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New York Attorney General Says Uphold Must Pay Over $5 Million Over CredEarn Promotion

According to New York Attorney General Letitia James, Uphold promoted CredEarn from January 2019 to October 2020 without disclosing risks or proper registration, and recovered bankruptcy funds will also be returned to affected users.

Fact Check
The claim is confirmed at the highest level of authority. The official NY AG press release ('Attorney General James Secures Over $5 Million from Crypto Platform for Promoting Fraudulent Investment Scheme') explicitly states that Uphold promoted CredEarn from January 2019 through October 2020 without disclosing risks or proper registration, and that the $5M+ settlement funds — including any Cred bankruptcy recovery — will be returned to affected users. The binding legal document (Assurance No. 26-005) from ag.ny.gov corroborates this. The Block's detailed reporting adds further specifics consistent with the claim. All material elements of the claim — the AG's identity (Letitia James), the amount (over $5 million), the product (CredEarn), the promotion window (January 2019–October 2020), the failure to disclose risks, the lack of proper registration, and the return of bankruptcy funds — are fully supported by primary sources.
Summary

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Uphold must pay more than $5 million to affected users over its promotion of the CredEarn crypto product. James said Uphold marketed CredEarn from January 2019 through October 2020 without disclosing risks or ensuring proper registration. Her office also said funds recovered from Cred’s bankruptcy proceedings will be returned to impacted users, adding to customer compensation tied to the product.

Terms & Concepts
  • CredEarn: A crypto yield product promoted by Uphold that offered returns on digital assets and later became the focus of enforcement and customer restitution efforts.
  • crypto yield product: A product that offers returns on deposited digital assets, typically through lending, staking, or related strategies.
  • bankruptcy proceedings: A court-supervised process used to manage an insolvent company’s assets and distribute recoveries to creditors or affected parties.