Bitcoin, Ethereum Trading Expands As Charles Schwab Enters Crypto Market

Charles Schwab is charging into the crypto space with fees lower than its closest rival — and a customer base that dwarfs most financial platforms in America.

A Slow Roll, Not A Full Launch

The Texas-based brokerage has begun offering spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading through its Schwab Crypto platform, operated via Charles Schwab Premier Bank.

But don’t expect every customer to get access right away. The rollout starts with an internal employee pilot, moves to a client waitlist, then opens more broadly through the rest of Q2 2026. Customers in New York and Louisiana are currently left out.

When it does fully open, the potential reach is staggering. Schwab manages close to $1.50 trillion in assets and holds accounts for up to 46 million active brokerage clients, served by 16,000 financial advisors. That kind of scale puts Schwab in a league of its own among brokerages now entering the crypto market.

The firm set its trading fee at 0.75% — undercutting Fidelity Crypto’s 1% rate. Whether that gap is enough to pull customers from established platforms remains to be seen, but it gives Schwab a concrete edge on price.

Robinhood Still Holds Some Ground

Schwab won’t have the field to itself. Robinhood, which has been in the crypto trading space for years, offers more than 15 cryptocurrencies, operates in the EU and Asia-Pacific markets, and allows users to transfer crypto to external wallets. Schwab, for now, is starting with just Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Reports indicate Schwab plans to add more cryptocurrencies down the line, along with AI tools, as it looks to capture a bigger share of demand from investors who want crypto alongside their traditional holdings. The brokerage described the crypto push as part of a broader effort to grow revenue sources.

Earnings Miss Clouds An Otherwise Strong Quarter

The crypto announcement landed on the same day Schwab posted its first-quarter 2026 results. Net revenue climbed 16% year over year to $6.48 billion — a record — but fell just short of the $6.50 billion analysts had expected. That narrow miss hit the stock hard. Shares of Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) dropped 7.70% on the day, trading at $92.51.

Bitcoin touched $75,000 on the same day, pushed higher by strong inflows into spot ETFs and optimism around a potential US-Iran ceasefire.

Ethereum moved in the opposite direction, slipping 0.75% to $2,355 after a large holder offloaded roughly 120,000 ETH — nearly $60 million worth — taking profit on a long position.

Schwab’s entry adds another major name to the growing list of traditional financial institutions now offering direct access to crypto assets, bringing Bitcoin and Ethereum further into the mainstream of everyday investing.

Featured image from MetaAI, chart from TradingView