Interactive Brokers Gains 680K Accounts, Hits 2-Year Trade High

Interactive Brokers LLC (NASDAQ: IBKR) has witnessed a significant uptick in trading activity and customer account numbers in February 2024. The brokerage company recorded the most daily average revenue trades (DARTs) in the previous two years, 2.44 million. This figure represents a 15% increase over the same month last year and an 11% increase over January's 2.2 million.

A healthy $448.2 billion was the customer equity balance at the end of February, up 6% from January and 36% from the previous year. With a total sum of $47.4 billion, client margin loan balances also saw an increase. This number represents an increase of 7% over January and 31% over the prior year. A modest 3% gain year over year was seen in client credit balances, which include insured bank deposit sweeps, with a total of $102.9 billion.

After reaching 2.69 million, the number of customer accounts at Interactive Brokers increased by 2 percent in January and 24 percent over the previous year. Averaging 206 yearly cleared DARTs per customer account, the business said.

Exchange, clearing, and regulatory costs were all included in the $3.03 average commission rate that Interactive Brokers assessed for each transaction in February. Below are the breakdowns for important product metrics:

- With a $1.81 charge per transaction, the average order size for stock trading was 847 shares.

- With a $4.01 charge, equity options orders typically included 6.6 contracts.

- Exchange, clearing, and regulatory costs accounted for around 56% of the $4.59 charge on futures, which included options on futures, with an average of 3.2 contracts per transaction.

Due to its entry into the virtual asset trading industry, Interactive Brokers has been in the headlines recently. The business was granted a license in November to provide virtual asset trading services to retail customers. This action reflects the regional trend of a rise in regulatory authorization for offers of cryptocurrency assets. Remarkably, Hashkey was granted a license for the retail sale of crypto assets in August, making it the first cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong.

For experienced bitcoin traders in Hong Kong, Interactive Brokers has already set up a low-cost trading facility. Eligible customers may now register for an early-access queue at one of the biggest brokerages in the United States. Individuals and organizations whose respective assets exceed HKD 8 million and HKD 40 million are included. Preferred clients will be granted the privilege to trade and retain Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC), in addition to traditional financial instruments including equities, bonds, exchange-traded funds, options, futures, and mutual funds. One smooth and cohesive customer experience is what this integration attempts to provide.

The firm's capacity to adjust to changing market conditions and customer demands is shown by Interactive Brokers' astute strategic decisions and impressive recent success. To stay competitive in the brokerage sector, the firm is positioning itself to keep growing its product offerings, especially in the rapidly developing virtual asset market.