Interactive Brokers Reportedly Looking Into Stablecoin Issuance

Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ:IBKR) is weighing the possibility of issuing a stablecoin, joining a wave of traditional finance firms expanding into digital assets.

What Happened: As the crypto landscape sees friendlier U.S. regulations and increasing adoption, the firm is evaluating how a stablecoin product might serve its clientele, Reuters reported on Monday.

Founder and Chairman Thomas Peterffy confirmed in an interview with Reuters that the company is exploring the idea but hasn’t finalized how such a product would be rolled out.

With a market cap nearing $110 billion, Interactive Brokers already facilitates crypto trading through partnerships with Paxos and Zero Hash, and it’s now working on features like round-the-clock stablecoin funding for brokerage accounts and crypto asset transfers.

Despite the innovation push, Peterffy remains skeptical about crypto's inherent worth.

“If people assign value to it, I'll accept that, but it's still hard to define its fundamentals,” he said.

One potential approach could involve integrating stablecoins issued by third parties, provided the issuers are deemed trustworthy.

Also Read: Another Nasdaq-Listed EV Company Joins Tesla As Bitcoin Holder: Here’s Who (And How Much It Bought)

Why It Matters: Stablecoins, which enable borderless transactions without relying on traditional banks, have been praised for speed but criticized for potential misuse in bypassing anti-money laundering controls.

Robinhood recently launched its own stablecoin USDG backed by Paxos and supported by other firms like Galaxy Digital and Kraken.

Interactive Brokers could follow suit as part of a broader effort to remain competitive in a fast-evolving market.

The firm is no stranger to innovation.

It launched a prediction market called ForecastEx last year, offering binary "yes/no" contracts on real-world outcomes.

Interactive Brokers now services nearly 3.87 million client accounts, a 32% jump from a year ago, bolstered by volatility linked to U.S. trade policy.

Stock performance reflects investor confidence, with IBKR shares climbing 47% year-to-date, outpacing the S&P 500's financial services benchmark.

Analysts at Morningstar believe the company's embrace of crypto and prediction markets positions it well against future disruptions in its core business segments.

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