Uphold Vault to Hold XRP Faces Backlash Over $49 Annual Charges

An XRP community member with X username “MuseForge” has taken to social media to denounce Uphold’s latest offering, Uphold Vault.

MuseForge issued a series of scathing critiques on the newly launched Uphold Vault amid the move to charge users fees for the self-custody solution.

Uphold Charging to Hold XRP

MuseForge highlighted that the American exchange charges users $4.99 per month or $49.99 annually for the self-custody solution.

However, according to MuseForge, Uphold’s vault service falls far short of true self-custody. The critic claimed the service is “a mockery to the intelligence of crypto holders” who subscribe to it.

Part of MuseForge’s concerns stems from Uphold’s self-custody approach, which involves the exchange of holding one of the three keys required for custody. The XRP enthusiast dismissed the practice as being far from genuine self-custody.

As a result, MuseForge urged crypto market participants to consider alternatives like XUMM or even self-custody on the XRP Ledger, which could require a bit of technical understanding.

Essentially, he emphasized the availability of superior options that require no monthly or yearly payments. MuseForge asserted:

“There is absolutely no reason to give money to an exchange to custody your crypto. Use your head! Self-custody is free and should always be free. When a corporate entity holds any of your wallet keys, you are at risk!”

So @UpholdInc with their “Vault” plans to charge people $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year to let them believe they are doing self custody when it in fact is nothing close to self custody and is a mockery to the intelligence of crypto holders.
Uphold wants to hold one of your three…

— MuseForge✖️🏴‍☠️🎱🐺🃏🧙‍♂️🪄 (@MuseForge43) December 11, 2023

Meanwhile, a commenter noted that where Uphold maintains insurance-backed custody, it is “a price worth paying.” Nonetheless, the commenter added: “Still not your keys, not your crypto.”

Clarifying Uphold’s Part

As MuseForge rightly pointed out, Uphold holds one of the three keys it assigned to the Vault. However, the exchange has already provided justification for such a move.

As The Crypto Basic reported, Uphold retains the third key to the vault to assist users in reinstating access to the vault and obtaining a replacement in case they misplace the BackUp or Vault Key.

Moreover, Uphold has emphasized that it does not acquire access to the user’s keys or assets even during the key replacement process. The exchange stated:

“You remain in full control from beginning to end. If our systems were to go down, your assets would remain accessible at all times.”

It is worth mentioning that the Uphold Vault is currently accessible only to XRP investors.

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