TradFi Giant Brings Bitcoin & Ether to 35 Million Clients
US financial giant Charles Schwab – with $12 trillion in assets under management – has begun the rollout of its new spot crypto trading platform, Schwab Crypto. Retail clients can now buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) directly – fully integrated into existing Schwab platforms and tradable alongside traditional securities.
What's the news
With Schwab Crypto, Schwab is introducing fully integrated spot crypto trading, putting it in direct competition with Robinhood, Coinbase and crypto-native platforms:
1. Platform & Access
- Trading available via Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile and the professional platform thinkorswim - crypto and equities in a single view.
- Crypto accounts are held at Charles Schwab Premier Bank; Paxos handles trade execution and sub-custody.
- Deposits and withdrawals of digital assets are disabled at launch - clients must acquire BTC and ETH directly through Schwab.
2. Pricing Structure
- Fee: 75 basis points on trade value - according to Schwab, among the most competitive offerings in the market.
- No additional custody fee; settlement runs directly through the existing Schwab account.
Good to know
- The service is initially unavailable to clients in New York and Louisiana (regulatory restrictions).
- Over the longer term, Schwab plans to add further cryptocurrencies as well as wallet transfer functionality.
- With 35 million clients and $12 trillion in AUM, Schwab Crypto could become the broadest TradFi on-ramp for crypto in the US.
- The move marks another milestone in institutional crypto adoption - comparable to the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF of 2024.
Translated from the German original, which is the authoritative version. Read the German version
