Charles Schwab is preparing to bring direct spot trading of Bitcoin and Ether to a massive pool of investor capital, confirming plans to roll out the service in the first half of 2026.
What Schwab will offer
- Branded “Schwab Crypto,” the service will be operated through Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB, a regulated banking subsidiary.
- Clients will be able to buy and sell spot Bitcoin and Ether directly in their existing Schwab brokerage accounts — no separate wallet or third‑party exchange required. Schwab will handle order processing internally.
- The launch will be phased: employee testing first, then invited clients, and finally general availability. Early access will be limited to U.S. residents and will exclude New York and Louisiana.
Company confirmation and context
A Schwab spokesperson told multiple outlets: “We remain on track to launch our spot crypto offer in the first half of 2026, starting with bitcoin and ether.” The move follows several years of preparation during which regulatory uncertainty had delayed such a product. Changes in policy — including the Trump administration’s rollback of certain SEC accounting restrictions and the Federal Reserve loosening bank crypto guidelines — helped clear the path.
Market signals and demand
Schwab said its crypto site saw a 400% increase in traffic in 2025, with roughly 70% of that interest coming from non‑clients — a strong indicator of untapped demand the firm hopes to capture. At the time of the announcement, Bitcoin traded near $66,864 (about 47% below its all‑time high of $126,080), and Ether was around $2,052 (roughly 59% below its August 2025 peak).
Competitive landscape and product roadmap
Schwab’s entry could reshape retail crypto access: analysts say Schwab’s scale and distribution might allow it to offer lower fees than many crypto-native exchanges. Morgan Stanley is reportedly preparing a similar push via E*TRADE. Schwab already offers crypto-linked ETFs, Bitcoin futures, and the Schwab Crypto Thematic Index ETF; spot trading is the next step in a deliberate, regulated expansion. The firm has also signaled plans to introduce a stablecoin product following passage of the GENIUS Act.
Scale and impact
CEO Wurster summed up the company’s intent: Schwab is “ready to compete in spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading.” With roughly 46 million existing brokerage relationships, Schwab brings a distribution advantage few crypto-native platforms can match — a factor that could materially change how mainstream investors access spot crypto markets.
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