In a landmark move for mainstream crypto adoption, brokerage giant Charles Schwab officially launched spot trading of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) for its U.S. retail clients on May 13, 2026. The $11.7 trillion firm, which serves approximately 35 million active accounts, now allows direct purchase, sale, and holding of the two largest cryptocurrencies within existing brokerage portfolios, integrating them alongside stocks, bonds, and funds on its “Digital Wealth” dashboard.
The launch follows months of careful preparation and an extensive educational campaign. Schwab’s offering is notable for providing direct exposure to the underlying assets rather than futures or ETFs, combined with the firm’s tax reporting and wealth management tools. The platform, branded Schwab Crypto, is available in all U.S. states except New York and Louisiana, and charges a fee of 75 basis points per trade — among the lowest in the industry.
To ensure security, Charles Schwab Premier Bank (CSPB) serves as custodian, while blockchain infrastructure provider Paxos handles trade execution and sub-custody through a federally overseen trust model. The company also announced plans to add support for more digital assets and enable deposits and withdrawals, allowing clients to consolidate existing crypto holdings.
The launch places significant competitive pressure on rivals. Just a week earlier, Morgan Stanley began a crypto trading pilot on its E*Trade platform with a 50-basis-point fee, targeting challenge to Schwab, Robinhood, and Coinbase. Schwab’s entry is expected to channel a wave of new retail capital into the market; analysts estimate that a modest 1% allocation from Schwab clients could inject over $100 billion into spot BTC and ETH within a year. This “Schwab Effect” is seen as a powerful catalyst for the next bull cycle, bringing in conservative investors who previously avoided crypto due to technical complexity.
