- Schwab to offer direct Bitcoin and Ethereum trading as clients push to centralize crypto holdings.
- Regulatory easing and rising institutional interest drive Schwab’s 2026 timeline for spot crypto access.
Charles Schwab, the American multinational financial services corporation, is scheduled to introduce spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading upon its $7.3 trillion platform. This was confirmed during a Friday CNBC interview with CEO Rick Wurster, who noted the company’s plan for more direct customer access to cryptos.
Existing customers of Schwab own over 20% of the complete crypto ETP market, and this is already a considerable position in the industry.
Despite all that, nearly $25 billion of the $10.8 trillion in total client assets is held in crypto. This ratio, Wurster explained, is due in part because so many clients hold their digital assets outside the firm. He observed that the majority hold only 1% to 2% of their crypto assets with homegrown crypto businesses, while they hold 98% of the remainder of their assets with Schwab.
“They really want to bring it back to Schwab because they trust us. They want us to sit alongside their other assets,” said Wurster.
New Regulations Shift Schwab’s Crypto Plans
Schwab’s action follows a new policy for the US regulators in 2025. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, and the FDIC unwound earlier restrictions that were implemented in the aftermath of the FTX meltdown. Without that regulatory overhang, the banks now find an easier entrance into the crypto markets, including the roles of custody and trading.
Schwab previously offered Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds as part of the offerings following approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They arrive within an expanded product group providing mutual funds, blended ETFs, and Bitcoin offerings. But the new plan for spot trading will allow clients to buy and sell digital assets immediately.
In the previous statement, Wurster reported that the company is weighing April 2026 for the prospective launch date for the direct trading of Bitcoin. He noted that demand has gained pace among customers, citing the 400% increase in traffic for the crypto section of the website as one of the reasons for the decision.
Crypto Investments Poised to Expand in 2025
Schwab’s entry aligns with a growing movement toward the institutionalization of cryptocurrency investing. In March, Coinbase and EY-Parthenon released a joint survey, which stated that institutional investors plan on increasing their cryptocurrency allocations by 83% in the year 2025. In the same report, the study highlighted growing attention for non-Bitcoin and non-Ethereum assets.
Solana and XRP were noted as top alternative choices among institutional investors. Additionally, most respondents signaled allocation plans for at least 5% of portfolios for crypto assets within the next year. This broadens the scope and indicates potential future growth opportunities for Schwab as it considers further expansion beyond Bitcoin and Ether.
In May, another report by Fireblocks noted that 90% of institutional companies utilize or experiment with stablecoins. Nearly half the respondents claimed using them for payment purposes already, a sign of how digital assets are becoming part and parcel of financial operations and no longer just speculative assets.
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