Charles Schwab is opening direct spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading to its retail brokerage clients, bringing a firm with roughly $12 trillion in assets into the crypto market.
Schwab Crypto Rollout
The service, called Schwab Crypto, will launch in phases starting in the second quarter of 2026, the firm said.
It runs through Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, with employees and early-access registrants trading first before the platform opens to the broader client base. Pricing is set at 75 basis points per trade.
Paxos handles custody, execution and settlement. The trust company already holds a federal banking charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Schwab is folding digital assets into its existing brokerage, banking and research platform rather than building a standalone venue. Clients will trade BTC and ETH alongside equities, ETFs and fixed-income products in one account.
The service will reach all US states except New York and Louisiana, which apply stricter licensing rules. External wallet deposits are blocked, and holdings do not qualify for SIPC or FDIC insurance.
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Schwab's Crypto Path
Schwab previously offered only indirect exposure through crypto-linked stocks, futures and spot exchange-traded products. The pivot to direct spot trading follows steady institutional demand.
US spot crypto ETFs pulled in nearly $670 million in net inflows on the first trading day of 2026 alone.
Regulation shifted the timeline. The SEC rescinded Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 in January 2025, scrapping a rule that forced custodians to carry client crypto as balance-sheet liabilities.
The OCC reaffirmed in March 2025 that national banks may offer crypto custody and stablecoin services. Those moves cleared a path that Schwab had tracked for years before committing to a retail product.
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