Charles Schwab has completed the retail rollout of its direct cryptocurrency trading service, opening Schwab Crypto to all eligible clients and beginning inbound transfers of existing digital assets, CEO Rick Wurster confirmed during the company’s Fall Business Update on October 15.
The brokerage, which oversees $13.33 trillion in client assets and ended September with 48.6 million client accounts, first launched BTC and ETH trading in May for an initial group of retail clients. This week’s update expands access to the full eligible client base and changes the direction of money flow: clients can now begin moving coins they already hold onto Schwab’s platform. Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink are scheduled to join by the end of 2026, firming up the earlier 'coming months' language into a year-end target.
Schwab Crypto operates as a separate account linked to an existing brokerage account. Clients can trade through Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, or thinkorswim using market, limit, stop, and stop-limit orders sized in coins or dollars. The service charges a 0.75% fee per trade with no added spread. Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB acts as custodian, while Paxos Trust Company, N.A. handles sub-custody and trade execution.
There are clear limits: holdings carry no FDIC or SIPC protection, external wallet withdrawals are not supported initially, and the service remains unavailable in New York, Louisiana, US territories, and to international clients. Still, the rollout puts Schwab in direct competition with native exchanges and incumbent custody providers such as Coinbase. Wurster placed crypto alongside prediction markets among newer transaction revenue sources, though the firm does not break out digital asset revenue separately.
The rollout arrives as Schwab reported third-quarter net revenue of $7.171 billion, up 17% year over year, and GAAP net income of $2.906 billion, up 23%. Net new assets reached $190.4 billion, 38% higher than a year earlier, while daily average trades rose 44% to 10.7 million.
The move intensifies competition with brokerage and exchange platforms. Fidelity already offers retail crypto trading and a spot bitcoin ETF; Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade offers BTC, ETH and SOL through Zero Hash at 0.50%; and Interactive Brokers has widened direct trading. Dedicated exchanges retain advantages in token selection, on-chain transfers, and specialized tools, while Schwab’s planned five-asset menu remains narrow by comparison.
Looking ahead, Schwab has discussed bringing direct trading, transfers, and custody to registered investment advisors around mid-2027. That advisor platform held $5.2 trillion in advisor client assets at the end of the first quarter, and would allow advisors to hold digital assets inside client relationships they already manage.
