Is Uphold MiCA-licensed?
Status checked on 2 August 2026 against the official ESMA register
Uphold has an application in progress in Portugal. It has no current MiCA CASP entry. Uphold’s Portuguese entity missed the 1 July 2026 deadline while Banco de Portugal and the CMVM were still reviewing its MiCAR CASP application. Uphold paused all crypto and fiat deposits for EEA customers on 1 July 2026. Withdrawals remain available. The FCA-registered UK arm is separate and unaffected.
Practical effect: CASP-specific MiCA protections are not established for this service until an authorisation is granted. Other permissions can apply to a separate entity. Verify the contracting entity. Note: The CASP application is pending. All EEA deposits have been paused since 1 July 2026. Withdrawals remain open, but fiat withdrawals are limited to previously linked bank accounts.
See the tracked MiCA-licensed exchanges, or read what changed on 1 July 2026.
At a glance
- Supervising or reporting authority
- Banco de Portugal
- Contracting entity
- Uphold Digital Assets Europe Unipessoal, Lda
- Entity jurisdiction or country context
- Portugal
- EEA MiCA authorisation
- Application pending with no current register entry
- MiCA register route
- No route granted while the application is pending
- Register entry date
- No current entry date
- EEA passporting
- Not available before a current entry
- Exchange type
- Fintech
- MiCA services
- Not recorded in the current register
Common questions
When will Uphold get its MiCA licence?
Banco de Portugal in Portugal decides the application and has not published a fixed completion date. Uphold becomes an authorised CASP only after a granted licence appears in the ESMA register.
Is Uphold regulated in the EU right now?
Uphold is not currently an authorised CASP. A pending application does not grant CASP authorisation. Do not assume that MiCA's CASP-specific conduct, safeguarding or complaints rules apply to the service. Another entity or product may have separate permissions, which you must check independently.
Is there a MiCA-licensed alternative to Uphold?
Yes. 51 of the exchanges we track have current MiCA register entries. The licensed list shows each mapped entity, regulator and entry date.
