying to hijack your account. As the name suggests, this mechanism requires users to verify their identity through two distinct ways when logging into their accounts,^[1] so that even if someone gains access to your password, they still can’t get into your account.

Uphold offers two types of 2FA: Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) or SMS. The latter is automatically turned on once you verify your mobile phone number, but it’s slightly less secure than TOTP, which you can enable on Uphold using any of the popular authentication apps, such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or Authy (I’ll show you how in one of the sections below).

Since a lot of crypto traders these days prefer to use their favorite exchange on mobile, you’ll probably want to ask – is Uphold a safe app? The good news is that the mobile Uphold app has a few additional features that will make logging into your account more secure and convenient at the same time. You can enable the 6-digit passcode and/or biometric security, such as FaceID or TouchID.

Another neat feature is the option to quickly freeze your account. You can do it on both the web and mobile app by going to [Settings], clicking [Security], and selecting [Freeze my account]. This immediately makes your account inaccessible to both you and others without having to contact Uphold’s customer support and asking them to do it on your behalf (which could take up to a few working days).

Unfortunately, Uphold’s account security measures, while adequate, are still more barebones than those of some other popular exchanges. For example, it has no option to whitelist wallet addresses or set up an anti-phishing code.

Platform Security Infrastructure

Just because no one else can personally access your account doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of the woods yet! All large centralized platforms are susceptible to cyber attacks, and that goes even more so for financial platforms like crypto exchanges that store valuable assets. If you find yourself asking, “Is my crypto safe on Uphold?”, check out all the ways this exchange protects your assets at an infrastructural level:

• Advanced encryption;
• Security testing and monitoring tools;
• Bug bounty program;
• Third-party due diligence;
• Employee and office security.

Advanced encryption is a standard feature in every centralized exchange, and Uphold is no different in this regard. All site traffic is encrypted using HTTPS, while users’ private keys are encrypted with the AES‑256 algorithm.

According to the Uphold team, the exchange’s security is built into the development process itself. Every piece of code undergoes numerous types of testing, including unit tests (small functions), functional tests (end-to-end behavior), integration tests (how services interact), and security-specific scenarios. Software and security patches are constantly monitored and updated according to the latest standards.

In addition, the Uphold Security Operations Center monitors the exchange’s systems 24/7, responding to any suspicious activity and detecting threats in real-time.

Speaking of testing and development, Uphold has an ongoing Bug Bounty program, offering rewards from $100 to $6,000 to users who report bugs and other vulnerabilities.

It’s not just the main platform itself that’s subject to these standards, though. Asking, “Is Uphold a safe exchange?” isn’t enough: all of Uphold’s third-party providers and integrations (especially the ones that incorporate sensitive data) are required to undergo due diligence checks.

Last but not least, Uphold holds its employees and office environment to strict security standards. The company offices utilize the Smart Card Access system to protect access to the server rooms and other sensitive locations. All Uphold employees have to pass a thorough background check and undergo continuous training on best practices in security.

Uphold Vault & UPHODL Wallet

Is Uphold wallet safe? The answer to that so far is – as safe as a hot (custodial) wallet could reasonably be! But if you’re in need of some extra peace of mind, Uphold offers two additional services. One of them is Uphold Vault.

Uphold Vault employs a unique system of “assisted self-custody”. In a nutshell, when you create a Vault, it generates three keys: the Vault Key, the Backup Key, and the Uphold Key. As a user, you have control over the first two, which are needed to transfer your funds to or from the wallet. They need to be stored separately. Even if you lose access to both of them, however, you can still use the Uphold Key to get a replacement.

If you’re wondering, “Is Uphold Vault safe?” (and to what extent), here’s what the company itself has to say on this:

We're not going anywhere... but if our systems were to go down, your assets remain accessible at all times.

That said, it does have some shortcomings. For one thing, the Uphold Vault is not a replacement for your Uphold Wallet. It doesn’t have any Web3 functionality and can’t be used as a third-party wallet. You can only use it to transfer assets to or from your Uphold trading account. As of writing this, Vault only supports BTC, XRP, RLUSD, SOLO, CORE and HBAR, but the team has announced that more tokens are coming in 2025.

Uphold Vault costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. There are no crypto transfer fees, though; you’ll only have to pay the network fee.

The other Uphold service you could try if you need maximum security is its non-custodial wallet. Unlike Vault, UPHODL Wallet functions as a typical Web3 wallet, giving you 100% custody over your funds and access to various dApps.

This multi-chain wallet supports BTC, ETH, and ERC-20 tokens, as well as NFTs. You can freely deposit crypto into this wallet and withdraw from it into any other third-party wallet address. What’s more, there's an option to buy crypto directly from the wallet. Unlike Vault, UPHODL wallet is free to use.

