Digital money platform Uphold has partnered with Salt Lending to give its users access to crypto-backed loans. Through the new integration, users can borrow cash in U.S. dollars or stablecoins by pledging holdings in BCH, BTC, ETH, DASH, and XRP as collateral, allowing them to unlock liquidity without selling their assets.
Crypto holdings can now be used as collateral
Under the arrangement, Salt has integrated Uphold wallets into its own platform, a move designed to simplify the lending process for shared customers. The setup is intended to make collateral transfers and loan payouts more seamless, creating a more direct path for users who want to borrow against digital assets rather than liquidate them.
Salt said Uphold users can customize several parts of the loan application, including loan type, amount, duration, and loan-to-value ratio. Available LTV options range from 30% to 70%. The company also said the loans require no credit or income checks, and come with no origination fees or prepayment penalties. Loan funding can be completed in as little as 24 hours, according to the announcement.
Uphold expands beyond payments and investing
Robin O’Connell, Uphold’s chief revenue officer, said the integration adds another real-world use case for Uphold members while broadening the company’s service offering. For Uphold, the partnership represents an expansion of its platform beyond payments and investing, giving users access to an additional financial tool inside the broader digital asset ecosystem.
Jarrett Abraham, Salt’s director of corporate development, said Uphold has built a strong platform that offers users a simple gateway into the digital economy and an easy way to transact across multiple asset classes. By bringing Salt’s crypto-credit products to Uphold’s global customer base and directly integrating Uphold wallets, he said the companies aim to improve borrower experience and provide more flexibility for users seeking liquidity across crypto and fiat markets.
A global platform with more than 1.5 million users
Uphold describes itself as a blockchain-based digital money platform offering investment and payment services. As of September 2019, the company said it had more than 1.5 million users worldwide and had processed $5.3 billion in transactions. Headquartered in San Francisco, Uphold also has offices in New York, Portugal, and London, and offers access to fiat currencies, digital assets, and precious metals for both retail and business customers.
Uphold is also a major member of the Universal Protocol Alliance, a group of cryptocurrency firms and blockchain organizations focused on connecting different digital assets within a single network. The Salt partnership adds to that broader push by expanding practical financial use cases for crypto holdings. More broadly, the deal highlights the continued growth of crypto-backed lending as an alternative for investors who want liquidity while maintaining exposure to their digital assets.