Charles Schwab Launches Spot Bitcoin and Ether Trading for Retail Investors
Charles Schwab, one of America's largest firms, will offer retail clients spot cryptocurrency trading in the coming weeks, starting with Bitcoin and Ether through a special account linked to the brokerage platform.
According to Thursday's announcement, the offering will allow customers to trade and view crypto along with stocks and other assets on Schwab's web, mobile and Tickerswim platforms, which are controlled by the banking unit and executed in partnership with federally regulated Paxus.
Schwab reported $12.22 trillion in total client assets as of February 2026, according to its most recent reports, and offers services such as brokerage, banking and wealth management.
The service will pay 75 basis points per transaction on the two largest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) at launch, with plans to add more cryptocurrencies and support deposits and withdrawals over time.
At 75 bps, or 0.75%, Schwab's fee puts it above exchanges like Kraken, where fees start at 0.25% to 0.40% and decrease with volume, broadly in line with Coinbase, where fees for low-volume traders start at 0.40% to 0.60%, according to data on those exchanges' websites.
Customers access the service through a separate crypto account, with assets held by a Schwab banking subsidiary in a custodial model. The rollout will begin in phases over the coming weeks, initially limited to eligible US retail customers except New York and Louisiana residents.
Schwab said the move would expand its existing crypto offerings, including exchange-traded products, futures and currencies tied to digital assets. Based on internal estimates, the company says its clients currently hold 20% of the space's crypto exchange-traded products.
Related: Binance Adds Spot Trading Defenses to Limit Unexpected Kills
Traditional financial institutions are expanding crypto offerings
Traditional financial firms are expanding their crypto offerings into exchange-traded funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and structured products.
On April 8, Morgan Stanley launched the Bitcoin ETF (MSBT), which saw $30.6 million in inflows on its first day of trading on NYSE Arca, marking its entry into the market for regulated crypto investment products. The fund's website showed total net assets as of April 15 at $87.6 million.
Also in April, Goldman Sachs filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a bitcoin-linked ETF designed to generate income through alternative strategies, aiming to limit volatility.
As traditional financial firms expand into crypto, crypto-native companies move in the opposite direction, pushing tokenized stocks into traditional markets.
In December, Coinbase introduced trading for stocks and ETFs, and in February Kraken launched equity perpetual futures, offering exposure to US stocks, indices and commodities.
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