Schwab Opens Bitcoin and Ether Trading to Eligible Retail Clients

Charles Schwab has completed a broad rollout of direct Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) trading for eligible retail customers, putting crypto purchases on the brokerage platform alongside stocks, bonds and exchange-traded funds.

Customers can trade through Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile and thinkorswim. Paxos provides trade execution and secondary custody. Schwab charges a 0.75% fee, with transactions ranging from $1 to $2 million. Crypto holdings appear in customers’ existing Schwab accounts.

Schwab is positioning crypto trading and prediction markets as additional sources of transaction-based revenue. The firm manages about $13.33 trillion in client assets and has 40.3 million active brokerage accounts, giving the offering access to a large existing customer base.

Bitcoin and Ether deposits and withdrawals are being introduced in stages, with transfers available to some customers. Newly registered withdrawal addresses face a 24-hour waiting period. Withdrawals are limited to three transactions per 24 hours, with a $5,000 cap per transaction.

Schwab plans to add Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX) and Chainlink (LINK) by the end of 2026.