Both of these services offer a more secure alternative to the exchange’s default custodial wallet. Many users who’ve found themselves asking, “Is Uphold Wallet safe?” eventually switched to one of these options to give their crypto the safest possible storage environment while trading on the Uphold exchange.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Insurance

Is Uphold safe enough to trust with your crypto? It generally is – but what about your other assets? If you have an Uphold USD Interest Account, designed to help you earn on idle USD with no lockups or fees, you’ll be happy to find out that your funds are protected with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance.

FDIC is an independent US government agency that protects bank deposits (up to a certain limit) if a bank fails. Behind the scenes, those idle USD deposits in your Interest account are held with FDIC-insured banks, distributed across a network of multiple custodial accounts across different institutions, with no more than $250,000 held at any one bank.

The best part is that you don’t need to do anything to enroll: this insurance is applied automatically when your eligible USD funds are held at participating FDIC-insured institutions. It covers up to $250,000 per person.

How is Uphold Regulated?

Platform-level security is all well and good, but it doesn’t mean much if no one’s holding the platform accountable to it, right? When all is said and done, the only way to truly know if this exchange is safe is to have another trusted independent institution or agent pose the question, “Is Uphold safe and legit?” and have the means to put it to the test.

The good news is that, when it comes to transparency, Uphold passes most of the criteria with flying colors. It holds a number of respected security-related certificates and legislations, and meets all the other expected compliance requirements. Let’s take a look at these.

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Know Your Customer (KYC)

Like every other centralized exchange, Uphold has a Know Your Customer (KYC) verification system. While some popular exchanges allow you to access some of the exchange’s functionality – or at least have a look around – before having to verify your identity, on the Uphold exchange, KYC verification is fully built into the sign-up process.

It’s pretty straightforward and intuitive, and if you start the verification on the web, you’ll be given a QR code to seamlessly switch to your smartphone to make the ID verification and the selfie part easier.

You’ll have to provide the following information:

• Personal information (e.g., address, employment status, financial status);
• Source of income;
• The purpose of your Uphold account and intended activity;
• ID Verification;
• Proof of your Residential Address (optional verification to increase withdrawal limits).

What’s more, on Uphold, KYC isn’t just a one-and-done thing: the exchange does periodic reviews, occasionally asking users to confirm or update the information they provided during their first KYC verification.

Proof-of-Reserve Audits

One of the major criteria any user asking, “Is Uphold a safe exchange?” wants to know is the platform’s Proof-of-Reserve status – in other words, a confirmation that Uphold actually holds the assets it claims to and hasn’t been lending them out, leveraging them, or operating insolvently behind the scenes.

The exchange’s website states that its reserve status is always at 100% because Uphold never lends out users' money.

Uphold publishes their assets and liabilities in real-time, and undergoes annual independent audits that conduct diagnostic reviews and an assessment of various security-related policies, procedures, and standards (although, unfortunately, there's no option to download those audit reports on the exchange's website).

In addition, it has patented a number of technologies, such as the Reserveledger and Reservechain, that let users verify the reserve holdings and see for themselves.

In the name of ensuring transparency, Uphold also occasionally asks users to prove the origin of their funds by submitting payment slips, bank statements, annual tax returns, or other relevant documents.

Regulatory Compliance

Proper licensing is one of the most important factors in shaping a crypto exchange’s official image – and it’s safe to say that Uphold certainly hasn’t dropped the ball in this area. Here are the institutions that regulate Uphold’s operations in different countries:

Table: Uphold's licenses.

And here’s the list of all the other security and data privacy standards Uphold meets:

• Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Currency transaction reports and other reporting requirements triggered by transaction volumes and specified activity patterns.
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). The requirement to explain their information-sharing practices to their customers and to safeguard sensitive data.
• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS). A set of requirements created by the major payment card brands (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, American Express) to ensure that all companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment.

• The Travel Rule by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This rule requires Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to share certain transaction details for transfers exceeding a specific threshold to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing in the cryptocurrency industry.
• SOC 2 Type 2 Certification. A cybersecurity and data handling standard created by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) that evaluates how a company protects customer data across five criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.^[2]
• ISO 27001 Certification. An internationally recognized set of policies, procedures, and controls designed to manage and reduce the risk of data breaches, leaks, and other cyber threats.

In addition to these standards, Uphold also complies with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) by delisting certain stablecoins, such as Tether, for its European users.

Are all those licenses and regulations enough to answer the question, “Is Uphold safe and legit?” with a resounding “yes”? The verdict might still be out, but having the paperwork certainly doesn’t hurt!

Restricted Countries

Uphold imposes several types of geographical restrictions on certain countries. Some of them are related to fiat transfers:

• Fiat-to-fiat transactions between US and non-US customers are not allowed (e.g., USD to USD, or EUR to USD);
• Users in Canada are not allowed to send or receive CAD.

Meanwhile, customers from the US, the UK, and EEA can’t send or receive any type of funds (fiat or crypto) to or from customers in these countries: Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cyprus, Latvia, Moldova, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and most countries in Africa, South/Central America, and Asia.

