Charles Schwab, one of the largest brokerage firms in the United States, plans to launch direct trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum starting in 2026. The company manages over $12 trillion in client assets and serves millions of investors nationwide.
Cryptocurrencies will be integrated into Schwab’s existing trading platforms, placing digital assets in the same investment environment as stocks, bonds, ETFs, and retirement accounts. This means millions of Schwab clients who previously relied on external exchanges will be able to trade crypto within a single account, without needing to use Coinbase, Kraken, or other platforms.
For crypto exchanges, Schwab becomes a serious competitor. The company is well known for its zero-commission model and could easily extend this pricing strategy to digital assets. While most crypto exchanges charge retail traders fees of up to 1%, Schwab can offer lower costs because its revenues are diversified across interest earnings, asset management, and order routing.
The plan was first revealed in April 2025, but the topic has resurfaced as multiple Wall Street giants are now moving into crypto at the same time. Vanguard, the second-largest asset manager in the world, is preparing to launch crypto ETFs, and Bank of America now officially recommends holding 1% to 4% of a portfolio in crypto assets.
The growing interest of traditional financial institutions in digital assets could fundamentally reshape market competition and push independent exchanges out of the retail segment. Analysts are already calling this trend the beginning of the “institutionalization of crypto trading.”
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