Crypto trading platform Uphold announced a reduction of approximately 17% of its global workforce as it reallocates resources towards its rapidly growing corporate business.
The layoffs affected a total of 85 people, including full-time employees and contractors.
The job cuts, impacting staff in several regions, were driven by a strategic decision to double down on corporate services, as retail cryptocurrency trading activity declined during the recent market downturn.
"We are restructuring after several years of exceptional growth, during which we nearly doubled our headcount," said CEO Simon McLoughlin in emailed comments. "Despite the current slowdown in cryptocurrency trading activity, we have never been more confident in the prospects for digital assets and blockchain technology."
Founded in 2015 in New York, the company is a digital asset trading platform that allows retail and institutional clients to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies, fiat currencies, stocks, and precious metals through a single account.
In recent years, the company has expanded beyond its consumer app, creating corporate infrastructure that allows banks, fintechs, and broker-dealers to integrate crypto trading and custody services into their own products.
The layoffs come amid a prolonged downturn in the cryptocurrency industry. Following three consecutive quarters of decline, the total crypto market capitalization fell to around $2.1 trillion by the end of the second quarter of this year, while trading volumes weakened and retail investor participation slowed amid rising interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty, and ongoing outflows from cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In May and June, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $6.9 billion. Although inflows recovered in July, the recovery remains modest compared to the outflows seen during the broader market decline.
Uphold emphasized that it is not shutting down its UK operations or any of its international offices, adding that all units remain fully staffed and operating normally.
The company's corporate platform allows banks, fintechs, and broker-dealers to integrate digital asset services for their customers, and the company says this area is experiencing rapid growth.
"The momentum of this business, combined with declining retail demand, made the restructuring necessary as the company redirects personnel and investment toward corporate products. Further growth announcements are expected in the coming months," the company said.
The firm remains optimistic about the long-term prospects of the retail market.
end-content"In 2026, we are expanding our popular consumer app, turning it into a multi-asset, blockchain-based financial assistant," McLoughlin said. "By the end of the year, the app will offer U.S. stocks, tokenized securities, asset-backed lending, credit cards, prediction markets, and enhanced DeFi yield-earning opportunities on assets, including XRP."
