For a long time, the biggest pain point for global investors (especially non-U.S. domestic investors) using U.S. stock brokers has been depositing funds.

The traditional wire transfer path is: local bank currency purchase -> SWIFT cross-border transfer -> intermediary bank -> U.S. receiving bank -> broker account. This process not only involves high fees (wire transfer fee + intermediary fee), but is also limited by bank working hours and the inefficiency of the SWIFT system, typically taking 1-3 business days.

Interactive Brokers' introduction of stablecoin deposits is essentially leveraging blockchain as a "new settlement layer," delivering a disruptive blow to traditional bank wire transfers:

24/7 Liquidity: On-chain transfers have no concept of "bank closing hours." Funds deposited on Friday night no longer need to wait until Monday morning for processing.

Instant Settlement: Compared to SWIFT's multiple confirmation layers, on-chain confirmation of USDC only takes a few seconds to a few minutes.

Capital Efficiency Revolution: For high-frequency traders and cross-market arbitrageurs, seamless transfer of funds on the chain (Web3) and in securities accounts (Web2) means significantly reduced capital lock-up costs.