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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Trading and Markets issued a staff statement providing guidance on whether certain user interfaces used to generate trading instructions for crypto asset securities (Covered User Interface) need to be registered as broker-dealers.The statement noted that under specific conditions, providers of such interfaces may not need to register as broker-dealers under Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act. These conditions include: not actively soliciting specific trades, not providing investment advice, not controlling or executing trades, generating trading instructions solely based on objective parameters, and fully disclosing the fee structure, potential conflicts of interest, and associated risks to users.The SEC emphasized that such interfaces typically exist in the form of websites, browser plugins, or wallet applications, used to convert trading parameters set by users into on-chain executable instructions, while also providing market data such as prices, paths, and fees.Additionally, the statement clarified that such exemptions do not apply to activities involving trade matching, fund custody, order routing, or providing investment advice. The relevant guidance is a temporary opinion and will automatically expire in 2026 if no further action is taken. The SEC stated that this move aims to provide a clearer regulatory framework for activities related to crypto asset securities and continues to seek market feedback.

According to a report by businesswire, Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR) announced the expansion of its digital asset services to the European Economic Area through integration with Zero Hash. This service is provided by Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, allowing eligible individual investors in the region to trade cryptocurrencies.Currently supported trading assets include a total of 11 cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, LTC, BCH, LINK, SOL, ADA, XRP, DOGE, AVAX, and SUI. Users can trade on platforms such as Trader Workstation, IBKR Desktop, Client Portal, IBKR Mobile, and IBKR GlobalTrader, while the platform continues to offer trading services for traditional financial products such as stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds, and mutual funds.In addition, Interactive Brokers currently offers cryptocurrency trading services in the United States through Interactive Brokers LLC and in the United Kingdom through Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited.

According to a report by businesswire, Interactive Brokers announced the launch of a cryptocurrency portfolio transfer feature, allowing customers to directly transfer their platform-supported digital assets from external wallets or platforms into their cryptocurrency accounts associated with Interactive Brokers, without the need to first liquidate their cryptocurrency positions. This enables users to manage digital assets, stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, and other investments simultaneously.Interactive Brokers will provide a comprehensive solution that integrates digital assets and traditional investments on the same platform, thereby offering cryptocurrency pricing and a broader range of investment opportunities.

Fidelity, in a letter to the SEC, suggested establishing a regulatory framework that allows broker-dealers to trade crypto assets through alternative trading systems (ATS).The proposal aims to promote the inclusion of crypto asset trading into the existing financial system, enhancing market compliance and institutional participation.

According to a report by Bloomberg on Wednesday, major U.S. prime brokers are working to provide hedge fund clients with access to the prediction market platform Kalshi. Clear Street, valued at over $12 billion, is expected to complete its first Kalshi trade settlement by the end of March; subsequently, Marex Group, valued at approximately $2.6 billion, also plans to follow suit in the coming months.Marex's Global Clearing Head Thomas Texier stated that there is strong demand from large financial institutions for prediction markets, not only to gain returns from such markets but also to use them as a tool to hedge their own positions. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour pointed out that prediction markets are becoming a core pillar of the financial ecosystem, with billions of dollars flowing weekly. Although institutional adoption is accelerating, Clear Street CEO Ed Tilly emphasized that the company will proceed cautiously due to ongoing disputes among U.S. state regulators regarding the classification of sports markets and insider trading risks.

Brokerages generally apply a 100% discount to stablecoins, meaning that related holdings cannot be counted towards net capital, severely limiting the enthusiasm of institutions to participate in stablecoin business.

According to Businesswire, Interactive Brokers announced that its platform has launched micro Bitcoin and micro Ethereum futures contracts for Coinbase Derivatives, providing customers with a low-cost cryptocurrency risk exposure management trading channel within a regulated framework available 24/7.The new contracts include monthly expiration varieties and perpetual type contracts.

According to BusinessWire, Interactive Brokers has announced a partnership with Coinbase Derivatives to further expand its cryptocurrency futures products. This move will provide customers with more trading options to meet the growing demand for cryptocurrency investments.Interactive Brokers has previously supported trading in various crypto assets, and this collaboration will enhance its cryptocurrency portfolio by introducing products from Coinbase Derivatives. The company stated that this initiative aims to provide investors with more convenient tools to help them participate in the cryptocurrency market while optimizing the trading experience.

According to The Block, traditional brokerage firm Interactive Brokers has announced that it will allow traders to use Circle's USDC for around-the-clock account funding operations, enabling 24/7 trading functionality.The company's CEO Milan Galik stated that stablecoins offer a faster, cheaper, and globally accessible funding option compared to traditional wire transfers. This integration is supported by crypto infrastructure provider Zerohash, allowing users to send USDC via Ethereum, Solana, or Base networks, with the system automatically converting it to USD and depositing it into the brokerage account. Interactive Brokers plans to expand support for more stablecoin options, such as Ripple's RLUSD and PayPal's PYUSD, as early as next week.

According to market news: Interactive Brokers has disclosed that it plans to allow users to fund their accounts using stablecoins.

