Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers brings spot crypto into a global multi-asset brokerage account, making it distinctive for investors who want digital assets beside stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds rather than in a crypto-only relationship.

Paxos or Zero Hash behind IBKR spot crypto

IBKR is the broker interface, not the operator of the crypto exchange. Eligible clients open a linked Paxos or Zero Hash account, depending on residence and account type, and use funds from IBKR to trade a selected list of major coins and tokens. The linked account also supports transfers of supported assets to and from an external wallet without first selling them.

That arrangement gives a brokerage customer a direct-coin route while keeping spot execution and custody with the linked provider. Assets in that account remain third-party-custodied until withdrawal, and crypto availability is not identical for every IBKR customer worldwide.

Limit orders and a volume-tiered spot commission

Spot crypto trades around the clock after funding during normal U.S. banking hours, and non-marketable limit orders let a client set a price instead of only accepting the displayed market price. IBKR publishes commissions from 0.18% at lower monthly crypto volume down to 0.12% at its highest tier, with a USD 1.75 minimum per order and a 1% cap.

IBKR says those trades have no added spread, markup or custody fee, although a Paxos account has a USD 0.15 monthly pass-through fee. The minimum commission is therefore more consequential for a small order than for an active trader placing larger trades.

Direct coins, crypto ETPs and CME contracts

The same brokerage can also provide crypto exposure through exchange-traded products, CME cryptocurrency futures, and options on Micro Bitcoin and Micro Ether futures. Crypto ETPs offer price exposure through a security without delivering coins, while Micro Bitcoin, Micro Ether and Micro Solana futures use smaller contract sizes than their standard counterparts for more granular position sizing.

Those instruments are not substitutes for a transferable spot balance: futures use the futures market's margin and contract rules, and futures options add strike and expiry choices. This is the part of IBKR's crypto offering that matters most to someone already managing listed securities and derivatives alongside direct holdings.

A broader brokerage choice than Robinhood Crypto

Robinhood Crypto is a close U.S. retail alternative because it also places crypto beside stocks and options and allows supported transfers. Robinhood offers its own custodial crypto account and selectable market-maker or exchange routing for supported orders; IBKR instead links the brokerage to Paxos or Zero Hash and adds separate access to crypto ETPs, CME futures and futures options.

Coinbase Advanced is the more crypto-first comparison for a trader seeking real-time order books and a broad spot-pair menu. IBKR's selected coin list and provider-linked custody trade that focus for one account spanning conventional investments, professional portfolio tools and listed crypto markets.