Charles Schwab began rolling out spot bitcoin and ether trading to retail clients on May 13, 2026, opening direct crypto access to a customer base sitting on roughly $12 trillion in assets. The phased launch, branded Schwab Crypto, prices trades at 75 basis points of dollar value, well below most retail brokerages, and routes execution through Paxos with Charles Schwab Premier Bank as custodian. The move puts one of the largest U.S. brokers in direct competition with Robinhood, Fidelity, and standalone crypto exchanges for mainstream investor dollars.
Published: May 13, 2026 16:00 UTC
Key takeaways
- Schwab opened spot bitcoin and ether trading to an initial group of retail clients on May 13, 2026, with a phased rollout in the coming weeks.
- Pricing is set at 75 basis points per trade, undercutting Robinhood’s spread-based model and most rival brokerages.
- Paxos handles execution and sub-custody. Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, is the primary custodian; service is unavailable in New York and Louisiana.
- Schwab clients already hold about 20% of spot crypto exchange-traded product assets, giving the firm an existing crypto-exposed base to convert.
What Schwab Crypto offers at launch
The Schwab Crypto platform supports direct trading in bitcoin and ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Clients hold a separate Schwab Crypto account through Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, linked to their brokerage accounts and viewable side-by-side with stocks, ETFs, and other holdings on Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile, and the thinkorswim platform.
Paxos, an OCC-regulated blockchain infrastructure provider, supplies trade execution and sub-custody. Schwab said additional cryptocurrencies and external deposit and withdrawal capabilities will follow over time, though the company has not published a specific timeline.
A spot crypto trade is the direct purchase or sale of the underlying coin, with settlement and custody handled by the broker, in contrast to a futures contract or an ETF that holds the asset on the investor’s behalf.
Why this matters for retail crypto access
Schwab is the largest U.S. retail broker by client assets, and its entry tightens an already competitive crypto retail market. Robinhood and Fidelity offer direct crypto trading, while traditional brokers such as Morgan Stanley have moved more cautiously, recently launching a 0.5% commission crypto offering through E*Trade. At 75 basis points, Schwab undercuts most peers, though active traders may still find lower all-in costs on dedicated exchanges.
The firm cited a survey of 460 current and prospective crypto investors that identified low pricing, brand familiarity, and security as the top three factors in choosing where to trade digital assets. Schwab clients already hold about 20% of total assets in U.S. spot crypto exchange-traded products, according to the company, which gives the platform a built-in audience for spot trading.
Jonathan Craig, Schwab’s head of retail investing, said in the announcement that the firm wants clients who hold crypto exchange-traded products to be able to “trade it alongside their other investments.” Joe Vietri, head of digital assets, called Paxos’s federal trust standing “a strong partner for blockchain infrastructure.”
The custody and regulatory structure
The account structure separates legal and operational risk. Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, a Texas-chartered bank, holds the assets as primary custodian. Paxos Trust Company, regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services and operating an OCC-conditional national trust charter, executes trades and provides sub-custody. Schwab notes that the crypto holdings are not securities, are not FDIC insured, are not SIPC protected, and are not deposits.
Geographic coverage matters for prospective users. Schwab Crypto accounts are available across the United States with two notable exceptions, New York and Louisiana, and are unavailable in U.S. territories and international jurisdictions. New York’s BitLicense regime continues to deter several large incumbents from offering retail spot crypto there.
What comes next
The phased rollout means most Schwab clients will not have immediate access; the firm is moving customers off a waitlist opened earlier this year. Schwab said it plans to expand the asset list beyond bitcoin and ether and to enable inbound and outbound crypto transfers, which would let clients consolidate holdings from external wallets and exchanges. Both features are typical for established crypto brokerages and remain absent from the launch product.
The launch lands as the Senate Banking Committee prepares to mark up the CLARITY Act on May 14, a bill that would assign jurisdiction over most digital commodities to the CFTC and create a clearer registration path for crypto trading venues. A passable framework would reduce the legal overhead that has kept several large brokers from offering spot trading, and could accelerate further entrants among bank-affiliated platforms.
FAQ
How much does Schwab Crypto charge per trade?
Schwab Crypto charges 75 basis points, or 0.75%, of the dollar value of each trade. That is lower than the spread-based pricing on many retail crypto apps but higher than the maker-taker fees on most dedicated crypto exchanges, where active traders can pay 10 to 30 basis points.
Which cryptocurrencies can Schwab clients trade?
At launch, Schwab Crypto supports only bitcoin and ether, which together account for roughly three-quarters of total crypto market capitalization. Schwab said additional cryptocurrencies will be added over time, but the firm has not announced specific assets or dates.
Can clients move crypto in and out of Schwab Crypto?
Not yet. At launch, Schwab does not support transfers of cryptocurrency between Schwab Crypto and external wallets or exchanges. Schwab said it plans to add deposit and withdrawal capabilities, but has not provided a timeline.