ChainCatcher news, according to the official announcement, on October 20, 2025, at 16:00, the xBrokers trading area will officially start trial operation, with the first trading pair "Ju (0XXXX.HK)/HKDJ" launching simultaneously. The opening price is 4.999 HKDJ, which rose to 28.103 HKDJ within 1 hour, an increase of approximately 462%. As of the time of publication, the trading volume exceeded 454,000 shares (equivalent to about 10.21 million HKDJ) in the hour before launch.Ju (0XXXX.HK) is the first real custody Hong Kong stock in the xBrokers trading area, held and recorded on-chain by a licensed broker at a 1:1 ratio. Users can trade freely during the trial operation period and can withdraw stocks to any Hong Kong stock broker account after December 1. This marks the first time real Hong Kong stock assets have entered the crypto trading interface, injecting new liquidity and user participation channels into the Hong Kong stock market.

ChainCatcher news, the platform governance token X of the RWA platform xBrokers has officially launched on Ju.com at 18:00 (UTC+8) on October 17.Half an hour before the launch, 6.3 million X originally planned for IEO were destroyed on-chain, and the relevant records can be checked on the JuChain browser. Subsequently, the X/JU trading pair was opened, with the first price generated by market matching, allowing all users to qualify for trading at the same time.X did not conduct an IEO, and there are no team or private placement shares. All circulating tokens are produced through the computing power obtained by users staking Hong Kong stocks, with each X representing the output of real asset staking, rather than pre-allocation. The release of tokens is executed by a smart contract, with a fixed daily release of 72,000 tokens, halving every four years, and all distribution data can be checked on-chain.This launch is centered around the core philosophy of "fair distribution, user ownership, and market discovery." The price of X is not preset and has no guiding range, being entirely determined by market trading. All participants enter the market simultaneously, seeing the same information and following the same rules. Value is not determined by early investment but is jointly discovered by users holding and trading.X is now open for trading on the Ju.com platform. The xBrokers team stated that the launch of the X token is a practice of achieving fairness through a system.

ChainCatcher news, the crypto infrastructure startup Zerohash has completed a $104 million Series D funding round at a valuation of $1 billion, led by Interactive Brokers, with participation from Morgan Stanley, SoFi, Apollo, and others.Founded in 2017, Zerohash provides blockchain-based products in three main areas for banks and fintech companies, according to Woodford: crypto trading, stablecoins, and tokenization.

ChainCatcher news, according to Caixin, cross-border internet broker Futu Securities and Tiger Brokers have further closed the account opening channels for residents of mainland China.According to the latest regulatory requirements, the account opening conditions for Futu Securities have changed. Currently, mainland Chinese customers need to hold overseas permanent residency identification to open an account. Futu Niuniu customer service emphasized that the company is undergoing a system upgrade, and at this stage, only customers with Hong Kong or Macau ID cards can open accounts; once the system upgrade is completed, customers will be able to use mainland ID cards + overseas permanent residency identification to open accounts.Tiger Brokers' customer service also stated that in response to the latest regulatory requirements, the company has adjusted its account opening policy for residents of mainland China. Since last week, it no longer accepts account applications from mainland residents by providing overseas work or living-related proof documents, and only accepts applications from customers holding non-mainland Chinese ID documents.However, on the evening of the 22nd, when reporters called the customer service numbers of Futu Securities and Tiger Brokers, the automated voice service prompts indicated that the account opening conditions for residents of mainland China still maintained the previous policy and had not been changed.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Reuters, Interactive Brokers is considering launching a stablecoin for its clients. The report cites Interactive Brokers founder Thomas Peterffy as saying that this integration will provide round-the-clock stablecoin financing for brokerage accounts and asset transfer services for commonly used cryptocurrencies. This is not the first time this brokerage giant has ventured into the cryptocurrency industry.It is reported that the company integrated cryptocurrency trading and custody services at the end of 2021, covering four assets: BTC, ETH, LTC, and BCH, and expanded support for SOL, ADA, XRP, and DOGE in March.In addition, the company also holds shares in the cryptocurrency trading platform Zero Hash and has established a partnership with stablecoin issuer Paxos.Currently, Thomas Peterffy has not decided how to launch the stablecoin and is considering integrating stablecoins issued by other companies, depending on their credibility.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, cryptocurrency and stablecoin infrastructure startup Zerohash plans to raise $100 million at a valuation of nearly $1 billion. Publicly traded online broker Interactive Brokers will lead this funding round.Founded in 2017, Zerohash provides backend infrastructure for banks, brokers, and fintech companies, helping them launch cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other digital assets to their customers. The company has become an influential player in the booming stablecoin space, which consists of cryptocurrencies pegged to underlying assets like the US dollar.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, the U.S. Treasury has officially revoked the reporting rules for cryptocurrencies. The rules originally required decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges (DeFi) to report customer transaction information to the U.S. government for tax purposes.Previously, Republican members of Congress voted to repeal these rules through the Congressional Review Act, which was signed into effect by President Trump in April of this year.