Charles Schwab has completed the retail rollout of direct bitcoin and ether trading for eligible brokerage clients, extending crypto access across its main investing channels. The service is now available through Schwab.com, the Schwab Mobile app, and thinkorswim, with digital asset holdings shown alongside traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, and ETFs.
Chief executive Rick Wurster outlined the move during Schwab’s Oct. 15 webcast, presenting crypto as a new transaction-based revenue line for the firm. The brokerage, which oversees about $13.33 trillion in client assets, is also beginning to introduce crypto transfers and says three more tokens are planned before the end of 2026.
Trading launch reaches Schwab retail clients
The new Schwab Crypto offering lets eligible clients buy and sell spot bitcoin and ether directly within the company’s brokerage platform. According to the company’s update, trading is available nearly around the clock, except during maintenance periods.
Schwab has set a 0.75% trading fee for the service. Orders can start at as little as $1, while the maximum size per order is $2 million, giving the product a wide range for both small and large transactions.
Transfers come with tighter controls
Alongside trading, Schwab is introducing cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals for selected clients. Access to transfers is more restricted than simple trading and requires identity verification as well as pre-approved withdrawal addresses.
The firm said new withdrawal addresses are subject to a 24-hour waiting period. Clients are limited to three withdrawals in a 24-hour window, with a cap of $5,000, while monthly deposits can reach up to $50 million.
Wurster points to revenue potential
During the webcast, Wurster described crypto trading as a fresh source of transaction-based revenue for Schwab. That framing suggests the company sees digital assets not only as a product expansion, but also as a way to generate additional activity and fees from its existing brokerage customer base.
The strategy fits a broader effort to deepen the range of services available inside Schwab’s financial ecosystem. Rather than positioning crypto as a stand-alone business, the company is integrating it into the same interface where clients already manage other parts of their portfolios.
More assets planned by year-end
Schwab said it plans to add Solana, Avalanche, and Chainlink before the end of 2026, expanding the lineup beyond bitcoin and ether. Those additions would broaden the firm’s direct crypto offering, though the company has not outlined further details in the source report.
The expansion comes as Schwab reported a strong quarter marked by record net new assets and higher revenue. Against that backdrop, the company’s crypto push could operate at significant scale if adoption grows across its large brokerage platform.
The next confirmed step is the planned addition of the three named cryptocurrencies by year-end, along with the continued rollout of transfer features to selected clients under the stated limits and verification requirements.
Source: news.bitcoin.com