Charles Schwab is now offering spot Bitcoin trading for retail customers in the United States. This marks a significant expansion of cryptocurrency access by one of America’s biggest brokerage firms.
The Company announced Schwab Crypto, its newly launched platform for eligible customers to trade Bitcoins was announced on Tuesday. Launching the platform gives retail investors access to digital assets within Schwab’s brokerage ecosystem rather than via third-party platforms or ETFs.
Charles Schwab stated that this rollout is a continuation of plans first announced last year. confirmed In April. The firm had previously only invested in indirect investments such as futures contracts, ETFs or other indirect investment products.
New platform allows customers The ability to purchase and sell bitcoins on the spot while keeping a separate cryptocurrency account linked to your Schwab brokerage profile. Charles Schwab Premier Bank, which will serve as the custodian of bitcoins. Paxos is responsible for trade executions.
Schwab FAQs state that the 75 basis-point fee is applicable to all states except New York, Louisiana and New Jersey. The company stated that some customers may not be eligible to access the system during the first stage of rollout.
TradFi jumps on the Bitcoin bandwagon
Schwab joins a growing number of traditional financial companies that have expanded into digital assets, after years cautiously engaging with the sector. The company reported At the end of the month, there were 39.1 millions active brokerage accounts and $11,77 trillion worth of client assets. This gives the potential to reach a wide range of retail investors.
As major financial firms compete with each other to include digital assets as part of mainstream investments, the launch coincides with the competition between them. The banking and brokerage sector has increased its crypto offering following the approval and demand of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and retail clients.
BlackRock’s IBIT alone held roughly $54 billion in assets under management by early 2026, with institutions disclosing holdings of more than 513,000 BTC through exchange-traded funds — a figure that grew as professional ETF ownership surged 32% across 2025.
U.S. Bitcoin ETFs pulled in As much as $2.44 billion was in net inflows in April 2026, which is the highest monthly amount of the entire year. This continued into May, where nine trading days were net positive. Analysts say that each net inflow represents Bitcoin being removed from the market and given to custodians. This dynamic creates structural support for Bitcoin prices independent of trading activities.
Parallel to this, the attitude of banks towards Bitcoin changed. According to the report, almost 60% of U.S. large banks currently offer Bitcoin related services, or have plans to. research River has seen JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs Morgan Stanley and Citi expand their custody, ETF trading or product line in the last few months.
Morgan Stanley’s ambitions are to be a fully cryptobank, while Goldman Sachs is also pursuing this goal. filed an application for a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF and Citi launched an institutional custody initiative — moves that Wall Street analysts say reflect a structural, compliance-driven integration rather than a tactical hedge.
Franklin Templeton’s Director of Digital Assets Research said In late April, the company stated that the institutional demand underpinned by more clear regulation was the main reason it expects Bitcoin will regain the $100,000 mark before 2026.
Bitcoin reached a high of $80,000 on Tuesday.
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
