Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR) has officially launched Ethereum staking for eligible clients of Interactive Brokers LLC, marking a significant expansion of its cryptocurrency services beyond trading and transfers. The rollout, which went live on October 13, 2026, allows clients to lock up ETH directly from the IBKR Client Portal and collect rewards paid in additional ETH, with crypto infrastructure firm zerohash running the validator infrastructure behind the service.
CEO Milan Galik drew a direct comparison to the company's existing Stock Yield Enhancement Program, stating: "Similar to how our Stock Yield Enhancement Program allows clients to earn additional income on shares they own, staking gives clients an opportunity to earn rewards on the cryptocurrency they own. We want clients to earn more from the assets they hold."
Clients access the service through a new Staking Dashboard in the Client Portal, where they can request to stake or unstake ether and follow pending transactions. Rewards are credited as additional staked ETH and continue compounding for as long as the position remains locked. However, eligibility depends on the client's Interactive Brokers affiliate, account type, and country of residence. Zerohash's staking product currently excludes California, Maryland, New Jersey, and Wisconsin.
Notably, Interactive Brokers has not disclosed the annual yield, unstaking timeline, or the share of rewards it retains. Zerohash's general model allows partner platforms to charge a fee calculated as a percentage of gross staking rewards, with a suggested range of 25% to 35%. The broker's larger incentive appears to be client retention, eliminating one of the last practical reasons an ETH-holding client would maintain a separate exchange account.
The relationship between the two firms runs deep: Interactive Brokers led zerohash's $104 million funding round in September 2025, which valued the company at $1 billion, with Morgan Stanley and SoFi also participating. Zerohash's technology also powers Morgan Stanley's E*TRADE crypto trading rollout completed in July 2026.
This launch caps a transformative year for Interactive Brokers' crypto build-out. In January, the firm introduced 24/7 account funding using USDC. February saw the addition of nano BTC and ETH futures via Coinbase Derivatives. March brought inbound crypto transfers and spot crypto trading for EEA clients under EU MiCA authorization. July added 12 new tokens and stablecoin withdrawals. The staking feature now brings the total crypto asset count to 20 tradable assets.
Solana appears to be the next candidate for staking support, as zerohash has named SOL as its next staking asset, though target dates have slipped more than once and IBKR has not committed to a timeline. Zerohash's custody situation remains unsettled after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency returned its national trust bank charter application filed in March; the company says it will resubmit a narrower application focused on core trust activities.
The launch signals growing competition in the broker crypto space, with Charles Schwab offering spot BTC and ETH since May 2026 and Robinhood UK providing staking through Bitstamp UK. For traditional crypto exchanges, the pressure is real but partial—brokers still list far fewer tokens and offer no route into decentralized finance.
