Interactive Brokers to offer crypto trading

Interactive Brokers to offer crypto trading
The broker-dealer's chairman, Thomas Peterffy, says it plans to offer trading services 'by the end of the summer' in response to customer demand.
JUN 09, 2021

Interactive Brokers Group Inc. is stepping deeper into cryptocurrencies with a plan to offer trading services.

“Customers certainly are asking for it, and we expect to be ready to offer it to them by the end of the summer,” Chairman Thomas Peterffy said Wednesday at Piper Sandler Cos.’s global exchange and fintech conference.

Interactive Brokers joins a growing list of payments providers and online broker-dealers that allow their customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, including Robinhood Markets Inc., Venmo, PayPal Holdings Inc. and Square Inc.

The announcement from Peterffy’s company comes on the same day El Salvador said it formally adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, the first country to do so, after President Nayib Bukele said Congress had approved his landmark proposal. The 39-year-old president, whose Twitter profile has a “laser eyes” picture that’s popular with devotees of cryptocurrencies, said on Twitter that lawmakers approved the legislation by a supermajority.

Interactive Brokers had previously offered customers a way to access trading in Bitcoin futures. While the move was driven by customer demand, Peterffy said there are still lingering questions about the safety of the industry.

“We will find out more about this when we open for business at the end of the summer,” he said at the conference.

Waiting for the Bitcoin ETFs

Latest News

Osaic executives Kristy Britt and Greg Cornick to leave
Osaic executives Kristy Britt and Greg Cornick to leave

The firm's CFO and EVP of Wealth Management Solutions are the latest executives to exit the broker-dealer.

Estate planning becomes a client retention issue for financial advisors, survey finds
Estate planning becomes a client retention issue for financial advisors, survey finds

Clients are saying they would consider switching advisors if another professional offered estate planning services, according to a new Trust & Will survey.

Candidly adds AI agents for Trump Accounts, workplace benefits
Candidly adds AI agents for Trump Accounts, workplace benefits

CEO Laurel Taylor says the fintech's composable AI stack helps workers optimize dollars across Trump Accounts, 529s, 401(k)s, and other employee benefits.

BMO adds three advisors in Dallas amid Y'all Street wealth boom
BMO adds three advisors in Dallas amid Y'all Street wealth boom

The bank has swiped three private banking veterans from BNY as the city climbs the ranks of America's fastest-growing wealth hubs.

UBS moves toward full-service US bank as plans to extend wealth business
UBS moves toward full-service US bank as plans to extend wealth business

Employee accounts, crypto trials and job cuts frame a pivotal year for the Swiss lender.

SPONSORED Who builds the income when the pension disappears?

Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income

SPONSORED Why direct indexing stopped being optional

Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.