Uphold launches fractional share trading in US for more than 4,000 stocks and ETFs

Crypto trading platform Uphold said Tuesday it has launched access to more than 4,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs, including fractional shares where available.

The service is available to U.S. customers, with Uphold planning to expand trading hours to 24 hours a day, five days a week. The company will support "crypto-to-stock" trades by first converting users' digital assets to U.S. dollars.

“People want one app for all of their investing, crypto included,” Uphold's U.S. President Nancy Beaton said in a statement. “Uphold customers can now sell Bitcoin to buy Berkshire Hathaway shares in a single step on the app – with no clunky currency conversions and without needing to transfer funds between stablecoins or cash balances.” 

As trading volumes for altcoins and memecoins have declined and Wall Street has increasingly embraced digital assets and blockchain technology under a crypto-friendly U.S. administration, trading platforms have increasingly sought to bridge crypto and equities. Robinhood and Backpack Securities, for example, both offer non-U.S. users tokenized exposure to publicly listed companies.

Although tokenized-equity trading is currently limited in the U.S., it is widely seen as a major growth area that could expand foreign investors’ access to U.S.-listed companies.

Uphold's fractional share trading is officially being offered by Uphold Securities Inc., a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA, the company said. Uphold HQ, Inc., a U.S. Money Services Business registered with FinCEN, will handle the crypto-to-stock trades. Users will be charged an exchange fee for the conversion.

Uphold Securities Inc. and Uphold HQ, Inc. are separate companies with common ownership.