Uphold eliminates 85 roles as retail crypto activity weakens
The crypto trading platform eliminated 85 permanent and contract roles as weaker retail activity pushed the company to redirect resources toward institutional services.
Crypto trading platform Uphold has cut about 17% of its global workforce as it redirects resources toward its expanding enterprise business, CoinDesk reported.
The restructuring affected 85 employees and contractors across several regions, according to the report.
The decision comes as weaker retail crypto activity pushes Uphold to focus more heavily on services for banks, fintech companies, and broker dealers.
The company nearly doubled its workforce during the previous market expansion and is now adjusting its cost base to current trading conditions, CoinDesk reported. Uphold nevertheless remains confident in the long term outlook for digital assets and blockchain technology.
Founded in 2015, the New York based company allows retail and institutional customers to trade and hold cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies, equities, and precious metals through a single account.
Uphold has increasingly expanded beyond its consumer app by building infrastructure that allows financial companies to offer crypto trading and custody services directly to their customers.
The layoffs follow a prolonged downturn across the digital asset market. Total crypto market capitalization fell to about $2.1 trillion at the end of the second quarter after three consecutive quarterly declines.
Trading volumes and retail participation also weakened amid elevated interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty, and sustained outflows from crypto exchange traded funds.
Uphold said it is not closing its UK business or any other international offices, with all locations remaining operational and staffed, according to CoinDesk.
The company said demand for its enterprise platform has continued to grow, prompting it to shift more personnel and investment toward that segment. Uphold expects to announce further expansion plans in the coming months.
The company also plans to broaden its consumer app during 2026 with US stocks, tokenized securities, asset backed lending, credit cards, prediction markets, and additional decentralized finance yield products, including services linked to XRP.