Charles Schwab, the country’s largest custodian for registered investment advisors, is on track to roll out spot cryptocurrency trading, transfers, and custody services for its advisor channel by mid-2027 — a move that could reshape how trillions of dollars flow into digital assets through professional wealth management.
Jalina Kerr Managing Director, Head of Advisor Experience and Schwab Advisor Services Midyear Media Roundtable, held on May 28th, disclosed the news. confirmed Timeline
Schwab’s advisor product differs from its other products rolled out Retail clients in the spring. In April 2026, the bank announced Schwab Crypto™, a spot Bitcoin trading service Individual brokerage accounts holders can benefit from a special offer built by Charles Schwab Premier Bank, and processed through Paxos.
The product was launched with 75 basis points for each trade. This sparked a debate on whether or not advisors will find the crypto ETFs cost-efficient. It also restricted access to New Yorkers and Louisianans.
The build for 2027 is different. Registered investment advisors require custody infrastructure — the ability to hold client assets in segregated accounts with full record-keeping, reporting, and compliance integration.
Schwab will not simply add a button for trading. The firm must wire crypto spot into the same custody rails that its 16,000+ advisor firms use to handle equities and fixed income.
Kerr stated that advisors route crypto exposure to clients through exchange traded products (ETPs) on the platform. However, demand for spot direct access has increased sharply.
The Schwab Advisor Channel is a game changer
The retail crypto story has been told for years — apps, wallets, exchanges, ETFs. This is the channel where institutional adoption moves to its next stage. The RIA community manages assets larger than most retail platforms. Their clients are typically higher-net worth, long-term investors who prefer to have crypto in the same view of their account as their stocks and bonds.
Schwab’s platform holds roughly $10 trillion worth of assets, which makes even a slight shift in allocation to spot crypto an event with significant impact.
It is also changing fast. Fidelity Digital Assets has already offered crypto custody. trading solutions for wealth managersThis gives it an important head start. Anchorage Digital entered the RIA sector through the acquisition of Securitize For Advisors. Coinbase Prime is a platform that has created an institutional infrastructure, which Schwab’s entry could challenge.
Kerr emphasized a fundamental friction in her remarks: Digital assets aren’t regulated like traditional brokerages and securities. Every step of the custody chain — from deposit to withdrawal — requires careful legal and compliance review.
Charles Schwab Premier Bank, the entity that is responsible for retailing the product, has set forth the criteria by which digital assets are considered. It also established safekeeping guidelines and had to comply simultaneously with bank-level regulations and broker-dealer level rules.
Mid-2027 is the target that reflects reality. It is a committed internal roadmap, not exploratory language — a meaningful distinction from the “monitoring the space” For years, large banks remained in the same position.
Rick Wurster, CEO of Rick Wurster Inc. discussed Schwab has expressed interest in investing in cryptocurrency if its valuations match strategic goals. It also suggested the creation of a stablecoin. The launch of 2027 Advisor is part a bigger digital asset development, not a separate initiative.
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
