Uphold will list Litecoin and Ethereum

Recently, Upchi released a statement saying that in order to enrich the currency options of Upchi members, Upchi plans to launch Litecoin and Ethereum in April and May 2016 respectively.

George Pereira, Executive Vice President of Uphold, said:

“As Uphold sets its sights on Internet assets, we strive to create a seamless and inclusive financial platform that allows the freedom to hold, transfer, exchange and trade in any form of currency or commodity. We chose to support these two new cryptocurrencies because of their popularity among developers, open source communities, financial traders and financial enthusiasts. We will release Litecoin in April 2016 and Ethereum in May.”

Uphold account holders, including individuals and businesses, can instantly send and receive funds to each other, and freely convert between 23 major currencies, 4 precious metals and 2 cryptocurrencies. In the near future, Uphold accounts will also be able to freely hold, transfer, and trade Litecoin and Ethereum.

Uphold was founded by Halsey Minor in 2013 as Bitcoin Reserve, and rebranded to Uphold in October 2014 to reduce the emphasis on Bitcoin. CEO Anthony Watson was the CIO of Nike and Barclays Bank before taking the helm in April 2015.

How does Uphold plan to make money? By charging a fee for holding assets in the form of precious metals and for cashing out amounts超过一定数量后in a short period of time. The long-term plan is to charge members as low fees as possible, i.e. free accounts, free foreign exchange conversions and free transfers between members. These favorable terms should lead to a rapid growth in the number of members worldwide. As storage is based on Uphold's growth, the most substantial source of income will come from interest on "risk-free" short-term government securities and US Treasuries, etc.

In January 2015, Uphold completed its Series B funding, raising $9.6 million through crowdfunding from institutional and individual investors in the US and UK. Shares were sold on Venovate crowdfunding site to officially accredited investors in the US and Crowdcube to UK investors. Uphold has accumulated $20 million in funding to date. Revenues are expected to reach $15.3 million in 2016. Uphold now has offices in San Francisco, London, Shanghai and Braga, Portugal.