Interactive Brokers opens USDC deposits, RLUSD coming soon: Traditional brokerages accelerate adoption of stablecoins

On January 16, news reports indicated that NASDAQ-listed broker-dealer Interactive Brokers announced that eligible clients can now fund their brokerage accounts using the stablecoin USDC, enabling 24/7 deposits with almost instant fund availability for participation in global financial markets. This move is seen as a significant signal of traditional financial institutions accelerating integration with digital assets.

According to official disclosures, users can transfer USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, from their personal crypto wallets into a secure custody wallet jointly provided by Interactive Brokers and digital asset infrastructure provider ZeroHash. Once the stablecoins arrive, the system will automatically convert them into USD and credit them to the securities account, allowing users to trade a variety of assets such as stocks and options without additional operations.

Interactive Brokers also revealed that within the next week, it will launch Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD and PayPal’s PYUSD, expanding the range of supported stablecoins beyond USDC. This indicates that the application scenarios for stablecoins on the broker’s side are moving from single pilot projects toward diversified deployment.

Milan Galik, CEO of Interactive Brokers, stated in a release that the introduction of stablecoin deposits significantly improves cross-border investment efficiency. For international investors, funds can be transferred and entered into the market within minutes, reducing costs and time losses associated with intermediaries.

Regarding fee structure, Interactive Brokers does not charge a deposit fee for stablecoins, but users are responsible for on-chain network fees. ZeroHash charges a 0.30% service fee for each stablecoin exchange, with a minimum fee of $1.

Data shows that as of now, USDC has a market capitalization of approximately $75.68 billion, making it the second-largest USD stablecoin globally, after Tether. This explains why USDC has become the preferred tool for traditional brokerages to enter stablecoin deposits.

This move continues Interactive Brokers’ expansion into crypto-related services. As early as December 2025, the company began opening stablecoin deposit channels for retail users in the United States. As stablecoins gradually enter mainstream financial systems, the integration of brokerages and crypto infrastructure is becoming a new industry trend.

Driven by positive news, Interactive Brokers’ stock price rose more than 3% on the same day, hitting a new all-time high, reflecting the capital market’s optimistic outlook on the “stablecoin + traditional finance” model.