Is Uphold Available in New York? Uphold's US State Restrictions Explained

No, Uphold isn’t available in New York. It stopped serving New York residents as of July 31, 2023, and it now also limits what anyone physically in New York can do, visitors included: you can sell crypto for US dollars but can’t buy or transfer crypto while you’re there. Elsewhere in the US, Uphold opens new accounts in every state and Washington, D.C., except Louisiana, and it doesn’t open new accounts in most US territories. Some features, such as Earn, staking, and borrowing, vary state by state.

This guide covers where Uphold works in the US, what changed for New York, how the location-based New York restriction works, the feature limits by state, and what to do if Uphold says it isn’t available in your region. It’s based on Uphold’s help center, US user agreement, and New York and Louisiana regulators, checked on October 2, 2026.

Uphold availability in the US at a glance

Uphold doesn’t publish a list of supported states, only the places it excludes. Its location page (last updated September 10, 2026) lists these US exclusions:

Uphold adds: “If you are a current customer in one of the locations listed above, your access may be limited and we may require you to close your account.”

To open an account, you must be a legal US resident and at least 18. US customers contract with Uphold HQ Inc. (NMLS ID 1269875), which is registered with FinCEN as a money services business and holds state money transmitter licenses.

Uphold and New York residents

Uphold’s New York article says: “Due to a change in our service provider we can no longer support accounts in the state of New York as of July 31, 2023.” Its 2023 version added that New York customers could withdraw until that date, and that its New York service had already been limited to holding and transacting US dollars.

• If you didn’t withdraw in time and had a linked bank account, Uphold says your balance “was automatically transferred there before your account was blocked.” If you had no linked bank, contact Uphold support.
• If you’ve moved out of New York, you can reopen your account by updating your address to a supported state through Uphold support.

Using Uphold while you’re physically in New York

Uphold also applies a separate rule to anyone located in New York State, not just residents, described in a help article it published in August 2026. It says New York requires a specific license “before offering certain virtual-currency services to anyone located in New York, even briefly.” New York’s BitLicense rule says no one may “engage in any Virtual Currency Business Activity” without a license, and it defines a New York Resident as anyone who “resides, is located, has a place of business, or is conducting business in New York.”

While Uphold detects you in New York:

A banner at the top of the app tells you some transactions aren’t available. Uphold checks your location “each time you attempt a transaction,” and there’s no permanent New York flag on your account: once you’re outside the state, everything comes back on its own.

Near the border? Uphold says location signals aren’t always exact, so your connection may register as New York even when you’re in New Jersey, Connecticut, or another neighboring state. Its fix: “try switching to mobile data instead of Wi-Fi.”

Louisiana and US territories

Uphold doesn’t open new accounts in Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana Islands, and doesn’t serve the U.S. Virgin Islands or U.S. Minor Outlying Islands. It doesn’t give a reason. For context, Louisiana’s financial regulator says that after July 1, 2023, businesses can no longer engage in virtual currency business activity in the state without a Louisiana license, and Louisiana doesn’t appear on Uphold’s US licensing page.

Louisiana is also excluded from Uphold’s card, Earn, equities, USD interest account, staking, and borrowing features.

Uphold features that vary by state

Even where you can open an account, some products aren’t offered everywhere:

Two more state rules come from Uphold’s user agreement. In states where Uphold doesn’t hold a money transmitter license, customers “may not hold fiat funds for longer than 10 days at a time.” And California residents can only use stablecoins whose issuers meet California’s Digital Financial Assets Law; Uphold’s own California license under that law is still pending.

Why Uphold says it’s not available in your region

• You’re in, or near, New York. See above; try mobile data if you’re close to the border.
• You live in an excluded state or territory.
• Your account’s state is out of date. To change your state, region, or country, contact Uphold support with a supporting document; you can’t change it yourself in the app.

Don’t try to get around a location rule with a VPN or someone else’s address. Uphold’s user agreement requires you to access the platform only from a state where it permits access, and it can restrict or close accounts that break its terms.

Is Uphold legal and regulated in the US?

Uphold HQ Inc. is registered with FinCEN, and Uphold says it holds money transmitter licenses “or their equivalent” in 46 states and territories; its licensing page lists 45 jurisdictions. Its equities are offered through Uphold Securities Inc., a FINRA- and SEC-registered broker-dealer. Crypto on Uphold isn’t covered by FDIC or SIPC insurance.

In April 2026, the New York Attorney General said it had secured more than $5 million from Uphold HQ Inc. for promoting CredEarn, which the Attorney General called a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme run by Cred, LLC, and that Uphold would register as a broker with the Attorney General’s office.

If you’ve been targeted, see where to report a scam.

Related Uphold problems

• A withdrawal is stuck: Uphold withdrawal pending
• Your account was restricted: Uphold account restricted
• A deposit hasn’t arrived: Uphold deposit not received