Uphold news
Uphold exchange denies owing millions to failed crypto lender Cred
Crypto exchange Uphold has denied owing around $784 million to the liquidation trust of bankrupt crypto investment platform Cred. At a court hearing on Jan. 11, Uphold filed a motion to dismiss all counts in the suit served against the firm by Cred in June 2022. Cred was a crypto lending service that filed chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2020. In June 2022, Cred’s liquidation trust filed an adversary complaint against Uphold and two affiliates. It claimed that Uphold worked with Cred co-founders to promote CredEarn and claimed that it owes the crypto lender $783.9 million. According to the lawsuit, …
Business / Jan. 12, 2023
Uphold withdraws with Venezuela, citing US sanctions
Crypto trading platform Uphold said it will be withdrawing support for users in Venezuela due to sanctions imposed by the United States government. In a Thursday announcement, Uphold said “owing to the increasing complexity of complying with U.S. sanctions” the platform would “very reluctantly” be moving out of Venezuela. The platform advised users to withdraw their funds as soon as possible, noting it would halt trading for Venezuela-based clients on July 31, with all accounts “fully restricted” starting on Sept. 30. “As a U.S. financial institution, Uphold has to comply with U.S. sanction programs administered by the U.S. Office of …
United States / June 23, 2022
Uphold becomes registered crypto-asset firm in UK post-FCA approval
A European subsidiary of United States-based crypto trading platform Uphold has received approval from the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). According to the FCA website, Uphold’s U.K. subsidiary Uphold Europe Limited gained regulatory approval on Feb. 17, 2022, joining the select list of 32 firms that have received FCA approval as a Registered Crypto Asset service provider, out of the 200 that applied. The approval signifies that the firm is in compliance with the U.K. Anti-Money Laundering and CounTerrorist Financing regulations. In order for crypto exchanges and service providers to offer their services to U.K.-based customers, they must register …
Regulation / Feb. 23, 2022
Latin America stands to benefit most from crypto, says Uphold exec
El Salvador’s Bitcoin (BTC) adoption has triggered a digital asset revolution in Latin America, and the region could benefit even more if people can exchange cryptocurrencies, fiat money and the upcoming central bank digital currencies (CBDC) on the same infrastructure, said the head of multicurrency investment platform Uphold. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Uphold CEO JP Thieriot underscored that the nature of life in Latin America begs for Bitcoin-based use cases, listing the region as that which will benefit the most as crypt adoption continues to grow. Venezuela and Colombia are the two most prominent crypto adopters in the region besides El …
Adoption / Oct. 27, 2021
Mastercard chooses 7 crypto startups for Start Path accelerator
International payments giant Mastercard continues focusing on the digital asset industry by welcoming a batch of major cryptocurrency startups in its fintech accelerator. The company announced Tuesday a new startup engagement program as part of Mastercard Start Path, an accelerator program for fintech startups, aiming to support companies working with digital assets, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. The program has added seven new startups, including digital wallet and trading platform Uphold, crypto storage firm GK8, American investment platform Domain Money, blockchain oracle startup SupraOracles, blockchain infrastructure provider STACS, digital asset firm Taurus, and Mintable, a marketplace for issuing and trading nonfungible …
Adoption / July 28, 2021
Uphold obtains FINRA approval to acquire US broker-dealer
Cryptocurrency wallet and trading platform Uphold has received regulatory approval to purchase JNK Securities, a U.S. broker-dealer. In an announcement from Uphold today, the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, gave the firm the green light to acquire JNK Securities. Uphold said the acquisition is aimed at allowing the platform to launch fractional equities in the United States later this year in addition to providing an interface for users to trade between crypto, stocks, carbon credits, precious metals, and other assets. “Bitcoin to Tesla stock in one seamless user experience will soon become a reality for our U.S. customers,” …
Regulation / March 31, 2021
Uphold to launch crypto cards in Europe with new acquisition
Uphold, an American digital wallet and trading platform, has acquired European card issuer Optimus Cards UK Limited to launch a cryptocurrency-enabled card on the continent. According to a Feb. 2 announcement, Uphold is planning to roll out its crypto-powered debit card in Europe starting in April 2021. Uphold CEO JP Thieriot said that the launch in Europe follows a successful roll out in the United States: “From April, we plan to start rolling out the world's first, multi-asset, crypto-enabled debit card on the Optimus platform in Europe. The card has already proved a hit with our U.S. customers offering a …
Bitcoin / Feb. 3, 2021
IMVU's new blockchain-backed stablecoin goes live
IMVU's new fiat-convertible VCOIN goes live on the social network. Per a Jan. 12 company announcement shared with Cointelegraph, VCOIN is available for users of IMVU, starting today. IMVU already hosts over 27 million transactions a month using its non-blockchain-backed credits. VCOIN aims to give users involved in those transactions the opportunity to convert their earnings into value that they can use off the platform, both in peer-to-peer transactions and in conversion to fiat, integrating the game's virtual economy into the rest of the economy more tangibly. Regarding the hoped-for boost to the virtual world's economy, IMVU's chief strategy and …
Sec / Jan. 12, 2021
Social networks and the digital economy: A preview of IMVU’s VCOIN
When the Securities and Exchange Commission gave its blessing to social media platform IMVU to launch VCOIN, it was a major leap forward for acceptable scope of crypto applications. The implications for what sorts of projects the SEC considers a security are, in and of themselves, huge. But part of the appeal of VCOIN to the SEC is that, with its stable price and clear use case, IMVU has managed to demonstrate to the commission that the token is a means of making the platform a more lifelike digital world that is more fun to hang out in. For those …
Adoption / Jan. 7, 2021
Uphold will not delist XRP before court decision
Cryptocurrency payments processor and exchange operator Uphold has formally clarified that it will not delist XRP for the time being. As part of an announcement made on Monday, Uphold stated it will not be removing XRP from its crypto offerings until the lawsuit filed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is resolved. “Uphold has decided to continue listing XRP until and unless the SEC's Complaint is adjudicated in the SEC's favour and XRP is judged to be a security today (or trading volume dissipates to a point where we can no longer support XRP).” The exchange noted that …
Regulation / Jan. 4, 2021
Universal Protocol Alliance introduces tradable carbon token
An alliance of crypto firms is introducing tokenized carbon credits for individuals to offset the amount of carbon dioxide they contribute. According to a Tuesday announcement, the Universal Protocol Alliance has launched a tradable carbon token on a public blockchain. The UPA stated that crypto users can “burn” the Universal Carbon token, UPCO2, to offset their carbon footprint. However, they also have the choice of holding the tokens or trading them like any other digital asset using Uphold, a major U.S. cryptocurrency wallet and trading platform that’s also a member of the UPA. One UPCO2 token represents a verified project …
Business / Dec. 1, 2020
Cred officially confirms suspension of fund inflows and outflows
Cred, a United States-based cryptocurrency lending service, has officially announced the temporary suspension of operations due to an ongoing investigation. On Oct. 29, Cred executives tweeted that the company is now cooperating with law enforcement authorities to investigate a “recent fraudulent incident.” As part of the ongoing investigation, Cred suspended “all inflows and outflows of funds.” The company expects to provide an update regarding the issue within the next two weeks. Unfortunately, we are unable to comment further at this time but we will undertake to provide an update within the next 2 weeks. During this period all inflows and …
Bitcoin / Oct. 29, 2020