Interactive Brokers Eyes Crypto Expansion—Could a Native Token Be Next?

Wall Street's quiet giant shakes the crypto cage.

Interactive Brokers—the $30B electronic trading powerhouse—just signaled it's ready to play ball in digital assets. No more sitting on the institutional sidelines.

The move comes as traditional finance finally admits what degens knew in 2021: you can't ignore a $2T asset class. Even if half your board still calls it 'magic internet money.'

Details remain scarce, but insiders suggest everything from crypto custody to proprietary trading pairs are on the table. One thing's certain: when IBKR moves, competitors scramble. Just ask Robinhood after payment for order flow got gutted.

Will this finally bridge the gap between Bitcoin maximalists and suit-and-tie portfolio managers? Or become another half-baked 'blockchain initiative' that dies before the next bear market? Place your bets—the house always wins.

ForecastEx expands Interactive Brokers’ innovation push

Earlier in July, Robinhood launched a dollar‑backed token dubbed USDG as part of its Global Dollar Network alliance alongside firms like Kraken and Galaxy Digital. That MOVE illustrates how fast the market for these tokens is growing.

Along with stablecoins, the firm unveiled ForecastEx, a prediction‑market platform launched last year, enabling users to wager “yes” or “no” on diverse event outcomes. By the close of June, it reported roughly 3.87 million active accounts, marking a 32 % year‑over‑year increase.

Elevated trading activity caused by tariff‑related market fluctuations has boosted the firm’s revenues.

Since January, its stock has climbed approximately 47%, outpacing the S&P 500 Investment Banking & Brokerage index’s 20% gain in that interval.

In a July 18 research update, Morningstar’s team said its prediction‑market and crypto moves offer a strategic counterbalance to potential volatility in its traditional equities, futures, and options sectors.

IBKR founder stays cautious on crypto growth

Peterffy has previously suggested allocating a modest 2–3% of one’s portfolio to Bitcoin, capping overall cryptocurrency exposure at 10%.

He cautioned that although investors might benefit from some Bitcoin exposure, heavy concentrations expose holders to big price swings. He believed Bitcoin should stay outside the regular economy, even though Bitcoin futures have long been listed on the CME.

After the tariff deal with the EU was confirmed, Bitcoin jumped above $120,000 for the first time in nearly two weeks. Just before that surge, it had been trading between $114,000 and $119,000. At $120,000, Bitcoin was only $3,080 away from its all‑time high.

Peterffy’s recent comments underscore a cautious stance on rapid crypto expansion, but he hasn’t come to terms with the asset’s isolation from normal financial systems.

“It’s basically hard to grasp its fundamental value. If we see people adopting it and ascribing a value to it, I’m okay with that, but I’m still not convinced,” he said.

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