UPHOLD
co-located servers positioned for optimal market access.
The system connects to exchanges worldwide, scanning both centralised and decentralised markets within milliseconds to source optimal pricing.
“ We have co-located servers to get the best prices,” Robin explains.“ As soon as somebody wants to buy £ 100 of XRP, our systems go to work and return a price within milliseconds.”
This approach enables Uphold to offer significantly broader asset coverage than most competitors, who typically provide 100-150 digital assets, with some offering as few as 20 options.
The company’ s 350-asset coverage includes newer tokens that often appear first on decentralised exchanges before gaining broader market access.
The technical complexity extends beyond initial connectivity to continuous monitoring and updates as different exchanges modify their APIs and trading protocols. This ongoing maintenance requirement represents another barrier for companies considering independent development.
Blockchain integration creates custody challenges Digital asset custody presents unique technical requirements that differ substantially from traditional securities storage. Companies familiar with stock custody systems cannot simply adapt existing processes for cryptocurrency storage, which operates according to entirely different technical and security principles.
“ It’ s not like you can use the same setup for selling shoes as a new fintech neobank offering crypto”
Robin O’ Connell, CEO of Enterprise Business Unit, Uphold
“ Say you’ re a company that deals in stocks, right? Well, there’ s a way to custody and keep track of stocks. They’ ve been doing that for years. But with crypto, they don’ t have the capability,” Robin explains.
Uphold’ s wallet infrastructure handles secure storage whilst supporting blockchain connectivity across its network of approximately 40 different blockchains. This enables users to transfer digital assets between platforms using the underlying blockchain technology, but each network requires specific technical integration.
“ Each blockchain will fork or update over time, and you have to create those changes and patches to make everything work,” Robin says.
The complexity extends beyond initial integration to continuous monitoring and maintenance as networks undergo upgrades, security patches and protocol changes. This ongoing technical burden requires dedicated engineering resources with specialised blockchain expertise, adding to the resource requirements that make independent development challenging for traditional financial institutions.
62 September 2025