Charles Schwab has completed the retail rollout of its direct cryptocurrency trading service, opening Schwab Crypto to every eligible client. The change, announced during the firm’s October 15 Fall Business Update, moves the product from a phased pilot to broad availability and adds the ability to transfer existing crypto holdings onto the brokerage platform.
The timeline shows how deliberately the rollout was staged. Schwab opened a waitlist in April, gave the first retail clients access to Bitcoin and Ether trading in May, and named the next three assets in August. What changed in October is scope and direction: the product is now open to the full eligible client base rather than a pilot group, and clients can begin moving coins they already hold onto the platform instead of only buying inside Schwab. The five-month cadence reads as a cautious approach to custody, compliance, and demand rather than a rushed launch.
Two assets are tradable today — Bitcoin and Ether. Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink are scheduled to join before the end of 2026, firming up the “coming months” language the brokerage used earlier in the year. Each trade carries a 0.75% fee with no added spread. Charles Schwab Premier Bank acts as custodian, while Paxos Trust Company handles sub-custody and trade execution.
The transfer feature remains the least finished part of the rollout. Schwab supports deposits on the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks, requires clients to pre-register withdrawal addresses, and applies a 24-hour waiting period to newly added addresses. Outbound transfers have not been announced, and the firm has not confirmed that every client can deposit yet, which suggests the transfer tooling is still being built out.
The scale of the move is what gives it weight. Schwab ended September with $13.33 trillion in client assets and 48.6 million client accounts, according to its third-quarter earnings release. That base, combined with a regulated brokerage’s custody and recordkeeping rails, positions Schwab Crypto as a convenience layer for existing clients. It competes less on price than on trust and simplicity: clients can hold crypto next to equities, funds, and banking products under a single login.
That distinction shows up in the fine print. Crypto held at Schwab carries no FDIC or SIPC protection, and the service remains unavailable in New York, Louisiana, U.S. territories, and international markets. At 0.75% per trade, the pricing sits well above what a typical retail crypto exchange charges for spot trades.
The launch fits a wider pattern of traditional finance building crypto rails, from stablecoin payment platforms to bank-backed custody, and Wurster framed crypto as one of several newer transaction-revenue streams alongside prediction markets. Schwab does not break out crypto revenue, so the $1.2 billion in third-quarter trading revenue — up 16% year over year — cannot be credited to digital assets.
The next observable signals are adoption depth and asset expansion. If existing clients move meaningful balances onto the platform and the asset line grows beyond the five announced coins, Schwab Crypto would become a measurable distribution channel for digital assets rather than a defensive add-on.
Adapted from Charles Schwab Opens Bitcoin and Ether Trading to All Eligible Clients.