Uphold has reduced its workforce by 17%, cutting around 85 jobs including employees and contractors, as part of a strategic shift toward expanding its business with financial institutions. The company's CEO, Simon McLoughlin, explained that after a period of rapid growth during which headcount nearly doubled, the firm is now prioritizing investment in its enterprise segment, which serves banks, fintechs, and broker-dealers through API-based digital asset services.
Since its launch in 2015, Uphold has offered a multi-asset platform that includes cryptocurrencies, fiat money, and precious metals. Alongside its consumer-facing app, which targets retail investors, it has built an enterprise infrastructure designed to let traditional financial players add crypto trading and custody capabilities without developing their own regulated systems. This reflects a wider trend: banks and broker-dealers increasingly prefer to integrate ready-made digital asset solutions via APIs instead of building from scratch.
McLoughlin described the move as a necessary recalibration. The enterprise business is currently experiencing fast growth, prompting Uphold to shift both budget and personnel toward supporting these institutional partnerships. Despite the layoffs, the company's plans for its consumer app remain unchanged. They still aim to add new features like US stocks, tokenized securities, asset-backed lending, and prediction markets by the end of 2026 to compete with platforms such as Robinhood and Coinbase.
Rather than pulling back from retail services, Uphold is reallocating resources between consumer offerings and enterprise infrastructure, signaling a dual focus on both sides of the market. This balanced approach aims to capture opportunities with everyday investors as well as financial institutions seeking smooth crypto integration.
