LONDON, UK, Feb. 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Uphold, the modern infrastructure provider for on-chain payments, banking and investments, has announced that its UK customers can now earn staking rewards on their crypto holdings. A UK Treasury amendment to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 came into force on 31 January, 2025, clearing the way for registered crypto-asset service providers to offer staking services to UK individuals and firms.
Previously, there was a lack of regulatory clarity on offering staking to UK customers, which prevented users from receiving rewards for supporting essential blockchain activities. However, following the recent legislative clarification, registered platforms like Uphold can now offer their customers the chance to earn staking rewards and grow their digital assets.
Uphold’s UK customers will have the opportunity to earn competitive returns on staked cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Solana, and NEAR. Today, some supported tokens offer a return up to 14.8%, depending on market conditions and network-specific factors. Such rates are ideal for crypto investors seeking passive income opportunities.
Simon McLoughlin, CEO of Uphold, said: “Staking is an inherent function of many blockchains. It creates a legitimate way for crypto holders to put their assets to work while supporting the validation process of a blockchain. With the legal clarification, we can now offer this core feature to our UK users and, as you’d expect from Uphold, we’ll make accessing staking rewards easier than any other platform.”
Staked crypto holdings are used by blockchain platforms such as Ethereum, Solana, and NEAR to validate transactions, bolster security, and maintain the networks. Uphold’s move to offer staking aligns with its commitment to providing innovative financial solutions.
Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain validation emerged as an alternative to Proof of Work, which requires cryptocurrency miners to solve complex cryptographic puzzles, consuming significant amounts of energy in the process. In contrast, Proof of Stake consumes significantly less energy by requiring blockchain validators to lock up crypto as collateral, demonstrating a financial commitment to the network.
Anyone with a minimum balance of a supported PoS token can validate transactions and get rewards for doing so. With Uphold now reintroducing this feature back into the UK market, the company aims to play a pivotal role in the broader adoption of decentralized financial systems while providing tangible value to its users.
More information on Uphold’s staking offering can be found here: https://uphold.com/en-gb/products/staking
About Uphold
Uphold, is a financial technology company that believes on-chain services are the future of finance. It provides modern infrastructure for on-chain payments, banking and investments. Offering Consumer Services, Business Services and Institutional Trading, Uphold makes pioneering financial services easy and trusted for millions of customers in more than 140 countries.
Uphold integrates with more than 30 trading venues, including centralized and decentralized exchanges, to deliver superior liquidity and optimal execution. Uphold never loans out customer assets and is always 100% reserved. The company pioneered radical transparency and uniquely publishes its assets and liabilities every 30 seconds on a public website (https://uphold.com/en-us/transparency).
Uphold is regulated in the U.S. by FinCen and State regulators, and is registered in the UK and Canada with the FCA and FINTRAC respectively and in Europe with the Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania. To learn more about Uphold’s products and services, visit uphold.com.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities.
