Charles Schwab has begun rolling out spot bitcoin trading to retail clients in the United States, marking a major expansion of crypto access through one of the country’s largest brokerage firms.
The company announced Tuesday that an initial group of eligible customers can now trade bitcoin through its new platform, Schwab Crypto. The launch gives retail investors direct access to digital assets inside Schwab’s existing brokerage ecosystem, rather than through third-party exchanges or exchange-traded funds.
Charles Schwab said the rollout follows plans first outlined last year and confirmed in April. The firm previously limited crypto exposure to ETFs, futures, and other indirect investment products.
The new platform allows customers to buy and sell spot bitcoin while maintaining a separate crypto account connected to their Schwab brokerage profile. Charles Schwab Premier Bank will act as custodian, while Paxos will handle trade execution and sub-custody services.
According to Schwab’s FAQ materials, the service carries a 75-basis-point trading fee and is available in every U.S. state except New York and Louisiana. The company said some clients may not qualify for access during the first phase of the rollout.
TradFi’s bitcoin bandwagon
The move places Schwab among a growing list of traditional financial firms expanding into digital assets after years of cautious engagement with the sector. The company reported $11.77 trillion in client assets and 39.1 million active brokerage accounts at the end of March, giving the launch potential reach across a large base of retail investors.
The launch arrives as major financial institutions compete to integrate digital assets into mainstream investment products and services. Firms across banking and brokerage sectors have increased crypto offerings following the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs and rising demand from retail and institutional 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. spot Bitcoin ETF products pulled in approximately $2.44 billion in net inflows during April 2026 alone, the strongest monthly total of the year, with nine consecutive trading days of net positive flows extending into May. Each net inflow translates into Bitcoin removed from the open market and delivered to custodians, a dynamic analysts say is creating structural price support independent of speculative trading activity.
The banking sector’s posture toward Bitcoin has shifted in parallel. Nearly 60% of the largest U.S. banks either offer Bitcoin-related services or plan to, according to research from River, with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citi all expanding custody, trading, or ETF product lines in recent months.
Morgan Stanley has signaled ambitions to operate as a full crypto bank, while Goldman Sachs 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 asset research said in late April that institutional demand, underpinned by clearer regulation, was the primary reason the firm expects Bitcoin to reclaim the $100,000 level before the end of 2026.
Bitcoin traded near $80,000 during Tuesday trading.
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