Charles Schwab Announces Eligible Clients Can Now Trade Bitcoin and Ethereum Directly on Platform
Charles Schwab has announced the completion of a broad rollout of Schwab Crypto for retail clients, allowing eligible clients to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum directly on the platform, while also initiating a phased opening of crypto asset transfer in and out functionality.
CEO Rick Wurster stated at the fall business update that cryptocurrency trading will become an important channel for expanding trading-related revenue, enhancing the commercialization efficiency of client assets and trading behavior alongside new businesses such as predictive markets; the company currently manages approximately $13.33 trillion in client assets and has about 40.3 million active brokerage accounts.
Eligible users can trade BTC and ETH via Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, and thinkorswim, with positions displayed alongside stocks, bonds, and ETFs in the existing account system; trading is executed by Paxos, which provides execution and sub-custody support, with a fee rate of 0.75%, and transaction amounts ranging from $1 to $2 million.
The crypto transfer function implements strict risk controls: new withdrawal addresses must be registered and undergo a 24-hour waiting period; the withdrawal limit is three transactions per 24 hours, with each transaction capped at $5,000, and a maximum monthly deposit limit of $50 million; services are currently not available to clients in New York, Louisiana, U.S. territories, and international clients.
The company plans to add three new assets—Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink—by the end of 2026, further extending its crypto offerings from ETF exposure to spot trading and custody transfers; its clients currently hold about 20% of the industry’s spot crypto ETF assets.
Charles Schwab announced the product and opened a waitlist in April 2026, began a phased rollout for select clients in May, and completed a full opening for eligible retail clients in October, with crypto assets held by Charles Schwab Premier Bank and sub-custody provided by Paxos, not covered by SIPC or FDIC.
This move intensifies competition between traditional large brokerages and crypto-native trading platforms, while also bringing an institutional-level existing client base into the spot crypto trading and transfer scene.
Source: Public Information
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Charles Schwab has long focused on discount brokerage and wealth management, expanding its account scale through acquisitions such as TD Ameritrade in the 2010s, with client assets growing from hundreds of billions to over $13 trillion; after the SEC rescinded SAB 121 and the OCC reaffirmed that banks could provide crypto custody in 2025, the company officially launched Schwab Crypto in April 2026, with Premier Bank as the custodian and Paxos providing sub-custody and execution, and acquired equity in Paxos that same year, continuing its path from indirect ETF exposure to direct holdings.
Funds and resources are shifting from traditional brokerage commissions and asset management fees towards trading-related revenue and crypto infrastructure: the 0.75% unilateral fee creates incremental revenue in a zero-commission stock environment, while leveraging the existing approximately 20% share of spot crypto ETF assets and 40.3 million accounts to gradually transfer external holdings into its own system, with plans to add SOL, AVAX, and LINK by year-end to expand tradable assets and potential trading volume.
This is similar to Fidelity entering retail crypto through its own custody and Robinhood competing for young traders with low fees, but Schwab is in a stronger position due to its larger existing AUM and comprehensive account view; it is currently in a phase of expanding from ETF exposure control to spot trading and custody transfers, with retail coverage completed while incremental growth driven by institutions and advisors is still underway.
Essentially, this represents a transfer of pricing power: as traditional brokerages embed crypto into existing accounts and compliance frameworks, the entry point for retail trading and asset custody shifts from crypto-native platforms to banks and brokerages with existing client relationships, with infrastructure providers like Paxos becoming key nodes for sub-custody, while strict withdrawal limits and address waiting periods enhance the platform's control over the flow of funds.
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