Uphold Launches Free Bitcoin Trading

SAN FRANCISCO, OCTOBER 12, 2022: Uphold, the digital asset trading platform serving more than 10 million customers worldwide, today introduces free Bitcoin (BTC) trading for its customers in a pioneering move.

Uphold customers will now be able to buy and sell Bitcoin free of charge using national currencies such as the U.S. Dollar and the Euro until further notice. Typically, exchanges charge fees of up to 2% on BTC trades, which means that a customer would pay around $40 for a $1,000 round trip purchase and sale of BTC.

While not immune to volatility, bitcoin has held its own in recent weeks despite downward pressure in the broader markets. This also seems to be reflected by an uptick in bitcoin holders, which have increased by over 4.5 million over the past year in the face of the ongoing bear market.

In addition to the zero-fee promotion, customers also benefit from the fact that Uphold is connected to 28 underlying exchanges, including several Decentralised Exchanges (DEXs), so users gain access to some of the best Bitcoin prices. ‘We believe that there’s now no better place for people to buy and sell Bitcoin,‘ explained Uphold CEO Simon McLoughlin. ’Because crypto markets remain more inefficient than those for more traditional assets such as equities, the price of Bitcoin can still vary by 10-20 bps between trading venues.

‘Uphold’s smart-routing technology is able to capitalise on these opportunities for customers. This, combined with a goal of onboarding as many people as possible, made it an obvious choice to remove trading fees for Bitcoin on our service.

The move follows the strong-growth Uphold has achieved following the introduction of an industry-first offer of 0% commissions on all cryptocurrency staking through to January 5th, 2023. McLoughlin elaborated, ‘We’ll keep coming up with powerful and innovative ways to help our customers and make digital assets more accessible and affordable for everyone.

About Uphold

A digital money platform serving over 10 million customers in more than 150 countries where consumers seek a more versatile and cost-effective home for their financial lives. Leveraging blockchain technology, the platform provides both consumers and businesses with easy access to digital and national currencies, precious metals and fractional U.S. equities. Uphold‘s unique trading experience – ’Anything-to-Anything‘ – allows customers to trade directly between asset classes, saving time and money. Uphold customers have easy access to tomorrow’s financial services, today.