Interactive Brokers Opens Ethereum Staking With a 30% Fee Cap

Interactive Brokers switched on Ethereum staking for eligible clients on Oct. 13, letting them earn rewards on ETH from inside the same portal they already use for stocks and options.

Requests go through a new Staking Dashboard, and rewards land as extra staked ETH that compounds while the position stays open. Payouts are credited daily, per client, per asset.

Where the 70% number comes from

The split is the interesting part. Under the broker's client agreement supplement, the combined fees charged by Interactive Brokers and Zerohash cannot exceed 30% of staking rewards — so clients keep at least 70%. Fees only apply when rewards are actually generated.

Zerohash's own guidance recommends a platform fee of 25% to 35% of gross rewards, leaving users with 65% to 75%. Because each platform sets its own pricing, two apps can quote different APYs on the very same asset.

It is not self-custody staking

The ETH sits in a client-named account at Zerohash, outside the IBKR brokerage account. That detail matters: those assets, staked or not, do not carry the SIPC protections that cover the securities side.

There is also no transferable receipt token. Zerohash does not offer liquid staking, so a position cannot be wrapped into a tradeable stETH-style derivative — the ETH stays illiquid until the network's unstake period ends. Clients can request an exit at any time, but unbonding periods apply and Zerohash can add its own limited waiting period on top.

ETH only, and not for everyone

IBKR trades 20 digital assets, yet staking covers Ethereum alone. Solana support is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026. Zerohash blocks the service in California, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington, and there are no minimum stake or unstake amounts.

Rewards are not a promise. They come from the network, depend on validator performance, and a misbehaving validator can get part of the stake slashed.

Why this matters if you hold ETH

Coinbase's staking page currently shows an estimated 1.70% reward rate for Ethereum, with 43.8 million ETH already staked — about 35.90% of the available supply. In most jurisdictions those rewards are taxed as ordinary income the moment they land, so a 30% fee cap plus a tax bill is worth doing the math on. If you want actual yield, self-custody staking or a liquid staking token still wins on fees and on flexibility.