Ethereum staking at Interactive Brokers

How it works and why custody matters so much.

On October 13, 2026, Interactive Brokers launched Ethereum staking for eligible clients. The news looks attractive: you can put your ETH to work and receive rewards in more ETH, all through the same Client Portal where you already trade stocks, options, and futures.

But one detail deserves special attention: who actually keeps custody of your Ethereum.

How staking works at Interactive Brokers

The service is available to eligible clients of Interactive Brokers LLC, mainly in the United States. Access is through the Staking Dashboard inside the Client Portal, where you can request a stake or an unstake and follow the progress.

Interactive Brokers does not run the staking. Zero Hash (zerohash), a crypto infrastructure company, does. The ETH sits in an account opened in the client’s name at Zero Hash, which then sends the assets to Ethereum network validators.

There is no 32 ETH minimum required for a solo validator. Smaller amounts can be staked.

Rewards are credited as additional ETH and, while the asset stays staked, they compound. The combined fee of Interactive Brokers and Zero Hash is capped at 30% of the rewards. The client receives at least 70%. The yield is variable and depends on Ethereum network conditions. There is no guaranteed return.

The most important point: who has custody?

Here is the detail that changes the nature of the product. Custody does not stay with the user. It does not stay with Interactive Brokers either. It stays entirely with Zero Hash.

The user has legal ownership, the account in their name, and the right to request a stake or an unstake. Interactive Brokers controls only the interface, the Client Portal. Zero Hash has real custody: control of the private keys and on-chain movement.

In other words: you own the ETH, but you do not control the keys. While the asset is on the platform, you cannot move it directly on the blockchain. Any transfer, stake, or unstake depends on Zero Hash.

Crypto assets at Zero Hash do not have SIPC protection, the protection that exists in a traditional brokerage account for stocks and bonds. If something goes wrong at Zero Hash, an operational failure, a hack, insolvency, or a regulatory restriction, the risk falls on the client. Unstaking is not immediate. There is the Ethereum network exit queue and Zero Hash’s processing time.

Why this matters

Many people confuse “I have the asset in my account” with “I control the asset”. In Interactive Brokers staking, those are different things.

It is a classic custodial model. You hand over control of the keys in exchange for convenience. Interactive Brokers works basically as a front door, while Zero Hash is the one that actually holds the Ethereum.

That does not make the service necessarily bad. Many people prefer the practicality of a traditional brokerage. But it is essential to understand the trade-off. The advantage is ease, integration with the traditional investment account, and the absence of a high minimum. The disadvantage is losing control of the keys and exposure to the custodian’s risk, Zero Hash, without SIPC protection.

Conclusion

Ethereum staking at Interactive Brokers is a practical way to put ETH to work, especially for someone who already uses the platform. The user, though, does not keep custody of the asset. Zero Hash holds the keys and the on-chain control.

Before deciding, it is worth weighing whether the convenience is worth giving up direct control of the keys, especially since the service is still recent and traditional regulatory protection does not apply to the crypto assets in this structure.

Understanding custody is the first step toward more conscious decisions with your digital assets.