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Interactive Brokers is opening always-on global funding by letting clients deposit stablecoins around the clock, cutting cross-border friction, speeding market access, and signaling how digital assets are moving deeper into mainstream brokerage infrastructure.
Interactive Brokers Rolls Out 24/7 Stablecoin Funding, Unlocking Instant Access to 170 Markets
A global brokerage expanded its funding capabilities as digital assets gain traction in traditional finance. Interactive Brokers (Nasdaq: IBKR), a major global electronic brokerage, announced on Jan. 15 that eligible clients can fund brokerage accounts 24/7 using stablecoin, broadening access across its international platform.
The firm detailed that the new funding method enables near-instant processing with continuous availability, including weekends and holidays, reducing reliance on bank wire schedules. Chief Executive Officer Milan Galik opined, “ Stablecoin funding provides international investors with the speed and flexibility required in today’s markets.
Clients can transfer funds and begin trading within minutes, while also reducing transaction costs.” The announcement adds:
“ Stablecoin funding addresses a critical pain point in accessing global capital markets. Traditional cross-border funding has remained a significant challenge for international investors, particularly in regions where USD wires are expensive, slow, or require multiple correspondent banking relationships.”
This description underscores how legacy banking infrastructure can delay settlement and increase costs for international participants, while blockchain-based transfers operate continuously and without geographic banking constraints, enabling faster entry to more than 170 global markets.
While news outlets first reported on Interactive Brokers enabling stablecoin funding in mid-December 2025, that phase was restricted to a select group of U.S. retail investors and appeared to be a pilot or “soft launch” for a small subset of users. The official global launch announcement occurred on Jan. 15, when the service was formally rolled out to eligible clients worldwide.
Interactive Brokers also noted the operational structure supporting the service and its planned expansion. The announcement explains:
“Clients can fund their accounts with USDC, a digital asset backed 1:1 by the US dollar, from their crypto wallet to a secure wallet provided through a collaboration with Zerohash. Interactive Brokers plans to add support for Ripple coin (RLUSD) and Paypal’s coin (PYUSD) next week.”
“Once received, the stablecoin is automatically converted into US dollars and credited to the client’s brokerage account,” the firm said. The broker outlined that it does not charge fees for stablecoin deposits, while blockchain network costs remain the responsibility of clients, and zerohash applies a 0.30% conversion fee per deposit with a $1 minimum. Eligibility varies by client, with instructions available through the company’s stablecoin funding portal, positioning the offering as a lower-cost, always-on alternative to traditional international funding channels.