Schwab launches direct crypto trading in coming weeks to 39 million customers

In the next few weeks, **Charles Schwab announced this week it will begin offering direct cryptocurrency trading to everyday investors so customers can buy and sell bitcoin and ethereum along with their traditional investments. *****

Schwab crypto (the renamed service) will cost 75 basis points on the dollar value of each trade, making it one of the lowest-cost services in industry. Across Schwab’s website, mobile app and thinkorswim trading platform, consumers will be able to see and manage their digital assets next to stocks and bonds.

Jonathan Craig of Retail Investing at Charles Schwab said ‘We know our clients want to do more of their financial lives at Schwabbing. With Schwab Crypto, clients that would like to be able to directly access the asset class can trade it with their other investments; benefit from service, education and research they expect from us. Paraphrast.

The brokerage surveyed nearly 500 current and prospective cryptocurrency investors from July 31 to September 1, 2025. In terms of choice, respondents cited three factors low and transparent pricing, brand awareness and reputation; confidence that their holdings would remain safe.

Schwab will begin with bitcoin and ethereum, which together represent about three-quarters of the cryptocurrency market value. The company is aiming to add more digital currencies over the years and will eventually allow customers to transfer crypto they already have in their Schwab accounts.

The custodian is Charles Schwab Premier Bank who will be responsible for safekeeping and record-keeping of customer assets. During the scenes, Paxos will handle sub-custody and trade execution as well as trading execution of blockchain infrastructure provider PaXoS (regulated by Office Of the Comptroller of the Currency).

In addition to educational materials from the Schwab Center for Financial Research and crypto-focused content through SchwaB Coaching, the service will provide investor with information on how digital assets fit into broader investment strategies. The service professionals who support Schwab’s 24/7 services will also be able to call or chat customers.

In addition, Schwab already has a market share in cryptocurrency related investments customers own about 20% of the product that is traded on spot crypto exchanges. The firm also offers crypto futures, options on spot Crypto ETP (and other crypto-related ETFs and mutual funds) and crypto related ETCs.

Wall Street competitors join the crypto land grab

Previously, Cryptopolitan has reported that Morgan Stanley is taking similar steps with its ETrade app. Zerohash will partner with the bank for trading, which is expected to be in the first half of 2026 when it aims to provide infrastructure for trade. Initially ETrade customers will be able to sell bitcoin, ethereum and solana.

Morgan Stanley’s chief of wealth management, Jed Finn, described it as a ‘transformative moment’ for the industry. But it’s the iceberg of marketing clients that can trade crypto,’ Finn told CNBC ‘The company ultimately plans to develop an entire wallet solution for custody and tokenization of assets.

This competition, however carries the pressure of parodyrs. In last year, Robinhood drew over $600 million from crypto trading — about one-fifth of its revenue for Crypto Trading.

Goldman Sachs applied Monday for a Bitcoin Premium Income exchange-traded fund, one of the bank’s first direct investments into cryptocurrency investment products. This proposed fund would give investors access to bitcoin and generate income by selling options tied to Bitcoin-linked ETPs. In strong rallies, this strategy carries premiums in exchange for capping some upside during high rallie.

A similar product is under the ticker BITA (iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF), which BlackRock is preparing to launch, called the ishares. The new regulatory filing earlier this month showed BlackRock refining the structure of the fund, with analysts predicting that it would be launched in less than weeks.

Congress nears agreement on crypto regulation

Big financial companies are rushing to the rush as Congress looks almost on the verge of passing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which would set out comprehensive federal regulations for cryptocurrency. The negotiations are a “late stage” most disputes have been resolved and only two or three issues remain under discussion, JPMorgan sources told CoinDesk.

Under the bill, it would formalize how oversight is divided between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission while defining how tokens, stablecoins and decentralized finance platforms fit within existing financial law.

Other officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have called on Congress to act, saying delays are ‘necessary pushing innovation and capital into foreign markets with more clearer rules’.

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