One of the world's largest online brokers, Interactive Brokers, is considering launching a stablecoin, with the aim of enabling 24/7 fund deposits and crypto asset transfers, potentially reshaping the real-time and flexibility of fund flows between brokers and users, becoming the latest case after many traditional financial institutions have entered the crypto field.
Table of Contents
ToggleInteractive Brokers Considers Issuing Stablecoin: Difficult to Determine Value, But Should Participate First
According to Reuters, the broker giant Interactive Brokers is actively evaluating the feasibility of launching a stablecoin. Founder and Chairman Thomas Peterffy stated in an interview that the company is studying how to provide 24-hour instant fund deposits and crypto asset transfer services for user accounts through a stablecoin, symbolizing traditional brokers' further expansion of technology to blockchain infrastructure:
Currently, we have not yet decided on the specific form of the stablecoin, and besides issuing it ourselves, we might also integrate stablecoins issued by other institutions, provided they have sufficient market credibility.
Even as he begins exploring stablecoin applications, Peterffy remains cautious about stablecoins and crypto assets: "The fundamental value of cryptocurrencies is difficult to determine, but if the public accepts this value, then I can accept it." This reveals Interactive Brokers' cautious and open strategy towards digital assets, neither rejecting innovation nor overly investing.
From Trading to Custody to Investment: Interactive Brokers' Crypto Layout Has Been in Place for Years
In fact, this is not Interactive Brokers' first venture into the crypto market. As early as 2021, the company opened trading and custody functions for four cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, LTC, and BCH. In March this year, they further supported SOL, ADA, XRP, and DOGE, showing their continuously expanding inclusivity of crypto assets.
Moreover, Interactive Brokers is also an investor in the crypto trading platform Zero Hash and works closely with stablecoin issuer Paxos. These layouts pave the way for its stablecoin product, which may collaborate with Paxos or other trusted institutions in the future to build on-chain transfer infrastructure.
GENIUS Act Supplements Regulatory Gaps, Traditional Brokers and Banks Rush In
The pivotal GENIUS Act (commonly known as the stablecoin bill), recently signed into law by the former president, provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance and operations, quickly attracting the attention and follow-up of crypto and traditional financial institutions, and obviously Interactive Brokers has also jumped on this bandwagon.
Robinhood collaborated with Paxos last year to launch the stablecoin USDG; cross-border remittance leader Western Union has also revealed that they are working on integrating stablecoins to enhance cross-border remittance efficiency. Hong Kong broker Futu Securities has recently been exposed to be testing stablecoin deposit functions, with users expected to be able to participate in stock markets of various countries directly using USDT or USDC.
These cases show that stablecoins are not just a payment method in the crypto world, but are gradually becoming real-time cross-border tools or efficient clearing engines for traditional financial institutions, thereby providing users with more flexible fund management solutions.
Looking at the Prospects of Asset Tokenization, Brokers Integrating Blockchain Technology Becomes a Trend
With the increasing demand for stablecoins and the maturation of blockchain infrastructure and regulations, traditional brokers must redefine their roles. Interactive Brokers' active research into stablecoin applications represents not just a change in company strategy, but a microcosm of the entire financial industry's transition and integration towards on-chain operations.
(Coinbase Former CTO Balaji Talks Crypto Utopia: 99% of World's Property Will Eventually Be Tokenized)
Risk Warning
Cryptocurrency investment carries high risks, and prices may fluctuate dramatically. You may lose all of your principal. Please carefully assess the risks.
