Schwab to Offer Bitcoin, Ethereum Trading to 39M Clients

Charles Schwab will begin offering direct trading of bitcoin and ethereum to its 39 million U.S. clients in the coming weeks. The service will be available on Schwab’s website, mobile app and the thinkorswim platform, and will let customers hold and manage crypto alongside stocks and bonds. Schwab will charge 75 basis points on the dollar value of each trade.

The offering, named Schwab Crypto, will start with bitcoin and ethereum, which together make up about three-quarters of the cryptocurrency market value. The firm plans to add more digital tokens over time and to permit transfers of crypto assets customers already hold into Schwab accounts. Schwab noted the fee places the company among lower-cost retail options for direct crypto trading.

Charles Schwab Premier Bank will serve as custodian, responsible for safekeeping and record-keeping. Paxos, a blockchain infrastructure provider regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, will handle sub-custody services and trade execution behind the scenes. Schwab will offer educational material from the Schwab Center for Financial Research and crypto guidance through Schwab Coaching. Customers will have access to 24/7 phone and chat support.

The firm surveyed nearly 500 current and prospective crypto investors between July 31 and September 1, 2025. Respondents identified low, transparent pricing, brand reputation and confidence in security as the main factors that matter when choosing where to trade digital assets. Schwab clients hold roughly 20% of spot crypto exchange-traded products, and the brokerage also offers crypto futures, options on spot crypto ETPs, and crypto-focused mutual funds and ETFs.

Jonathan Craig, Head of Retail Investing at Charles Schwab, commented: “We know our clients want to conduct more of their financial lives at Schwab. With Schwab Crypto, clients who want direct access to the asset class can trade it alongside their other investments, while benefiting from the service, education, and research they expect from us.”

Other large brokerages are expanding retail crypto services. Morgan Stanley plans to let E*TRADE customers trade bitcoin, ethereum and solana through a partnership with Zerohash, with trading expected in the first half of 2026. Morgan Stanley’s head of wealth management described trading access as “the tip of the iceberg” and added the firm aims to build a wallet solution for custody and tokenization of assets.

Retail crypto trading remains a notable revenue source for some firms. Robinhood reported more than $600 million in crypto trading revenue last year, about one-fifth of its total revenue. Goldman Sachs filed for a Bitcoin Premium Income exchange-traded fund that would generate income by selling options tied to bitcoin-linked ETPs. BlackRock has filed documents for an iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, ticker BITA, which is expected to launch soon.

Negotiations on federal crypto rules are in late stages in Congress. Proposed legislation would define how oversight is shared between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and clarify the legal treatment of tokens, stablecoins and decentralized finance platforms. Treasury officials have urged lawmakers to act to avoid moving innovation and capital to foreign markets.