Charles Schwab Joins the Crypto Fray with Game-Changing Spot Bitcoin & Ethereum Trading
Wall Street's sleeping giant just woke up—and it's packing digital assets.
Charles Schwab, the $8 trillion behemoth known for luring boomers into index funds, just dropped a bombshell: spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading is live. No more crypto-curious clients begging for exposure—Schwab’s diving in headfirst.
Why now? Because even dinosaurs adapt (eventually).
After watching BlackRock and Fidelity eat its lunch with ETF dominance, Schwab’s finally playing catch-up. The move screams ‘institutional validation’—but let’s be real, they probably crunched the numbers on lost AUM first.
The fine print:
No word yet on whether Schwab will charge its infamous ‘convenience fees’ for crypto trades. Pro tip: read the terms before your $50 ETH purchase gets nibbled by $8 in commissions.
One thing’s certain: when traditional finance starts offering crypto like a 401(k) match, the game’s changed forever. Whether that’s good for decentralization? Well… ask again later.
Charles Schwab, one of America’s largest brokerage firms with $10.7 trillion in client assets, is moving closer to offering direct (spot) trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Meanwhile, CEO Rick Wurster just confirmed Schwab will soon launch spot trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum, hoping to help clients keep all their money, stocks, bonds, and crypto in one trusted place.
Schwab Launches Bitcoin & Ethereum Trading
In a recent CNBC interview, Wurster noted that Schwab’s clients already hold significant exposure to crypto through exchange-traded products (ETPs), owning more than 20% of the entire ETP market.
However, crypto still makes up a small slice of Schwab’s total assets, roughly $25 billion out of $10.8 trillion. Schwab thinks giving them simple spot BTC and ETH trading “sometime soon” will unlock new growth.
JUST IN: $10 trillion Charles Schwab CEO says they will launch bitcoin trading "sometime soon" and will be competing with Coinbase
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The timing is perfect as rules for crypto are becoming clearer. The U.S. House recently passed the GENIUS Act, setting new rules for stablecoins. Along with relaxed restrictions from banking regulators, this has made it easier for companies like Schwab to MOVE into crypto.
Competing With Coinbase
Schwab’s entry into spot crypto trading is aimed at challenging existing players like Coinbase. After listing Bitcoin and Ether ETFs and allowing related funds and options, adding direct coins is the next step.
Wurster stated that many Schwab clients currently store 98% of their wealth with the brokerage but keep a small portion of crypto with other exchanges. They WOULD rather view everything, stocks, ETFs, options, and now coins, in one secure dashboard.
Institutions Add More Crypto
The push toward crypto isn’t limited to Schwab. A March survey by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon found that 83% of institutional investors plan to increase crypto allocations in 2025, with altcoins like XRP and solana emerging as favorites.
Another study found 90% are using or testing stablecoins. Schwab wants to be ready when these allocations shift from “experimental” to “standard.”
Profits Rise as Schwab Grows
Even though global crypto spot trading dipped last quarter, Schwab’s quarterly profit jumped 60%, EPS hit $1.14, client assets ROSE 14% to $10.76T, and trading revenue climbed 23% to $952M, partly boosted by heavy activity around new U.S. tariff news
For Schwab, crypto isn’t just an add-on anymore, it’s becoming part of its main business plan for the future.