Aside from these exceptions, there’s another list of Uphold-restricted countries where the exchange doesn’t offer any services or/doesn’t allow to create a new account:

Table: Uphold-restricted countries.

As you can see, this excludes Canada, some US states and overseas territories, and a number of European countries, as well.

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Uphold’s Track Record: History of Security Breaches

Large-scale cyber attacks and security breaches are an ever-present risk for popular centralized exchanges – but how often do those fears actually pan out to be true? Any user wondering, “Is my crypto safe on Uphold?” should look into the exchange’s actual history to see how effective its security measures have been so far.

While many of the most popular exchanges have experienced at least one known security breach, as of writing this, Uphold’s track record still remains spotless.

… or nearly spotless, depending on your interpretation. As it turns out, even though the exchange itself has never been hacked, one of its third-party providers, Customer.io, had a security incident in July 2022. A number of email addresses from some of the firm’s clients, including Uphold, were handed over to a malicious actor by a senior engineer with administrator access at Customer.io.

According to the official announcement by Uphold, the exchange immediately contacted Customer.io’s security team to investigate the incident and assess the damage. Together, they implemented some extra preventative controls to restrict access to Uphold’s customer information without a confirmation from Uphold.

After that, the exchange’s team got in contact with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the UK to report the incident and get some advice.

Customer Support & User Feedback

All those security and transparency measures are all well and good, you might say, and Uphold certainly seems to have the data and paperwork to back it up. That said, security isn’t just about tangible safeguards – it goes all the way down to user experience, too. What do the users themselves have to say when asked, “Is Uphold safe?”? And how does the exchange’s customer support team contribute to providing a secure experience for users?

Uphold’s support center has all you’d expect to see from a major centralized exchange, and then some more. Aside from a comprehensive and well-organized knowledge base where you’ll find the answer to just about any question you might have about Uphold or any of its services, there’s also a self-service section that lets users handle some of the common issues or requests themselves, such as:

• Changing their email address or password;
• Freezing or permanently closing their account;
• Downloading tax reports;
• Downloading their transaction history.

When it comes to user reviews, Uphold isn’t doing badly, either. As of writing this, the exchange has almost 16,000 reviews on TrustPilot with an average score of 4.5. A lot of users have praised the exchange for its trustworthiness and transparency. On the other hand, there are a number of negative reviews, too, mentioning issues with unreliable deposits or withdrawals.

Uphold has replied to over 70% of the negative reviews, usually within 48 hours.

Is Uphold Safer Than Other Exchanges?

When it comes to security, the answer is always going to be somewhat relative. You can’t just ask, “Is Uphold safe?” and leave it at that – the real question is, how safe is Uphold compared to its closest competitors? Let’s take a look at how this platform holds up against the other leading centralized exchanges: Binance, Kraken, and Bybit:

Table: Uphold VS Binance, Kraken, and Bybit security comparison.

As you can see, while Uphold’s account security features aren’t as extensive as those of some other alternatives, its other measures are either on par or better than those of its leading competitors.

How to Use Uphold Safely: Best Tips & Practices

Let’s wrap up this guide with some practical advice! While Uphold is safe enough out of the box, there are a few things you can do to make it even more secure.

Enable 2FA

Like I mentioned earlier, Uphold automatically enables SMS authentication as soon as you sign up, but why settle for that when you could go the extra mile and enable time-based 2FA for extra protection? Here’s how:

That’s all! If there’s a need, you can change it to another authenticator app or recover your 2FA access.

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Get UPHODL Wallet

Another handy way of boosting your security on Uphold is to create an UPHODL wallet so that you can have complete custody over your funds. Follow this quick tutorial to get started:

All done! You can start using your wallet right away.

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Conclusions

The trouble with trying to assess the security of a crypto exchange is that there’s little room for a definitive verdict. Is Uphold safe? The answer is probably more along the lines of: safe enough for your average user, compared to other similar platforms. This exchange has all the standard security measures like 2FA, KYC, advanced encryption, and 24/7 monitoring tools, and meets the latest regulatory standards of AML and data protection.

At the end of the day, however, security is a continuous and ongoing process, and definitely not something users of any crypto exchange should take for granted – so make sure to keep checking in every once in a while and stay updated!

The content published on this website is not aimed to give any kind of financial, investment, trading, or any other form of advice. BitDegree.org does not endorse or suggest you to buy, sell or hold any kind of cryptocurrency. Before making financial investment decisions, do consult your financial advisor.

Scientific References

1. Kaur S., Kaur G., Shabaz M.: 'A Secure Two-Factor Authentication Framework in Cloud Computing';

2. Deineka O., Harasymchuk O., Partyka A., Obshta A., Korshun N.: 'Designing Data Classification and Secure Store Policy According to SOC 2 Type II'.