Interactive Brokers, which reports more than $903 billion in client assets, has launched Ethereum staking through Zerohash, adding rewards on crypto holdings to a platform that supports trading in 20 digital assets.
Summary
- Ethereum staking is available to eligible Interactive Brokers LLC clients through the broker’s Client Portal.
- Zerohash provides staking services, with earned rewards credited as additional staked cryptocurrency.
- IBKR’s existing crypto services include wallet transfers, stablecoin funding and Coinbase Derivatives futures.
- The broker also offers access to Kalshi, CME Group and ForecastEx prediction markets.
Interactive Brokers announced on Oct. 13 that eligible customers can stake Ethereum while managing their holdings alongside stocks, options and futures. Under the arrangement, Zerohash provides the staking service, while clients submit requests and track activity through IBKR’s platform.
For the initial rollout, the company said customers can use the Staking Dashboard within its Client Portal to request staking or unstaking and monitor pending activity. When earned, rewards are added to the staked crypto balance and can compound while the position remains staked, according to the announcement.
Ethereum staking adds rewards to existing holdings
In explaining the launch, chief executive Milan Galik compared staking with IBKR’s Stock Yield Enhancement Program, which allows participating clients to receive additional income on shares they own.
Galik described staking as an opportunity to “earn rewards on the cryptocurrency they own.”
“We want clients to earn more from the assets they hold,” he said.
The announcement identifies eligible Interactive Brokers LLC clients as the initial users of the Ethereum service. For American investors using that entity, the company said staking requests and pending activity can be managed through the same Client Portal used for their brokerage relationship.
Alongside the launch, IBKR’s announcement lists 20 supported digital assets for trading, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Chainlink, Aave and Dogecoin. The company also lists stablecoin funding and transfers to external crypto wallets among its available services.
According to the brokerage’s website, Interactive Brokers holds more than $903 billion in client assets and serves over 5 million clients worldwide. The Nasdaq-listed company is also a member of the S&P 500, giving U.S. equity investors exposure to its business through both individual shares and funds tracking the index.
Wallet transfers and stablecoins extend IBKR’s crypto access
Before introducing staking, Interactive Brokers added a way for customers to move existing crypto positions onto its platform. As crypto.news reported on March 25, eligible clients could transfer supported assets from external wallets into IBKR-linked crypto accounts without selling their holdings first.
According to that report, the transfer feature covered clients of Interactive Brokers LLC and Interactive Brokers U.K. Limited, with supported holdings placed in accounts at Paxos or Zerohash. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana were among the assets available for transfer.
For crypto trading, the brokerage stated that commissions ranged from 0.12% to 0.18% of trade value, subject to a $1.75 minimum per order. Its published pricing also excluded added spreads and markups.
Earlier, a Jan. 16 report covered IBKR’s 24/7 stablecoin account funding. Under the service announced the previous day, Zerohash processed USDC deposits across Ethereum, Solana and Base, converted the tokens into dollars and credited the proceeds to brokerage accounts.
At that launch, the company scheduled RLUSD and PayPal USD support for the week of Jan. 19. The report stated that IBKR charged no deposit fee, while Zerohash applied a 0.30% conversion fee with a minimum charge of $1.
In a July 14 announcement, the broker introduced withdrawals through automatic conversion of dollars into USDC, PYUSD or RLUSD. Customers could then send the stablecoins to external destinations, including personal wallets, according to the company.
The July release also added nine tokens through Zerohash and three through Paxos. IBKR said availability depended on the relevant affiliate and the customer’s country of residence; bidirectional stablecoin funding was unavailable to clients of its U.K. and Ireland entities.
Zerohash has pursued a U.S. national trust bank charter
The infrastructure provider behind IBKR’s staking service has separately sought federal banking authorization. An Aug. 26 report detailed Zerohash’s second trust bank application, recorded by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Aug. 19.
According to the report, the proposed Zerohash National Trust Bank would be based in Asheville, North Carolina, and operate under a holding company structure if approved. The filing requested trust powers from the regulator.
The OCC’s records showed that the agency received the first application on March 2 and returned it on July 17, the report stated. For the second filing, the regulator opened a public comment period with a Sep. 17 deadline.
At the time of the August report, the public record listed the application as received. Zerohash’s existing regulatory arrangements included a North Carolina-chartered nondepository trust company, money transmitter licenses and a New York BitLicense, according to company documentation cited in the coverage.
Crypto futures and prediction markets add trading options
On Feb. 10, Interactive Brokers introduced Coinbase Derivatives nano Bitcoin and nano Ether futures, with monthly expirations and perpetual-style contracts available to eligible clients.
The brokerage said the smaller contracts represented 0.01 Bitcoin and 0.10 Ether, allowing customers to size positions in smaller increments. Its announcement described perpetual-style futures as long-dated contracts designed to track crypto spot prices while reducing how frequently traders need to replace expiring contracts.
According to IBKR, the contracts trade around the clock except for scheduled exchange maintenance on Fridays between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern time. Eligibility varies by jurisdiction.
Separately, the company launched its combined prediction-market interface on May 14, connecting Kalshi, CME Group and ForecastEx. IBKR said customers could search similar contracts across the three venues, compare prices and fees, and trade without opening or funding separate accounts at each exchange.
Within the order interface, the company said its system selects the venue offering the best available net price. The platform also provides consolidated reporting and real-time tracking of prediction-market positions alongside customers’ other holdings.
At launch, IBKR said the offering would focus on election outcomes, climate events and economic indicators, with Kalshi and CME contracts added on a rolling basis. The company’s disclosure restricts forecast contracts on U.S. election results to eligible U.S. residents.
