While bitcoin market prices are still uncertain, the fundamental news for the crypto-asset industry is great. Here’s a very large stockbroker going to integrate crypto-currencies, just like any other traditional asset.
Interactive Brokers gets into cryptos
With more than 1 million customers worldwide, spread over more than 200 countries, the online broker Interactive Brokers is undeniably one of the most serious regarding traditional stock exchanges. Its clients entrust it with the management of more than $330 billion in stocks.
On June 9, Thomas Peterffy, president and CEO of Interactive Brokers, gave an interview to CNBC. There he clearly announced that his company would very soon offer cryptocurrency trading to their investors:
“Customers are undoubtedly asking for [cryptocurrency trading], and we think we’ll be ready to offer it to them by the end of the summer. “
Interactive Broker
Concrete security to hold cryptocurrencies
While Interactive Brokers was already offering bitcoin futures trading on its platform, there was no mention of trading real cryptocurrencies yet.
Considering the short delay before seeing this new crypto offer (less than 2 or 3 months a priori), we can be sure that Interactive Brokers has been preparing for it for quite some time. Because even if we don’t know any details yet about the crypto-currencies that will be available, their storage is not so easy, and had to be studied conscientiously. Moreover, the revelation of a partnership with an already established company in the cryptosphere is also not to be excluded (like PayPal with Paxos).
“As far as obstacles go, the biggest one is how to ensure 100% security for our customers (…) We have to be 100% sure that no one will steal their cryptocurrencies (…) We will be able to say more about this when we open our doors at the end of the summer. “
Thomas Peterffy
With this new exchange offer on Bitcoin and cryptos, Interactive Brokers will seriously compete with the broker Robinhood, already recently splashed by the GameStop (GME) affair with WallStreetBets. It’s also another proof of the growing integration of crypto-assets with traditional finance.
