Interactive Brokers introduces crypto trading services

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly becoming available on more trading platforms as the market continues to grow

Interactive Brokers has become the latest traditional brokerage platform to enter the cryptocurrency space. The firm announced the launch of its cryptocurrency trading services yesterday, following months of planning.

In a press release yesterday, Interactive Brokers said Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) could trade and custody a few cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

The RIAs can carry out these functions via Paxos Trust Company on behalf of their clients. According to the firm, the RIAs will get to manage their clients’ positions in cryptocurrencies alongside other financial assets like stocks, futures, options, bonds, mutual funds and ETFs from a single screen.

Steve Sanders, Interactive Brokers’ EVP of Marketing and Product Development, said it has become common for clients to allocate a small percentage of assets to cryptocurrencies in a bid to diversify their portfolios.

“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 Interactive Brokers executive added.

In a bid to attract more customers to its cryptocurrency offering, it has set the RIA commissions on its platform to just 0.12% to 0.18% of trade value. The firm claims that this is better than the high fees of as much as 2.0% of trade value charged by crypto exchanges and other brokers.

At the moment, the crypto trading service is only available to RIAs in the United States. However, Interactive Brokers is working on expanding the feature to other parts of the world in the coming months. The cryptocurrency market has attracted some brokerage platforms over the past few years.

Robinhood and eToro are some of the most active brokerage platforms in the cryptocurrency space. They offer clients access to a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH and several others.