Charles Schwab, the US brokerage overseeing more than $13 trillion in client assets, has completed the rollout of a new service allowing its roughly 40 million brokerage account holders to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum directly. The feature, called Schwab Crypto, became fully available to customers on October 15 through the firm's website, mobile app and thinkorswim trading platform.
The move brings direct crypto trading into the same interface Schwab clients already use for stocks, bonds and funds, rather than requiring a separate account or app. Schwab charges a 0.75% fee per transaction. The service is not yet available to residents of New York and Louisiana.
Execution and custody of the digital assets are handled by Paxos, a third-party infrastructure provider, rather than by Schwab itself. The firm has also been explicit about the limits of the offering: crypto holdings bought through Schwab Crypto are not covered by SIPC investor protection or by FDIC deposit insurance, the two backstops that apply to cash and securities held in standard brokerage and bank accounts in the United States.
More tokens and advisor access to follow
Bitcoin and Ethereum are only the starting point. Schwab has said it plans to add Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink to the platform before the end of 2026, broadening the range of tokens available to retail clients beyond the two largest cryptocurrencies by market value.
The company is also preparing to extend crypto access to its professional wealth advisor channel, with availability targeted for mid-2027. That division currently manages approximately $5.2 trillion in client assets, a separate pool from the retail brokerage business where Schwab Crypto has just launched. Bringing advisors into the fold would mark a second, larger phase of the rollout, giving financial professionals the ability to incorporate digital assets into managed portfolios rather than leaving the decision solely to self-directed retail traders.
Rick Wurster, Schwab's chief executive, has overseen the launch as part of the firm's broader push into digital assets.
For European observers, the rollout is a reminder of the scale at which US retail brokerages are now integrating crypto trading into mainstream platforms. Schwab's client base and asset base dwarf those of most European brokers, and a staged expansion into additional tokens and advisor-managed accounts suggests the firm sees this as a durable line of business rather than a one-off product launch.
