Interactive Brokers adds Ethereum staking via zerohash

Interactive Brokers has started offering Ethereum staking to eligible clients of its US broker-dealer, Interactive Brokers LLC, the company said on Tuesday. The staking itself is run by zerohash, a crypto infrastructure firm, and clients request it from a new Staking Dashboard in the IBKR Client Portal.

Staking means locking ether with the validators that secure the Ethereum network in exchange for rewards paid by the protocol.

The rundown

What changed: Eligible clients can stake and unstake ether from the same portal they use for stocks, options and futures. Rewards are credited as extra staked ether and keep compounding while the position stays staked.
The fee: Interactive Brokers and zerohash take their cut out of the rewards. Under IBKR’s client agreement supplement, their combined fees cannot exceed 30% of rewards, so clients keep at least 70%. No rewards, no fee.
Why it matters: This is staking sold as a broker feature, not a crypto product. Chief executive Milan Galik compared it to the firm’s stock-lending programme: “We want clients to earn more from the assets they hold.” That is the pitch traditional platforms will copy.
Where it breaks: The ether sits in a zerohash account in the client’s name, not in the brokerage account, so it has no SIPC protection, IBKR’s product page says. Staked ether can’t be sold the moment you change your mind, because exits pass through Ethereum’s validator exit and withdrawal queues. And the rate isn’t promised: IBKR has published no expected reward rate.
By the numbers: ETH was trading at about $2,503 as of 19:54 UTC, down about 0.6% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. IBKR clients can trade 20 crypto assets and fund accounts with USDC, RLUSD and PYUSD, the release says.

Staking this way is custodial: zerohash, not the client, holds the ether and the keys. Our explainer on what a private key is covers why that distinction matters.

Ethereum is the only asset at launch. Availability depends on the IBKR affiliate and the client’s country of residence, the company says; at launch only Interactive Brokers LLC clients are covered.

Separately, Ethereum’s next upgrade, Glamsterdam, is due on the Hoodi test network on 26 October, as we reported.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice.