Brokerages’ crypto ambitions are becoming about much more than adding another asset class to their platforms. Until recently, investors looking to buy Bitcoin typically had to move money from their brokerage accounts to a separate crypto exchange. Using existing stock holdings to increase their purchasing power for crypto investments was even more complicated, often requiring separate accounts, funding arrangements and settlement processes. That is beginning to change. Traditional brokerages are increasingly connecting crypto trading with on-chain deposits and withdrawals, stablecoin transfers and, in some cases, financing arrangements that extend traditional securities lending into crypto markets. The shift points to a bigger strategic play: brokerages are no longer competing just for crypto trading commissions. They are competing for customers’ assets, control over how money moves, and the opportunity to generate revenue from financing those assets. Futu, Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab and ETRADE offer a glimpse into how this competition is unfolding. How the four brokerages compare Function Futu Hong Kong Interactive Brokers Charles Schwab ETRADE Crypto trading Multiple crypto assets Multiple crypto assets, subject to regional and account eligibility Spot BTC and ETH Spot BTC, ETH and SOL Crypto deposits and withdrawals Selected assets; BNB transfers available to eligible professional investors Supported assets can move between brokerage and external wallets Gradual rollout of external-wallet transfers to eligible clients Plans to introduce crypto transfers Stablecoin funding rails None currently USDC, PYUSD and RLUSD deposits and withdrawals None currently None currently Financing and collateral Approved to offer virtual-asset trading financing to eligible clients; crypto-collateralized financing under exploration Traditional securities margin financing Traditional securities financing services Traditional securities financing services Note: Product availability, client eligibility and rollout schedules differ by market. These firms are connecting different parts of the financial system. Crypto trading allows clients to buy and sell digital assets. On-chain transfers enable assets to move between platforms and external wallets. Stablecoin rails connect blockchain-based dollars with brokerage accounts, while financing determines how much additional purchasing power investors can access. Put simply, trading determines what investors can buy, funding rails determine how money and assets move, and financing determines how much purchasing power they can unlock. The real competition is happening across all three. Interactive Brokers: Making stablecoins a bridge between traditional and crypto markets Interactive Brokers’ strategy highlights how important funding infrastructure has become. In 2026, the firm expanded its stablecoin services in stages. It initially introduced USDC deposits before extending support to deposits and withdrawals in USDC, PYUSD and RLUSD. Eligible clients can also transfer supported cryptocurrencies from external wallets into their brokerage accounts and withdraw them back to external wallets. Although these features may appear similar, they serve different purposes. Stablecoin deposits allow investors to move dollar-denominated value from blockchain-based markets into brokerage accounts. Withdrawals provide the flexibility to move funds back on-chain. Crypto transfers, meanwhile, allow investors to bring existing digital assets into the brokerage without first selling them elsewhere. Together, these capabilities connect traditional investment accounts with the broader on-chain economy. Consider an investor holding stocks, cash and stablecoins across different platforms. Without integrated funding infrastructure, moving between these assets can involve multiple transfers, conversion processes and settlement delays. By connecting these services, Interactive Brokers makes it easier for clients to manage their portfolios within a more unified financial environment. This is particularly valuable for multi-asset investors who want flexibility when adjusting their portfolios as market conditions change. Stablecoins, therefore, are becoming more than another digital asset to trade. They can function as a funding bridge between blockchain-based capital and traditional financial markets. For Interactive Brokers, the commercial opportunity is significant. The objective is not necessarily to keep every transaction within its platform, but to make its brokerage account useful enough that clients continue returning to it, even when moving funds between traditional and on-chain markets. Futu: Turning traditional securities into crypto purchasing power While Interactive Brokers is making significant progress on funding infrastructure, Futu is exploring another important part of the equation: financing. Beyond expanding crypto trading and transfers, Futu’s more notable move is extending traditional securities-financing capabilities into virtual-asset trading. In February 2026, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission established a regulatory framework allowing licensed intermediaries to provide financing for virtual-asset trading. On June 11, Futu received approval to upgrade its relevant Type 1 regulated activity, allowing it to offer virtual-asset trading financing to eligible clients. The implication is straightforward but significant: an investor’s traditional securities holdings can become a source of financing for crypto investments. For example, an investor holding a portfolio of stocks who wants to increase their Bitcoin exposure may not necessarily need to sell those shares, wait for the cash to settle and then purchase crypto. Subject to applicable financing conditions, their existing securities can support virtual-asset trading through a financing arrangement. This creates a different relationship between traditional investments and digital assets. Stocks are no longer simply investments held independently of the crypto market. They can also become a source of purchasing power for participating in it. Futu is also expanding its on-chain capabilities. Following the launch of BNB trading on July 24, 2026, the company opened BNB deposits and withdrawals on October 23 for eligible professional investors. This represents another step beyond trading crypto within its own platform towards allowing digital assets to move between brokerage accounts and external blockchain wallets. However, eligibility restrictions still apply. It is important to distinguish between two financing models: borrowing against traditional securities to fund crypto trading, and using crypto assets themselves as collateral. The first extends the financing capacity of conventional financial assets into digital-asset markets. The second would allow cryptocurrencies to become part of the brokerage’s own collateral and lending ecosystem. Futu’s current progress focuses on the first, while crypto-collateralized financing remains under exploration. Both models offer different commercial opportunities. Securities-backed financing increases the utility of traditional investment portfolios, while crypto-backed financing could eventually expand the range of assets eligible to support borrowing. As more asset classes become eligible for financing, brokerages can move beyond facilitating trades and begin building integrated financial systems around assets and credit. Why margin financing matters more than trading commissions To understand why brokerages are interested in bringing crypto into their existing account systems, it helps to look at how their businesses already generate revenue. Trading commissions are only one part of the equation. Interest income from margin loans and securities financing can be equally important. In the second quarter of 2026, Futu reported HK$3.3606 billion in commission and fee income and HK$3.1238 billion in interest income. Its margin-financing and securities-lending balance reached HK$95.1 billion, representing an 85.1% increase year over year. These figures demonstrate that Futu’s business extends well beyond earning fees whenever customers buy and sell securities. The assets clients hold and the financing services they use are also significant revenue drivers. Interactive Brokers follows a similar model. Its customer margin-loan balance reached US$90.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 40% year over year. This is where crypto expansion becomes particularly interesting. If customers occasionally purchase and sell crypto through a brokerage, the company primarily benefits from transaction-related revenue. But if those customers also maintain larger account balances and use financing to increase their purchasing power, the relationship becomes considerably more valuable. More assets can create opportunities for additional financial services. More financing can support greater investment activity, while increased trading and asset balances can strengthen the brokerage’s overall customer relationship. It is worth noting that Futu’s and Interactive Brokers’ financial figures represent their overall businesses, not the standalone contribution of crypto services. Nevertheless, they reveal the commercial logic behind the expansion: for brokerages that already manage substantial customer assets and operate profitable financing businesses, crypto offers an opportunity to generate value beyond trading commissions. What are brokerages really competing for? Looking across these developments, the competition can be divided into three interconnected layers.
- The trading gateway
The first objective is to make crypto accessible through familiar investment accounts. By offering Bitcoin, Ether and other digital assets, traditional brokerages give customers the option to invest without necessarily opening separate accounts with crypto exchanges. This helps them compete for trading activity and retain customers who might otherwise take their investments elsewhere.
- The funding gateway
The second layer is about controlling how money and assets enter and leave the platform. Stablecoin deposits and withdrawals, alongside external crypto-wallet transfers, connect brokerage accounts to blockchain-based financial markets. Instead of limiting customers to the cash and assets already available within their brokerage accounts, these services allow them to bring existing digital assets and funds onto the platform. The easier these transfers become, the more useful the brokerage account is likely to be.
- The credit system
The third and potentially most commercially significant layer is financing. Securities-backed financing allows traditional financial assets to support crypto purchasing power. If digital assets become more widely accepted as collateral, brokerages could eventually expand the range of assets customers can use to access credit. This introduces another dimension to competition. Rather than simply attracting customer deposits and trading orders, brokerages can compete for the opportunity to put customers’ assets to work. Each layer creates a different advantage: trading gateways compete for orders, funding gateways compete for asset flows, and credit systems compete for financing activity. This is why comparing brokerages based solely on the number of cryptocurrencies they support misses the bigger picture. The more important question is whether crypto can evolve from a standalone trading category into an integrated part of the brokerage’s financial ecosystem. Why crypto exchanges still have an advantage The expansion of traditional brokerages does not mean crypto exchanges are about to lose their relevance. Crypto-native platforms still have important advantages, particularly in on-chain infrastructure, trading products and services designed specifically for digital assets. Many offer a wider selection of cryptocurrencies, more mature blockchain withdrawal systems and specialised products such as crypto lending. These capabilities remain attractive to high-frequency traders, on-chain-native users and investors who require access to specific blockchain networks and financial services. Traditional brokerages, however, have a different competitive advantage. They already manage customers’ stocks, cash and other financial assets. They also have established account infrastructure, financing businesses and investment services. The two models are therefore approaching the market from different directions. Crypto exchanges are building financial services around digital assets. Traditional brokerages are trying to make digital assets part of the financial accounts customers already use. As funding infrastructure improves, the boundaries between these businesses may become less distinct. However, neither side’s advantages will disappear overnight. For traditional brokerages, the biggest opportunity may not be convincing customers to abandon crypto exchanges altogether. It may simply be giving them more reasons to manage their stocks, cash and crypto investments through the same financial account. The bigger picture: Connecting assets, funding and credit Futu, Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab and E*TRADE are at different stages of their crypto expansion, but the direction is becoming increasingly clear. Traditional brokerages are moving beyond simply offering crypto trading. They are gradually connecting trading, funding infrastructure and financing services into a more integrated financial ecosystem. Stablecoin rails address how money moves between traditional and blockchain-based markets. On-chain transfers allow digital assets to move between platforms. Securities-backed financing enables traditional investment holdings to support additional purchasing power for crypto trading. These are distinct capabilities, but together they represent a broader shift in how financial assets can be managed and deployed. There is an important difference between putting multiple asset classes into one application and integrating them into the same financial system. The former brings different trading interfaces together, improving convenience for customers. The latter allows assets to interact through shared funding and financing arrangements, potentially changing how efficiently investors can use their capital. Brokerages are not expanding into crypto simply to become another exchange. They want digital assets to become part of the funding, investment and credit cycle of traditional finance. The firms that successfully connect these services could gain a significant advantage, not just by attracting more crypto traders, but by keeping more customer assets within their ecosystems and creating additional ways to generate revenue from them. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Markets involve risk; invest with caution.