Interactive Brokers has rolled out crypto trading for retail clients across the European Economic Area (EEA), enabling eligible users to buy and sell 11 digital assets — including Bitcoin and Ether — within their existing brokerage accounts.
The offering, announced Tuesday, is provided through the firm’s Ireland-based entity, an authorized crypto-asset service provider in the region. Spot crypto trading is integrated into clients’ brokerage accounts, with commissions starting at 0.12%–0.18% and 24/7 market access. Zerohash supplies the underlying trading and custody infrastructure.
Tradable tokens include Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, Cardano (ADA) and Dogecoin (DOGE), among others. Interactive Brokers describes the crypto product as an early-stage effort: CEO and President Milan Galik said on a January earnings call that “crypto revenues are, at the moment, small relative to the overall company’s revenues.” He added that a European debut was expected in the first quarter and that the company plans to support client asset transfers soon, noting that “some crypto assets will migrate to our platform and take advantage of our superior pricing.”
Interactive Brokers is a US-based electronic brokerage offering trading across stocks, options, futures, currencies and other assets on more than 170 markets worldwide.
Traditional brokerages expand into crypto trading and infrastructure
Several large, traditional financial firms have been expanding into digital assets as client demand rises. Fidelity Investments, an earlier entrant among asset managers, now offers direct trading in four cryptocurrencies, access to crypto-linked funds through brokerage accounts, and the ability to hold digital assets in retirement accounts. Fidelity has also issued a US dollar–pegged stablecoin, Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), as part of broader tokenization efforts.
Charles Schwab signaled plans in January to introduce spot Bitcoin trading, with CEO Rick Wurster indicating a possible rollout as early as April 2026. Morgan Stanley disclosed plans to launch a digital asset wallet in 2026 and to expand crypto trading via its E*TRADE unit to include assets such as Bitcoin, Ether and Solana. In October, Morgan Stanley published guidance recommending conservative crypto allocations — up to 4% in higher-risk, growth-oriented portfolios — a move that Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley called “huge,” reflecting broader mainstream adoption.
Related developments include BNP Paribas adding six Bitcoin and Ether ETNs for retail clients in France, underscoring growing traditional-finance access points for crypto.
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