Interactive Brokers Launches Cryptocurrency Trading Service for US Financial Advisors

Global brokerage firm Interactive Brokers Group has announced the launch of its cryptocurrency trading service for Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) in the U.S.

The new service enables registered financial advisers in the U.S. to trade and custody Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash via Paxos Trust company on behalf of clients.

Registered financial advisers who rely on Interactive Brokers’ new platform can expect a nominal commission fee between 0.12% - 0.18%, depending on monthly volume, with a minimum charge per order of $1.75. The same trade done through other crypto exchanges and brokers usually cost as much as 2.00% of transactions.

The new platform Paxos built for Interactive Brokers provides US-based registered financial advisers with a straightforward interface to manage clients’ positions, with customizable reports and real-time data tracking crypto-related stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, futures, options from all over the world.

While the new cryptocurrency service is currently available to RIAs in the U.S., Interactive Brokers plans to expand the service to reach other financial advisers across other parts of the world in the future.

Investing in Crypto

In June, Interactive Brokers announced its intent to begin trading cryptocurrencies on its platform towards the end of the year. The firm made such a move after its customers were asking for cryptocurrency trading.

While rival brokers such as Charles Schwab and Fidelity currently do not provide direct cryptocurrency trading on their platforms. However, Robinhood stock trading app does provide crypto trades.

Interactive Brokers providing crypto trading will further lower the barriers to entry for individual investors to access digital assets.

According to its first quarter of this year, Interactive Brokers had $330.6 billion in customers equity and 1.33 million customers accounts.

The low-cost broker is one of the largest online brokerage companies with millions of customers. The firm has joined a rising list of major brokers such as Robinhood and TradeStation, making crypto assets accessible to many investors.