Interactive Brokers LLC (NASDAQ: IBKR) announced the official launch of its cryptocurrency trading services on Monday through Paxos, a Blockchain infrastructure platform. According to the press release, the brokerage’s clients are now able to trade and custody assets, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
The firm said that crypto trading on the platform would have commissions of between 0.12% and 0.18% of the trade value, depending on the monthly volume. “As financial markets evolve, sophisticated individuals and institutional investors are increasingly seeking out allocations to digital currencies as a means of achieving their financial objectives. In giving our clients access to cryptocurrency trading, we recognize the need to meet the growing investor demand to trade cryptocurrency alongside other asset classes in a convenient and low-cost way,” Milan Galik, CEO of Interactive Brokers, commented.
Moreover, the US-listed brokerage noted that the minimum fee per order would be $1.75, clarifying there will not be spreads, markups, or other costs associated with custody. “Consumer interest in accessing digital assets through trusted intermediaries is driving a shift in the financial industry. Paxos provides the regulated blockchain infrastructure to ensure enterprises can enable crypto safely and with reduced risk. Our collaboration with Interactive Brokers allows experienced investors to have fast reliable access to the digital economy for the first time,” Charles Cascarilla, CEO and Co-Founder of Paxos, pointed out in the announcement.
Treading Crypto Waters
As reported previously by Finance Magnates, Interactive Brokers gave some hints at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange & FinTech Conference in June about the possibility of launching the crypto trading service within its platform. However, despite this being the full inception of the US-listed brokerage firm within crypto trading, trading of Bitcoin futures has already been available on its platform for a long time.
Though, its major rivals, such as Charles Schwab and Fidelity, do not offer crypto trading on their platforms. Instead, they both offer access to some crypto-related funds.
