Popular Brokerage Firm Interactive Brokers Extends Its Crypto Trading Services

On Tuesday (August 9), global brokerage firm Interactive Brokers Group (Nasdaq: IBKR) announced that it is extending its crypto trading services.

On 18 October 2021, Interactive Brokers announced “its launch of cryptocurrency trading for Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) in the U.S., enabling these RIAs to trade and custody Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) via Paxos Trust Company on behalf of clients.”

This meant that RIAs would be able to “manage their client’s positions in cryptocurrency in addition to stocks, options, futures, bonds, mutual funds and ETFs from all over the world from a single screen, and all shown on one platform with customizable reports.”

According to the press release, Steve Sanders, EVP of Marketing and Product Development at Interactive Brokers, had this to say:

“Allocating a small percentage of assets to cryptocurrency as part of a well-diversified portfolio has steadily become more commonplace, and advisors may wish to recommend cryptocurrency to their clients… Adding cryptocurrency trading underscores our ongoing dedication to providing advisors with the investment products and tools they need to successfully manage client portfolios and grow their businesses.“

The press release also mentioned that crypto trading via Paxos on Interactive Brokers’ RIA platform has commissions ranging between 0.12% and 0.18% of the trade value (the exact percentage depends on the monthly trading volume and the minimum commission is $1.75 per order) and that the platform had “no added spreads, markups, or custodial fees.” Interactive Brokers launched this service in the U.S., but said back then that it planned to launch it in other countries in the future.

Well, earlier today, the popular brokerage firm issued a press release to say that it was introducing “the ability for customers to access 24/7 crypto trading through an enhanced web application available from Paxos Trust Company.” It also mentioned that “clients who elect to manage the funding of their crypto account themselves can pre-fund their crypto accounts at Paxos during regular US banking hours and then trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), plus additional coins around the clock.”

Interactive Brokers’ EVP of Marketing and Product Development had this to say:

“This gives our clients a simple and low-cost way to access crypto markets at any time. With the added ability to pre-fund accounts, our clients have greater flexibility to react to market events and manage their cryptocurrency exposure.“

The new features allow their clients to “trade crypto 24/7 in their Paxos account”, “trade additional cryptocurrencies offered by Paxos, including BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, plus several others”, “hold both USD and crypto in their Paxos account”, and “access additional order types in their Paxos account”.

Lastly, Interactive Brokers’s press release stated:

“The new crypto features are available to US residents and clients of Interactive Brokers in over 100 countries with individual or joint accounts, as well as certain types of institutional accounts. In addition, clients of Interactive Brokers can trade crypto alongside stocks, options, futures, bonds, and funds on a single unified platform. Cryptocurrency trading is available through the company’s trading platforms, including Trader Workstation, Client Portal, IBKR Mobile, and IBKR GlobalTrader, IBKR’s simple new mobile app for global stock trading, as well as through the Paxos web application.“

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