Uphold cut 17% of its workforce as retail crypto trading weakens. The platform now shifts resources to enterprise services, with new products planned for later in 2026.
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Uphold, the New York-based digital asset platform, cut 17% of its global workforce, roughly 85 full-time and contract employees across several countries. The reduction is part of a strategic pivot toward enterprise services, the company said.
CEO Simon McLoughlin told staff the layoffs follow a period of rapid hiring. “We’re adjusting our structure following several years of exceptional expansion,” he said.
The move comes as retail crypto trading activity softens. The total crypto market cap fell to about $2.1 trillion at the end of Q2 2026, the third straight quarterly decline.
Elevated interest rates and geopolitical instability weighed on volumes. Withdrawals from U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs added pressure – net outflows reached $6.9 billion in May and June combined, according to company data. July brought six consecutive days of inflows, though the recovery remains modest relative to the earlier drain.
Uphold’s business-to-business division, which provides crypto trading and custody infrastructure to banks, fintechs, and brokerages, is growing. That trend justified shifting resources away from retail toward institutional product development, company representatives said. More announcements on enterprise initiatives are expected in the coming months.
The firm, founded in 2015, lets users trade digital currencies, fiat, equities, and precious metals on a single platform. No physical offices were closed. The U.K. operation remains fully staffed.
McLoughlin stressed that consumer services are not being abandoned. By the end of 2026, the retail app is slated to add U.S. stock trading, tokenized securities, asset-backed lending, credit cards, prediction markets, and decentralized finance yield products with XRP support. He characterized 2026 as a year of platform enhancement, not a retreat from retail.
The broader crypto market has seen a prolonged cooling after the 2024-2025 rally, with many platforms adjusting headcount and strategy. Uphold’s cuts are the latest sign that the retail boom that fueled growth during the pandemic era has not returned.
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