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Interactive Brokers (IBKR), one of the world’s largest brokerage services, now allows users to deposit stablecoins in their brokerage accounts.
According to a Bloomberg report, the feature will have a staggered rollout beginning in the United States, allowing eligible accounts to fund their brokerage accounts with stablecoins.
The move presents a much-needed alternative for those who made their wealth in crypto, as before, users were required to offramp via a centralized exchange, transfer funds to their bank account, and then transfer money from a bank account to a licensed brokerage, while paying fees to every intermediary along the way.
IBKR has kept up with crypto adoption so far, after adding tokens such as BTC, ETH, SOL, ADA, XRP, and DOGE earlier this year.
While optimists are touting the move as a continuation of the “stablecoin supercycle,” others view this as just another way to lure DeFi users away from crypto. DeFi farmer CBB took to X to share a cynical but popular point of view where he quoted the announcement and said, “The future of finance was dumping worthless sh*tcoins on plebs for their stablecoins and then rotate into real assets.”
The stablecoin industry has been red hot over the last two years, with total supply growing by almost 140% since the beginning of 2024, rising to $310 billion from $130 billion.
