Uphold Cuts 17% Staff, Doubles Down on Enterprise Growth

Uphold Layoffs Hit 85 Roles Amid Crypto Winter Slowdown

Digital asset trading platform Uphold announced on Monday, July 27, 2026, from New York City that it cut roughly 17% of its global workforce, affecting 85 permanent employees and contractors across multiple regions. The layoffs come as retail cryptocurrency trading softens amid a broader market downturn, with total crypto market capitalization falling to about $2.1 trillion at the end of the second quarter after three consecutive quarterly declines. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a combined $6.9 billion in net outflows during May and June, adding pressure to trading volumes industry-wide.

Enterprise Business Push Drives Uphold's Strategic Pivot

The company said it is redirecting staff and investment toward its enterprise services business, which enables banks, fintechs, and broker-dealers to integrate digital asset services for their own customers. Uphold nearly doubled its headcount during the prior market expansion and is now adjusting its cost base to reflect current trading conditions. The firm stressed it is not closing any offices, with UK, European, and enterprise operations continuing as normal.

Uphold's Consumer App Roadmap Stays Intact Despite Cuts

Despite the cuts, Uphold's consumer roadmap remains unchanged, with plans to expand its retail app into a multi-asset platform offering U.S. stocks, tokenized securities, asset-backed lending, credit cards, and prediction markets by the end of 2026.

The restructuring reflects broader crypto industry pressure to diversify revenue beyond retail trading fees as market conditions remain volatile. Uphold's success will hinge on converting institutional enterprise demand into durable contracts while executing its expanded consumer product roadmap simultaneously.

CEO Simon McLoughlin said the company remains confident in the long-term outlook for digital assets, framing the restructuring as a reallocation of resources rather than a retreat from either business line.