Schwab adds crypto

Charles Schwab has started rolling out direct Bitcoin and Ethereum trading, bringing spot crypto onto the same platform where its clients already hold stocks and funds. (pressroom.aboutschwab.com) Schwab announced the launch on April 16 and said the phased rollout to retail clients would begin “in the coming weeks” through a new offering called Schwab Crypto. The service lets clients view and trade crypto alongside other investments on Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, and thinkorswim. (pressroom.aboutschwab.com) At launch, Schwab Crypto supports only Bitcoin and Ethereum, which Schwab said account for about three-quarters of total crypto market value. Schwab said it will charge 75 basis points on the dollar value of each trade and plans to add more coins and transfer features later. (pressroom.aboutschwab.com) The change is that Schwab clients can now buy the coins themselves instead of using only crypto-linked funds, futures, or stocks. Until now, Schwab’s crypto menu centered on exchange-traded products, crypto-related equities, futures, and over-the-counter trusts. (schwab.com) That matters because Schwab is one of the biggest brokerage platforms in the United States. The company said it had 39.1 million active brokerage accounts and $11.77 trillion in client assets as of March 31, 2026. (pressroom.aboutschwab.com) The launch also puts Schwab more directly against Robinhood and Coinbase, which already combine crypto trading with other investing tools. CNBC reported that Schwab is using Paxos for custody and that crypto assets will sit in a separate Schwab account linked to the brokerage relationship. (cnbc.com) For financial advisers, Schwab already had a crypto path, but it ran through third-party separately managed accounts rather than native trading inside Schwab’s main brokerage stack. Schwab Advisor Services lists Eaglebrook’s Bitcoin and Ethereum separately managed accounts as a provider solution for registered investment advisers. (advisorservices.schwab.com) A separately managed account is a professionally run portfolio held in a client’s name, not a simple buy button for a single coin. Direct spot trading gives Schwab a simpler answer when clients ask to own Bitcoin or Ethereum without leaving the Schwab ecosystem. (advisorservices.schwab.com) Schwab executives framed the product as an attempt to keep more of a client’s financial activity in one place. Jonathan Craig, Schwab’s head of retail investing, said clients want to conduct “more of their financial lives at Schwab,” and Joe Vietri, Schwab’s head of digital assets, said the firm wants to be a destination for investors who want crypto inside a broader portfolio. (pressroom.aboutschwab.com) The immediate test is whether clients who already use Schwab for brokerage, banking, and retirement assets decide convenience is worth moving crypto activity onto the platform too. Schwab’s bet is that Bitcoin and Ethereum trading works better as another account feature than as a separate app. (pressroom.aboutschwab.com)