CoinDesk
Digital asset trading platform Uphold has cut roughly 17% of its global workforce, eliminating about 85 positions across permanent staff and contractors as it reallocates resources from its retail trading app toward its enterprise business. The layoffs span multiple regions, though the New York-based firm stressed no offices are closing and its U.K., European and enterprise operations continue as normal.
The cuts land after total crypto market capitalization fell to roughly $2.1 trillion at the end of the second quarter, with three consecutive quarters of decline, weaker trading volumes, and persistent outflows from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs that totalled $6.9 billion in May and June. July has brought a tentative recovery, including a six-day streak of ETF inflows, but Uphold's leadership said the shift in customer behavior was already clear enough to act on.
Why it matters
CEO Simon McLoughlin framed the move as a strategic recalibration after several years of headcount doubling during the last bull cycle. The pivot reflects a wider pattern: retail participation has cooled under higher interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty, while banks, fintechs and broker-dealers have kept ramping the infrastructure they need to offer digital assets to their own clients through partners like Uphold's enterprise platform. That asymmetry, retail out and regulated institutional rails in, is the structural read the restructuring is built on.
Market impact
The job cuts directly hit retail-era lines even as the company touted forward spending on banks-as-clients integration. Uphold also pointed to a 2026 consumer-app expansion that would add US stocks, tokenized securities, asset-backed lending, credit cards, prediction markets and DeFi yield products including exposure to XRP, suggesting the retail brand is being kept on life support rather than shelved. The test will be whether enterprise growth funds a credible retail relaunch, or whether the next round of belts-tightening comes for the consumer product itself.
Frequently asked questions
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How many people did Uphold lay off?
Uphold cut roughly 17% of its global workforce, eliminating about 85 positions across permanent staff and contractors in multiple regions.
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Why is Uphold laying off staff now?
The company said the cuts reflect a strategic shift toward its fast-growing enterprise business as retail crypto trading activity softened during the broader market downturn.
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Is Uphold closing any offices?
No. Uphold said it is not closing its U.K. operations or any of its international offices, and all locations remain fully staffed and operational.
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What is Uphold's enterprise business?
It is the platform that enables banks, fintechs and broker-dealers to integrate digital asset trading and custody services into their own products for end clients.
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What is Uphold planning for retail customers in 2026?
CEO Simon McLoughlin said the consumer app will expand into a multi-asset, blockchain-enabled financial companion with US stocks, tokenized securities, lending, credit cards, prediction markets and DeFi yield products including exposure to XRP.
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